Mt. Edgecumbe High School students Cash Arrington and Hayden Raasch, at right, debate virtually against Ketchikan teammates Jaden Stern and Lee Sanchez. (Photo provided to the Sentinel)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High School drama, debate and forensics squads racked up multiple top places at their second virtual meet of the season last weekend.
Due to COVID-19 precautions, students had to participate through video, with performers taking part in separate spaces over various videoconference systems. Some events took place live, while others were recorded ahead of time.
Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau was the host of the event, which drew more than 50 performers from Thunder Mountain, Ketchikan, Sitka, Mt. Edgecumbe, Haines, Skagway and Metlakatla, as well as Delta Junction’s Whitestone.
Sitka High
Sitka High coach Christian Litten said Sitka kids performed well throughout the tournament, even with the additional challenges in place.
SHS Results
Extemporaneous commentary: 2. Darby Osborne; 3. Addie Poulson; finalist. Logan Kluting.
Extemporaneous speaking: 3. Tava Guillory.
Original oratory: 2. Darby Osborne; 4. Tava Guillory.
Humorous interpretation of literature: 4. Zia Allen.
Dramatic interpretation of literature: 3. Zia Allen.
Duo interpretation and duet acting (combined category): 1. Osborne and Poulson.
Solo acting: 3. Sally Everson.
Readers Theater: 2. Tava Guillory, Zia Allen, Felix Myers, and Ben Hedrick
4. Eliot Holloway, Zoe Trafton, and Danica Majeski.
Public forum debate: 3. Guillory and Poulson
Litten said a number of changes and adjustments needed to occur for the virtual format of the meet. Some events had to be changed because two competitors couldn’t be in the same space at once. For example, duet acting and duo interpretation of literature events became similar enough that coaches agreed to combine the two categories.
Litten said the competitors did well overall, with many of the kids reaching finals in one or more categories.
Litten said the team of Osborne and Poulson scored a top prize for their performance of “How to Succeed in High School Without Really Trying,” by Jonathan Rand. Osborne and Poulson had prepared it as a duo piece, and competed in the combined event.
“They just did a really good job – it’s a very high energy piece with video and technology around it,” Litten said. “It seemed to work really well.”
“It was a very new experience for both of us; neither of us has gotten into the acting side of DDF,” said Osborne, a junior. She said they received good feedback for improvements from the judges, and plan to continue working on the piece for future meets.
Extemporaneous commentary is one of Osborne’s favorite events, and she was pleased with her second place finish at last weekend’s tournament.
“It’s one of those (events) people don’t really know about,” she said. In the event, competitors are given three topics, and choose one for a 3-to-5 minute speech. In this tournament she spoke about “snow,” “rockets,” and “Zoom education” in her three rounds.
For her oration event, Osborne made a persuasive argument about deleting social media. (She followed her own advice in the course of preparing the speech, by deleting her accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.)
There were some technical glitches, Osborne said, but generally the virtual format went well for the meet.
Litten said it’s been more difficult preparing and competing virtually but both coaches and competitors are trying to make the best of a difficult situation, and look for opportunities presented by the format.
“I feel really lucky we get to keep doing our activities, whereas other activities had to cease,” he said. “Our format allows us to compete with other schools virtually – we feel really lucky that not only are we able to compete with our region but outside the region.”
Amy Ainslie is the co-coach of the Wolves team.
For the next tournament, hosted by Mt. Edgecumbe, the coaches plan to reach out to other communities across the state to participate.
Mt. Edgecumbe High
It was also MEHS’ second tournament of the season. Coach Marcia Drake said that even with the pre-recorded videos for many events, “DDF remains a lively activity.”
The Braves fielded a team of 10 for the tournament, including one in quarantine in her dorm room.
“The format has certainly changed,” the coach said in her emailed comments. “Much of our work is done in the days before the tournament begins, with students recording their pieces and preparing them for submission. Debate ran most of the day on Saturday, with six debates back-to-back. It was certainly grueling for many of the debaters. Judges are able to critique the pre-recorded pieces from home with a relatively large window of time.”
Coaches used seven different platforms to run and manage the tournament.
“Of course, some were the common email, text, and Zoom – but there are a couple of platforms that are unique to the DDF world,” Drake said. “Managing this is no easy feat. A huge kudos to the TMHS tournament hosts for their management of such logistical issues. They spent hours of work and solved myriad technical problems to bring this experience to students.”
MEHS Placings:
The school captured a first place in the Readers Theater category (Fiona and Hayden Raasch (Sitka) and Isabel Jones (Juneau).
Marissa Crabtree (Wasilla) took home third-place honors in solo acting.
In duet acting, Fiona and Hayden Raasch of Sitka captured fourth place.
The Braves also placed 9th in debate (Cash Arrington, from Nome, & Hayden Raasch)
Drake had similar comments about the challenges of technology, but also some of the advantages.
“This year I am being forced to master all kinds of technology, spend two 12-hour days masked and distanced in a room full of teenagers, and bring enthusiasm to the concept of recording vs. performing live,” she wrote. “Still, I am grateful that DDF is up and running this year. We all need a little diversion, and this is a good one for my students. Judges around the region (and even out of state) are grateful to watch students perform – it’s a little break from the mundane. DDF is no longer limited by location – we had Whitestone join us for this tournament and are looking for Homer to join us for the next. These additions to our Southeast circuit brings diversity to our competition.”
MEHS is hosting the next virtual tournament Jan. 22-23.
“Be on the lookout for more information as to how you, too, can take a break from the ordinary and participate in DDF during a pandemic,” Drake said.
