Neuqua Valley Speech Team

I need to see the following people this week!

(Heads up: If I have a baby, all of these rehearsals will be canceled.)

Archit Dhar (Info – 1 slot)
Alex Shura (Info – 1 slot)
Michaela Molnar (Dec – 1 slot)
Antaraa Anandan (Dec – 1 slot)
Flannery Brewster (Dec – 1 slot)
Sheev Modi (Dec – 1 slot)
Lily Nwanesi (Dec – 1 slot)
Alex Shura (Ext – 2 slots in a row)
Rishi Pandey (Ext – 2 slots in a row)
Varsha Anand (Ext – 2 slots in a row)
Jonathan Kim (Ext – 2 slots in a row)
Andrew Prozorovsky (Ext – 2 slots in a row)

Monday

2:45 – 3:15 [Team meeting]
3:15 – 3:45 Archit Dhar (Info)
3:45 – 4:15
4:15 – 4:45
4:45 – 5:15

Tuesday

2:45 – 3:15 Varsha Anand (Ext)
3:15 – 3:45 Varsha Anand (Ext)
3:45 – 4:15 Jonathan Kim (Ext)
4:15 – 4:45 Jonathan Kim (Ext)

Wednesday

3:00 – 3:30 Alex Shura (Ext)
3:30 – 4:00 Alex Shura (Ext)
4:00 – 4:30 Rishi Pandey (Ext)
4:30 – 5:00 Rishi Pandey (Ext)

Thursday

2:45 – 3:15 Antaraa Anandan (Dec)
3:15 – 3:45
3:45 – 4:15 Andrew Prozorovsky (Ext)
4:15 – 4:45 Andrew Prozorovsky (Ext)

Friday

2:45 – 3:15 Sheev Modi (Dec)
3:15 – 3:45 Alex Shura (Info)
3:45 – 4:15 Michaela Molnar (Dec)
4:15 – 4:45

Hello-Hello-Hello…

…and welcome to the “official” official start to the 2015-16 speech season. As you already know, I will be coaching Radio and Impromptu categories this season.

For this week, I am looking to meet with the entire category to assess what has been happening since the team was selected and arrange scheduling for the season. With that said, I am also the Tuesday afternoon speech coach this season (or at least until January, after Baby Mehta’s arrival and Coach Mehta returns). If Varsity Radio or Impromptu members have Tuesday afternoon conflicts, you will need to rearrange that effective starting the week of Nov. 2 as Tuesday afternoons will be my only coaching day. Under extreme circumstances that may be tweaked, but this is the plan for the season I intend to follow — a Tuesday coaching schedule 99% of the time.

For this week, Radio team will meet at 3:30 in Conference Room D205 on Monday, 10/26; Impromptu team will meet at 3:30 in Conference Room D205 on Tuesday, 10/27. If the two categories would like to switch, that is fine by me.

Surbhi and Hailey — I need to hear and watch the novice members perform a radio broadcast as well as have the Impromptu speakers prep a topic and perform during this week’s rehearsals.

See you next week.

Monday
3:30-4:30-ish – Radio team

Tuesday
3:30-4:30-ish – Impromptu team

Just a reminder that we will have a team meeting after school on Monday, Oct. 26! Even though there is a staff meeting for teachers that afternoon, we will still begin at 2:45p.

Everyone should be there! We have a lot to discuss with a mock tournament and real tournament on the horizon…

Also, most Varsity members will be starting up their coaching sessions next week. Make sure you’re in touch with your coach and signing up for rehearsal times on Sunday morning at 10:00a.

To everyone who missed today’s meeting, here’s the big information you need:

1) Congrats on making the team! We’re so excited! If you realize you can’t handle the commitment, please talk to a coach ASAP.

2) You should all have scripts (acting/reading) or speech topics/outlines (writing) by the end of this week. By the end of next week, you should have a piece blocked (acting/reading) and a draft written (writing).

3) Our next team meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 26.

4) Please sign up for Remind101 in case we have to communicate on the day of an emergency! All you have to do is text “@2314” to the number 81010.

5) Important upcoming dates!

• Sat. Oct. 31, 1:00-4:00p Mock Tournament!
• Tues. Nov. 3, 6:00-7:00p Parent information night!
• Sat. Nov. 7, ALL DAY! First Tournament!

6) Make sure you talk to your category leader about when you’re meeting as a group and when you have your individual rehearsals!

7) If you didn’t give us your forms/check, please get them to Coach Pontarelli ASAP.

The team has been posted here!

Congratulations to everyone who made it and many thanks to the more-than-120 of you who tried out. It’s never easy choosing from so many of you, and if you didn’t make it, we hope you will consider trying out again next year. We unfortunately had to make a lot of difficult cuts!

To those who made it, four things:

1) Our first meeting is Monday afternoon at 2:30p in D219. This meeting is mandatory and will last about an hour — if there are any problems with attending, you *must* contact Mr. Mehta and your Category Leader.

2) We need to make sure you are registered on this website so you can eventually sign up for rehearsal times. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post using your real name and your regular email address. (You don’t need to fill in the website line.) Just leave the comment “Save the drama for the llama!” and I’ll approve you ASAP.

3) You and your parents must read this packet, sign the appropriate forms, and bring the Activity Fee check to the Monday meeting! You will not be allowed to enter the room on Monday without these items.

4) If you are a Category Leader, please make plans to stay after the Monday meeting for a few minutes! Also, Coach Mehta will meet with all members of writing events (Oratory, Info, SOS) right after the meeting.

Thanks for your cooperation and congratulations to everyone!

We’ll post the new roster on this site by Friday night around 8:00 p.m.

Stay tuned, and thank you to everyone who tried out!

***Update***: Because of some confusion, I just want to reiterate that no one needs to have anything memorized for the audition. Old and new members alike may read from a script without a problem.

Returning members of the team, however, should be able to show us they’ve been working on a piece for this season, whether that’s reading from the script of their new Oratory or using the script from a new Dramatic Interpretation piece. Hope that makes sense.

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For anyone interested in learning more about Speech Team and auditioning for it, here are the dates you need to know!

If you’re new to the team, you should come to ONE of the following informational meetings!

2:30p, Monday, September 21, in the Main Campus LMC

2:30p, Tuesday, September 22, in the Birkett Center Forum Room

And all new members can sign up for audition slots right here.

…

Auditions will take place for Varsity members on Wednesday, Sep. 30 (starting at 3:00p) in D219.

Auditions will take place for New members on Wednesday, Sep. 30 (starting at 5:00p) or Thursday, Oct. 1 (starting at 2:45p) in D219.

Everyone will need to read the audition packet and fill out The Form! All of that information can be found here.

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If you’re unable to make it to the audition date, or you have any other questions, please contact Coach Mehta.

(Written by Akshay)

For those of you coming back as a Varsity member, here’s a little note to start preparing for next season:

For Varsity auditions, it is required that everyone comes in with a script prepared beforehand (unless you’re in limited prep, of course). On that note, while this is by no means required, it would be helpful to attend a Speech Camp over the summer.

Here are a few options:

Neuqua’s Summer Camp: This is a week long camp hosted by (you guessed it!) Neuqua. It’s a good opportunity to fine-tune skills, get ahead on a piece for the season, and get some (a lot) of extra help from people who know the categories well.

Bradley Summer Forensics Institute (SFI): This is a more expensive option, but also offers much more specialized training in one category over a two-week period of time. It is located at Bradley University (if you didn’t guess by the name), and many returning team members have experience here. Ask them for more information!

Illinois State University Summer Speech Institute: Most members of our team historically have gone to Bradley only, but we’ve been told that ISU is a good choice for a speech camp as well. The only current member of our team who has been to ISU’s camp is Jonathan K. (in Extemp), and I’m sure he’d be happy to answer any questions that you may have about it. Note that this camp and Bradley’s camp overlap, so you could NOT do both unless you’re some sort of wizard.

…

Once again, you are by no means required to attend any of these camps — we have a lot of team members who do not and still do very well. However, they are an excellent way to hone your skills, get ahead before next season, or even try out a new category to help you figure out what you think you’re best suited in.

For anyone interested in attending the Neuqua Valley Speech Team Summer Camp, all the information you need is below!

The camp is for current team members, incoming freshmen, and anyone else in high school interested in learning more about public speaking.

Important things to note:

• The camp will take place August 3-7 from 8:00-11:00a each day
• We will have separate tracks for new and returning campers so that everyone is working on the skills that will most benefit them
• The cost is $175 and all checks should be made out to Wildcat Speech
• Your participation in this Summer Camp does not automatically guarantee you a spot on the 2015-16 Neuqua Valley Speech Team. It will, however, make you a better public speaker, and that is a skill you’ll be able to use on and off the team!

If you are interested in attending, please fill out this form as soon as possible!

If you have any other questions, let Coach Mehta know.

Can’t wait to see you in the fall!