Fourteen students of Menno High School have been talking a lot this semester as a part of the Oral Interpretation team under the direction of Mrs. Betsy Knodel and Mrs. Nadia Mudder. Those students participating include William Stokes, Ella Rempfer, Ervin Schrock, Samuel Andersen, Elly Fischer, Zain Kishbaugh, Lillian Love, Adie Rempfer, Fallon Rich, Zoe Schaeffer, Jaxon Stoebner, Ruby Fitzmaurice, Emmalyn Heckenlaible, and Bailey Neuharth.
The students have competed at the Brandon Valley Lynx Invitational, the Teddy Roosevelt Invitational, a local contest, the District 3-B Contest, and the Region 2-B Contest. You could see many of them “talking to the wall” prior to their performances in their respective categories of oratory, poetry, dramatic, humorous, storytelling, duet, and readers theater.
Competing at the district level were Adie Rempfer (storytelling), Zoe Schaeffer (oratory), Ervin Schrock (dramatic), William Stokes (humorous), Emmalyn Heckenlaible and Bailey Neuharth (duet), and Samuel Andersen, Jaxon Stoebner, Zain Kishbaugh, and William Stokes (readers theater). Ervin Schrock and the readers theater team advanced to regions.
At the region competition, Ervin Schrock delivered her dramatic selection “Just Listen” by Christi Christner about a young woman’s introduction into motherhood that ends in the death of her baby. From a mental institution, she still refuses to believe that her baby is dead and draws a line between reality and insanity. Ervin received high praise from the judges for her portrayal of the young woman. She advances to the state competition that will be held on Saturday, December 7, at Sturgis High School and will perform at 1:30 P.M. Mountain Time.
The readers theater team presented their selection “Small Talk” by David MacGregor at both the district and region level. The selection took place in the office of a therapist to help a young couple combat a problem of not being able to make small talk. They made it through districts, but did not advance at regions.
“Most of the students who made up the team were novices,” said the coach Mrs. Knodel. “I’m really proud of the effort they put forth to compete against a lot of A and AA schools at the tournaments. It takes a lot of confidence to get up in front of a crowd and speak. I look forward to a bright future for the Menno Interpretation team.”
As Ervin prepares for the state tournament, she said, “I'm so excited and privileged to be able to go to state Oral Interpretation. Over the past 2 months I have been working and performing my piece at competitions, and I couldn’t have made it here without the incredible support of a few key people. My coaches, Mrs. Knodel and Mrs. Mudder, have guided me, gave me their honest feedback, and have believed in me from day one. They've pushed me to grow both as a performer and a person, I’m so grateful to have their dedication to the program. My parents have given me their constant love and support. They have helped me really grow into this piece and have given me so many valuable critiques.
As she prepares for state, Ervin feels a mixture of nerves and excitement, but most of all she feels incredibly proud to represent her team and showcase all the hard work she has put into this selection. She said, “I am proud to be part of such an amazing community of people who share this passion for performance and expression. I promise to make you proud!”