The Mid-Prairie Large Group Speech Team recently competed at the district competition at Wapello High School, and seven groups are headed to state after receiving I ratings. Speech Coach Dave Helmuth said a total of 21 Mid-Prairie students qualified in three categories. They will be sending three group improvisation teams, three ensemble acting teams, and their one act play to the state competition at Cedar Rapids Washington High School on February 4th.

Helmuth is excited to send so many kids to state, and looks forward to the learning experience it can provide. He says, “It’s a lot bigger competition, so it’s going to be a lot higher stakes with All-State as an option. So basically we want to fine-tune everything, and bring a little extra something to each of our pieces so that we can hopefully move forward. It’s very exciting to see state-level speeches too, because it gives our kids a chance to see what their competition is and some things to strive for for the future as well.” Ahead of the competition, Helmuth says his main task is to continue to give the students the confidence to give it their all. At state competition, each event will have three judges instead of one, who will give a rating I-IV. If a group receives two I ratings and two recommendations, they can make it to the All-State competition on February 25th at Iowa State University.