Getting on the bus at 5 a.m. Saturday, five groups from Mount Vernon traveled to Ames to participate in the Iowa Large Group Speech All-State Festival.
The day started with Mount Vernon’s TV news group Wrong News. The members of this group were Claire Nydegger, Will Errington, Jayce Pendergrass, and Nathan Conrad. Errington, the lead news anchor, mostly reported on the side effects of working from home. Other members reported on a python eating a cat, and the Pope blessing gay marriages.
Shortly after, the Radio News group KDKA News performed, with their representative Atticus Rood. Other members included Sully Bowie Smith and Dash Yamanishi. For pre-recorded events, only one member needs to attend.
Later in the day, the Ensemble Acting group We’re All Chickens in the End performed. Despite missing a member who got sick the night before, the group performed beautifully. The members included Grant Tucker, Cait OConner, Skye Rodman, Adam Zhems, and Kevin Zhems. Tucker and the Zhem brothers were all first-time All-Staters, while O’Conner and Rodman were returning. Tucker said that because one student was absent, the most stressful part of the day was ¨shifting the piece to fit four people instead of five.” Tucker, a first-time All-Stater, explained the actual performance wasn’t stressful, and his favorite part of being in this ensemble group was working with his friends.
The final group to perform in the day was the Improv Group Female Fighters. The members included Natalie Thuerauf, Penelope Vig, and Bella Hasley. Both Thuerauf and Vig are returning Improv All-Staters, while Hasley was new to the group this year. Thuerauf explained that her favorite thing about her group is the chemistry the three of them have, and she wouldn’t change it for the world. Thueraf stated that ¨Performing at All-State is nerve-wracking, but not as bad as you might think. It’s super cool to know that you’re one of the best 20 in the state in your category.” The group’s prompt was ¨getting something unstuck,¨ and they played chefs at a bakery, where they were baking a cake that got destroyed, so they tried fixing it with super glue.
The final group to attend All-State was the One Act Play Antigone. These members included Charlie Krob, Cyrus Johnson, Emmett Jordan, Anna Vavricek, Colby Turley, Emara Perrault, Claire Jensen, Carrie Bybee, Emma Hoffman, Norah Weber, Ranger Hanna, and Ashlynn Carter Shook.
