Doors open to the Bolles Theater at Bonita Vista High (BVH) on April 18 to showcase the Speech and Debate state qualifiers. This event was held to give recognition to the 19 qualifiers who will compete on April 21 to April 23 at Carlsbad High School (CHS). This showcase gives family and friends of the qualifiers an opportunity to see them perform in their various events.

“We always try to highlight our state qualifiers, and give them an opportunity to [perform in front of] an audience [like their] parents. We have a lot of parents who never get to see their children [perform or] attend a speech and debate competition,” Speech and Debate advisor Eric Helle said. “We try to have sort of an open house for the school, to kind of check in and celebrate the work that they’ve done.”

The night began with a presentation by Daniel Patrick “Benny” McElwain, in which he performed the “The Breathtaking Benny’s Breathless Performance.” McElwain gave an informative speech about the history of magic—which used to be performed in nefarious ways to rob and steal—while simultaneously doing a magic routine. McElwain informs the audience that magic is for entertainment and aims to promote joy and happiness from within. This performance allows for the audience to see that Speech and Debate is not limited to strictly public forums but consists of other creative events as well.

“We use the showcase as a recruitment tool to hopefully spark an interest in students who are like ‘Wow, that’s really cool. You know, I’d like to look into becoming a member of this organization.’ It’s our one time to really have something in public at the school,” Helle said.

The next event was a public forum”—a two-person event, debating on a fact-based resolution—performed by Historian and sophomore Morgan Murphy, with sophomore Capri Molina for the affirmative side. Speech and debate Vice President and senior Lannah Garcia and Secretary and senior Vivian Nguyen performed on the negation side.

“It’s been a year long effort. We started the work at the beginning of the school year and it’s led up to this moment. We’ve made tweaks along the way with every single one of these speeches. Starting off from a draft, two revisions, two practices to now a full fledged speech,” Nguyen said.

The event was followed by a duo interpretation by Congress Chair and juniors Alexander Roman and Eliza Noblejas. A duo interpretation is a two person event where a book, movie or published play is down to 10 minutes and acted out together. Roman and Noblejas performed a 10 minute rendition of the play “Hamilton” which captivated the audience with both emotion and humor.

“I think we have definitely improved because when you pick something to do as a speech, you keep it for the whole year and try to focus and improve on it. We have been making a bunch of edits to cut our script and I think we improved and gave a really good performance,” Roman said.

Following the performance was a national extemporaneous performance by Treasurer and junior Tai Cassel Engen. Engen was given the opportunity to pick three topics that he feels most confident with speaking about. Engen chose to give a speech on Oregon’s decriminalization of drugs in which he had to be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

“I think today’s showcase is a great opportunity for our program to show off all the people that we have [and their] great performances and how they managed to qualify [for the] state tournament. It’s a way to celebrate them and to build some hype for the team going into next year,” Engen said.

The next event was a program oral interpretation (POI) by junior Cherise Magtoto. A POI is various scripts, movies and books put together into one cohesive storyline. Magtoto’s inspiration was the collection of essays Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong. She was required to use a prop and she chose a binder. Magoto highlights the feeling of being able to be a part of this showcase for friends and family.

“I think it’s really important to discuss that we didn’t have a showcase last year. Other visual and performing arts, like dance and choir, always have these performances. But for Speech and Debate it’s kind of secluded and we don’t really get to perform in front of our friends and family.” Magtoto said. “I’m really excited to be performing in front of my friends and family because they haven’t really seen all the work that I put into Speech and Debate.”

The last performance of the night was given by President and senior Giselle Geering along with Nguyen. Another due interpretation was performed but this time inspired by the novel The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Geering and Nguyen envisioned it being perfect for interpretation as it has not been made into a movie or play yet.

“I’m kind of speechless honestly. I never thought that I would get to where I am now. But I’m super grateful for the experiences I’ve had on the team and all the friends I’ve made. It was the pinnacle of my senior year,” Nguyen said.

This showcase was the first showcase since before COVID-19 hit in 2020. Speech and Debate members express how it was a semi-emotional night for most seniors as this was their last showcase in their Speech and Debate high school career. Helle emphasizes how the qualifiers should be proud to demonstrate their hard work by having the opportunity to go to state.

“I hope that they walk away with a positive feeling of the way students spend their time doing something that is so beneficial. Students developing public speaking and critical thinking skills will lead to success after high school,” Helle said. “I hope that they walk away with the understanding that they’ve earned this moment in the spotlight, and that they are ready for the state competition.”