The rituals of speech

Whitney Tankersley and Lindsay Spencer always head straight for the same place when they arrive at a speech and debate competition: the girls' bathroom.

For the acoustics.

The two Jackson girls go over their lines as quickly as possible, mainly to calm their nerves. If they haven't memorized their parts after months of practicing, one last run-through isn't likely to do much good. But the bathrooms are now part of the girls' competition routine, practically a tradition.

Traditions, even superstitions, are a part of what make speech and debate tournaments like the one held by Central High School Thursday fun. Some students wear special necklaces while performing. Some pray before going on stage.

No matter what the custom, judges and students alike agree that what wins the competition is hard work and dedication.

"We work on our lines twice a week, and we still have to improvise because we're humans -- we make mistakes," said Tankersley.

Tankersley and Spencer, who competed in the duet acting competition Thursday, both agree that the competitions are about making friends more so than competing.

More than 100 students from 13 schools competed in Central's tournament. Students from the hosting school don't participate. The competition included debate, storytelling, extemporaneous speaking, acting, oratory and dramatic/humorous interpretation.

"What these kids are capable of is amazing," said Dr. Al Nicolai, a Central speech coach who helped organize the event. "Poetry and prose reading have a script, but the rest are all memorized."

Bobby King and Sarah Terry of Jackson have spent six months memorizing and perfecting "Lovers in the Park," a 10-minute performance they entered in the duet acting category Thursday.

In that category, participants are given two chairs and a table as props. Any other props are faked. This is both Terry and King's first year to participate in speech and debate tournaments.

"I like it when I'm doing this and I see people smile or laugh," Terry said. "I like knowing I made some kind of an impression on them."

cclark@semissourian.com

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