District Speech Competition

RVC Large Group Speech Contest

Welcome to Cascade High School and the River Valley Conference Large Group Speech Contest! We look forward to having each of you at CHS. Please read the following information and make sure to double check the schedule for any errors.

Please remember there is a suggested donation of $3.00 for each spectator at contest. Let your students and parents know about this request so they are prepared. All other high school activities charge their spectators and the Iowa High School Speech Association believes we have a quality product that is worth paying to see, so we are following the IHSSA recommendation. . This donation is only for spectators. There will be a donation table at each entrance of the school for donations; spectators may also purchase programs for $1.

Wrestling and Speech Hosting Together: CHS is hosting a wrestling tournament the same day as the River Valley Conference Large Group Speech Contest. We have plenty of space for both activities; however, please let parents and other spectators know to plan extra time to find parking and to make their way through the building.

Entrances: We will have the following entrances:  Activities Entrance: This entrance is located on the south side of our new gymnasium. Please have your bus drivers enter from Hwy 136 and pull up to the doors to drop off students; busses can then exit to the street on the left (to the south) to get back to Hwy 136 and park in one of the assigned areas (see school map). Patron parking is available near this entrance as well.  Main Entrance: If parking in the lot in front of the school or in the lot across from the school (along Hwy 136), there is a sidewalk leading to our main entrance. NO BUSSES should use the circle drive to this entrance – the turn-around is too tight.

Concessions:  We will be serving a varied menu for breakfast and lunch in the Auditorium Lobby. We encourage you to have your students and others eat here.

Props & Parking: Students and props should load/unload in front of the school’s Activities Entrance. SCHOOL BUSSES DO NOT PARK HERE. Buses and school vehicles should park in the lot across from the school along Hwy 136, the circle drive on the NORTH side off 6th Ave., or on 6th Ave. (runs along the north side of the school). If parking on 6th Ave., buses will need to turn around in the housing addition so their nose of the bus is facing east as the city of Cascade does not allow parking on the north side of 6th Ave.

Students are to store their belongings, props, and so on in the auxiliary gymnasium that is directly inside the Activities Entrance doors on the right. This entrance is near two performance centers, so please remind your students to keep the noise level to a minimum. Also, please inform your students to stay off the stage area in the gymnasium. If you have many large props/sets to unload for One Act, please contact me as soon as possible so we can make needed room available. We would like you to ask your students to not bring radios (unless for an event), tents, games, etc. The gymnasium is near our Auditorium and Music Suite, and unnecessary noise may travel.

Due to a wrestling tournament going on at the same time, we will not be allowed to use the new gym or the cafeteria; students will need to use the auxiliary gym (where home base is located) to go between the centers on the south and north sides of the building. The back hallway (where One Act performers are to enter) is accessible through doors on the west side of the Auditorium Lobby) - signs are posted.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Locations: The main headquarters for contest will be in our high school office. Please check in as soon as you arrive. Ratings will be posted in the auxiliary gym. Contest centers will begin at 8:00 a.m. A coaches’/bus drivers’ lounge will be located in the teachers’ lounge near the office. There will be coffee and a TV available.

Reminder: Please remember to help keep the hallways quiet. We all know students and spectators become excited and nervous and sound levels increase. Please remind them to be courteous. Thank you! Enjoy your day!

Awards Ceremony The awards ceremony will be held in the Auditorium shortly after the last center finishes (we are hoping this will be by 12:15 p.m.). Each center will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for each event in its center. Best Actress and Best Actor awards will also be given for One Act at this time.

Critique Sheets Please make sure to bring critique sheets for each of your performing groups. Also, on the One Act critique sheet attach a cast list (ie: Joe Smith – Scrooge, and so on) for the judge to aid in selecting the best actor and best actress.

Weather If bad weather should cause the need for a delay, we will have announcements placed on the local television channels and radio stations, and our Speech website. If you would like a text, please make sure to contact Angie Manternach with your cell number.

Performance Centers The following centers have the performance areas as indicated below. We have included photos for each performance center (and table when applicable and possible) on our website (http://chs.wdbqschools.org/) under Activities/Fine Arts/Speech/Photo Album, so you may see the room before contest day. CENTER 1: ONE ACT PLAY – Ellen Kennedy Fine Arts Center  One Act Stage: We will have 1-2 student technicians and 1 faculty member who will assist your team with making the best use of the facility. Our stage is 40 feet wide and 34 feet deep (lighting, however, covers only to 27-foot depth). The lighting board is programmed with three areas: stage right, stage center, and stage left. Cues may include any combination of those areas. We will also have two spotlights available in the sound booth; if you use, you must provide the students to operate them. Your best choice for sound is to bring a CD (we will have audio available in this format).  Please note we will be using a different entrance system to help alleviate the congestion by the music suite/main entrance to the auditorium. As in the past, we will have separate entrances for performers and audience members. Performers will enter on the west side of the auditorium in the back hallway – not the entrance by the music suite (we will not use that entrance at all this year), and the audience will enter from the backside of the auditorium in the main lobby area. Any audience member who is unable to use stairs or wishes to not use the stairs, may enter using the performers’ entrance. Please inform your students and parents of these changes.  If you would like a map of the dimensions of our stage, please email the contest manager.

CENTER 2: MUSICAL THEATRE – Music Suite  Please note this is a newer performance center; carpeted  Center 2 Warm-up room – Room 151  Please note we will have separate entrances for performers and audience members; performers will enter using the main double-door entrance across from the auditorium main entrance, and the audience will enter from the first door closest to the gym which takes them through instrument storage. To expedite that transition between performances, performers will then exit using the single door closest to the front of the room. Please inform your students and parents of these expectations to help the center run smoothly.

CENTER 3: CHORAL READING and TV NEWS – Library/Room 100  Carpeted  TV NEWS: The State Office directs schools are to bring their own laptop and projection device.  CHORAL READING: Please inform us before Jan. 10th if you will need risers or chairs made available.

CENTER 4: READERS THEATER – Room 107  Regular classroom so be aware of possible height issues; no carpeting.  Please inform us before Jan. 10th if you will need chairs made available.

CENTER 5: ENSEMBLE ACTING – Room 220  Regular classroom; no carpeting  Center 5 Warm-up room – Room 227

CENTER 6: SOLO MIME, GROUP MIME, and RADIO BROADCASTING – Room 221  Regular classroom; no carpeting  RADIO BROADCASTING: You are to bring your own playing device and speaker.

CENTER 7: READERS THEATRE, and SHORT FILM – Room 222  Regular classroom; no carpeting  Please inform us before Jan. 10th if you will need chairs made available.  SHORT FILM: You are to bring your own laptop and projection device. We will have a PC computer and projector in the classroom as a backup; however, there is always the chance our computer will not be compatible with your media format.

CENTER 8: GROUP IMPROVISATION – Room 223  Regular classroom; no carpeting  Center 6 Warm-up room – Room 227

CENTER 9: ENSEMBLE ACTING– Room 228  Regular classroom  Center 7 Warm-up room – Room 227

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at [email protected]. .