For a team that’s been meeting since 2011, the Speech and Acting team has not heard much from each other, even though they meet every week. They will finally have a chance to speak to each other, however, during their winter review showcase today.

Speech competitions are a series of individual events, most of which happen at the same time, so teammates do not get to see each other’s performance. They will finally get a chance to show their skills in this members-only event at the high school.

“The winter show review motivates and gives them an opportunity to share what they’ve accomplished so far,” Shannon Eichwald, Speech and Acting team Head Coach, said. “I think it can be very motivating to see all of the great work that is being done on the team.”

The students’ motivation from this winter showcase will be used for future competitions, Eichwald said.

“Competitions this year have gone really well. We are having a fantastic year,” Eichwald said. “We have seen more students place this year than we’ve seen in any past year.”

These accomplishments come from a lot of team and individual practice and preparation, Morgan Kaplan, a senior and leader who competes in the declamation and prose category, said.

“Members are supposed to meet with a leader or coach at least once to work over their piece and we get together and work on our pieces during meetings on Monday,” Kaplan said. “We like to get together as much as possible to work on our pieces to keep improving.”

Kaplan says she has seen improvement in her speaking skills and her personality and confidence has also changed because of this club.

“This club has had such a big impact on my everyday life. I used to be really quiet at the beginning of freshman year and I am the total opposite now,” Kaplan said. “I’m always the one to speak up in class and in a lot of everyday situations. This club helps you with speaking for presentations and you gain more confidence to talk to teachers and it has really helped me so much overall.”

Kaplan is one of many students on the team who has improved in her confidence with everyday situation as well as specific skills within her respective categories. The progression of team members is visible, regardless of their age or years of experience with the club, Eichwald said.

“I love seeing the growth. I love seeing students who have never been to a speech tournament. I love seeing the newbies go from ‘I have no idea what speech is’ to all of the sudden adapting mannerisms of speech and knowing how to perform and do a monologue,” Eichwald said. “For my returning members, I think they really get the admiration from our new members and get some of the recognition they deserve for the multiple years in this program. You can really tell the growth over the years.”