T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING — MHS students Riley Thede, Michael Gill, Amiaha Weatherly and Nolan Sawtelle took part in the IHSSA’s individual speech districts on Saturday and all earned a score of 1 – giving them a spot at state individual speech. Each of the students performed in a different category.

Marshalltown High School had a busy Saturday, but the hard work really began on Friday night.

On Friday, a group led by MHS speech coach and English teacher Jocelyn Frohwein and assistant coach Gary Zmolek was hard at work setting the many stages and getting the school ready to be the host for the Iowa High School Speech Association’s Southeast Individual Districts – a chance for speech contestants and performers from up to 33 different schools to qualify for IHSSA state competition.

Contestants from Marshalltown, area schools like GMG, South Tama County, Meskwaki and East Marshall and plenty of others including Oskaloosa, Pella and Pleasantville were present on Saturday, with state appearances on the line in a number of different categories. Frohwein said one of the key reasons Marshalltown hosts a large number of events for speech is because it gives them a chance to raise money for the competitions, allowing students to compete and take part in speech without worrying about any associated costs. She added that the home environment provides comfortability when performing.

“It’s a big deal,” Frohwein said. “It helps us raise money for our fees. When kids want to do a piece, we have to get performance rights and sometimes those rights cost money.”

One of the unique things about speech is the different categories, spanning from reading pieces of poetry and pose to reviewing books, movies or albums and reciting original works of writing. There’s also solo musical theater, radio hour and after dinner speaking – providing a scenario for just about anyone who wants to be involved to perform to their strengths. It sticks with people, Frohwein said.

“There’s a bunch of old students that have come back to help, and now that they’re adults they can continue to push forward and show what speech does for them and how it can carry you through life,” Frohwein said.

Performers went into their appearances with the goal of potentially getting a 1 rating from judges, which would then lock them into the state competition. A 1 rating is considered excellent, a 2 good, a 3 fair and a 4 is a disqualification. It’s an intensive process, and competitors spend weeks and months figuring out what they want to present, memorize and perfect in an effort to please the judges.

The different categories open the door for creativity and teamwork to shine through, even in an individual competition.

When there’s this many opportunities, said volunteer assistant Elisabeth Draisey, it can provide people a chance to find their niche and learn more about what they enjoy.

“Speech really did help me open up,” Draisey said. “I started out in short form, which is a large group category, but I did it myself and I did it about my great-great-grandmother.

“It really has helped me come out of my shell. It was really helpful and now I’ve been able to have all these opportunities. I now have a full ride at [Marshalltown Community College] because of all the volunteer work.”

Four of Marshalltown’s state qualifiers were entered in four different categories and found success with 1 ratings – Riley Thede earned a 1 in the review category as he provided his take on the Jordan Peele film “Nope.” Amiaha Weatherly read the poem “Rough Seas Lead to Calm Waters,” Nolan Sawtelle excelled in the radio news category and Michael Gill got a 1 in after dinner speaking – a category in which performers present their own take on an after-dinner speech at a gathering, which can go in a humorous or serious direction depending on the subject.

Zmolek said that in his many years of coaching speech, he’s had the chance to see wonderful performances of all kinds. He came out of retirement to help out Frowhein this season because, as he said, it’s hard to quit speech once you’ve been in it.

“I thought, ‘I might as well do this,'” Zmolek said. “I think I’m crazy, but I love it. It is really stressful but it also just fills me with joy.”

Qualifiers for state speech from the MHS district site will be headed to the IHSSA Southeast state competition on March 11 at North Scott High School in Eldridge.

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Contact Noah Rohlfing at 641-753-6611 or nrohlfing@timesrepublican.com.