Forensics speech team continues successful season
Five members of the Blair forensics team qualified for the large county tournament in March after their second qualifying tournament January 11. This makes six of the nine team members eligible to compete.
Sophomore captain Abigail Fraeman won first place for children's literature and second place in informative. Senior Annie Peirce won second place in children's literature. Senior Amanda Way won third place in serious prose. Sophomore Elizabeth Finn placed for extemporaneous speaking and Senior Katie Leonard placed for serious prose.
Other Blair competitors at the tournament were Seniors Josh Turnham and Eric Schaffer and Sophomore Anahita Karimi. Schaffer won second place in serious prose during the November 9 competition.
Several of the finalists from this competition were already qualified to compete in the last tournament in different categories. Fraeman won fifth place in serious poetry and first in humorous interpretation during the November competition while Way won fourth place in children's literature.
The team's record of six out of nine members eligible for the final tournament is impressive considering their steep competition. Sixteen different high schools from throughout Montgomery County compete in each competition and Walter Johnson and Magruder High Schools alone bring about 30 members each.
The Blair team is confident that all team members will be eligible after the last qualifying competition in February. Heath attributes the growing number of club members to the joint enthusiasm of senior captain Danielle Prados, and sophomore captain Fraeman.
Forensics, not to be confused with the study of cadavers, is made up of eleven different categories; children's literature, serious dramatic interpretation, ensemble acting, extemporaneous speaking, humorous interpretation, informative speaking, persuasive oratory, serious interpretation, serious prose interpretation, and readers' theatre.
Most speeches are between five and ten minutes long and, except for readers' theatre and ensemble acting, performed alone. Participants are allowed to perform in only two categories per tournament and only ensemble acting requires memorization.
The forensics team meets alternating Wednesdays and Thursdays at 3:00 in room 264.
Annie Peirce. Annie Peirce is a senior in the Communications Arts Program and the public relations manager for Silver Chips. She is also an opinions editor for Silver Chips Online. She was born on October 25, 1984, in a hospital somewhere in Prince George's County; but doesn't … More »
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