Forensics Showcase displays incredible presentations

Post date: Mar 29, 2017 1:10:44 PM

By: Megan Cichon, Entertainment Editor

Posted March 29th, 2017

On Thursday, March 16th, the Forensic team put on a showcase of a few of their pieces. The event was advertised all over the school in the week leading up to the event, and was well worth the time to go. The showcase started at 6:30, with senior Alex Jordan acting as the emcee for the night.

Up first was Kira Wagner, performing a piece from the Demonstration category. Dressed appropriately in her colorguard uniform, she informed her audience not only how to be a colorguard member, but how to do fancy moves with the color guard guns. She concluded her performance with a high-energy routine of her own.

Second was Meghan Retzlaff from the Poetry category with a piece called “How Could You". Her piece, told from the perspective of man's ever-loyal best friend, almost drove the audience to tears as Megan skillfully presented the poem.

Claire Breitenbach was next, dressed appropriately in a yellow cardigan to perform a Solo Serious called “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Her performance was captivating, and enjoyable to watch until the tragic end.

Up next was Victoria Volkmann, performing two poems under the category Oral Interpretation of Literature (OIL) Piece. Her first piece, “Sunshine Kid", was presented with such enthusiasm and pizzazz. And then she presented “Paper People". The poem was filled with tongue twisters that led the audience to wonder just how long she'd spent practicing to pronounce the words so perfectly. Victoria captured the attention of her audience, from the minute she began talking, to the moment she left the stage.

Jacob Bunzel, was next, with a persuasive speech form the category Oratory. His speech focused on how our perspective on stress can positively or negatively affect our health when we’re stressed. His fabulous presentation convinced the audience to do a better job at keeping a positive mindset in stressful situations.

Up next were pieces for a more mature audience. Young children were first removed to a more age-appropriate environment, and then performances continued.

Up first was Phillip Steenbekkers with an OIL Prose piece, “Line in the Sand". Told from the perspective of a father struggling with his son's diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, Phillip delivered a powerful performance that grew, climaxed, and calmed.

Lastly was Hannah Ritger with two OIL Poetry pieces. The first, “The Devil's Apprentice and Friends", is told from the perspective of an obviously psychotic serial killer. Hannah then flipped the tables on her audience, delivering a powerful piece called “Victim", told from the perspective of a killer's victim. Hannah did an incredible job portraying two very different mindsets to her audience.

The Forensics Showcase was a fantastic event to attend. Filled with captivating works and students who take the stage with confidence, a showcase like this isn't something you'd want to miss.