The Billings Central Speech and Drama teamcompeted in the State Meet on January 31 and February 1. The meet took place at the Laurel High School, concluding a successful season overall. The team met their expectations with the speech team winning 6th place and the drama team winning 8th place.
Junior Alex Johnson competed in Lincoln Douglas, a solo debate event where competitors debate one another over a moral/political resolution. Johnson reported, “I did quite well: I ended up getting second. Of course, it’s a little disappointing to be right at the grasp of first and then get second, but overall, it exceeded my expectations for how I would do.” Johnson came to state hoping to win as many debates as he could and said, “I did pretty well at Divisionals, so I had a decent amount of expectations, but I was mostly hoping to win as many debates as I could and see where that landed me.” Johnson has competed in the Lincoln Douglas Debate for three years and plans to compete in it again next year. He enjoys how it challenges his mind and expands his knowledge, saying, “I like that the type of debate was philosophically based. I like that we change topics because it’s something new, and we‘re learning about a bunch of different things. I just like debating.”
Speech and Drama also has other events, including Informative, which is an event in which competitors inform their judge about any topic using props. Senior Ana Kim competed and appreciates that she can be creative as she states, “I really like Informative because people go crazy with the topics they pick and the boards they construct, and it’s awesome to see how creative they can get. Informative is super open-ended and I feel like I learn so much each time I watch a performance—not just about whatever topic they chose, but also about speaking and presenting.” She placed fifth in the informative event.
Kim also competes in Dramatic Interpretation where a performer uses their voice, body, and facial expressions to interpret a piece of Literature. Kim likes this particular event because of the acting part as she states, “I think Dramatic Interpretation is very similar to acting, and for that reason I think it’s very freeing and fun. It’s cool to see how different people can pick and interpret the same pieces.”
Speech and Drama wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the coaches. BC Speech and Drama has four coaches: Mrs. Tate, Mrs. Nelson, Ana Brit, and Mrs. Muskett, who have been coaching for many collective years. Mrs. Muskett has been coaching Speech and Debate for 5 years, focusing on debate and impromptu-style speech. She likes that students get to learn new skills as she states “What I like about Speech, Drama and Debate is that students are learning new skills. The students then have the opportunity to use these important skills their whole lives.” Muskett’s goals going into state were for students to learn how to compete at state and the students to have an enjoyable experience. Her favorite part about speech and debate are the students as she says “My favorite thing about coaching by far are the students. They have an eagerness to learn and they have a willingness to compete under pressure. All the students have an energy and joy in life that is wonderful to see.” Muskett takes coaching seriously as she says “Coaching is a responsibility and a privilege. I do take it seriously. I believe we are readying students for their future, with learning how to research, learning new ways of writing and then joining those skills with public speaking.” Shethoroughly enjoys coaching as she says “have always appreciated the ability to serve the Speech, Drama and Debate students of BCCHS. They are terrific.”
The Billings Central Speech and Drama team finished their season in style at state. Speech and Drama has a lot of different events like Lincoln Douglas, Informative, and Dramatic Interpretation. Speech and Drama wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the coaches who help the students out enough.
