Two groups from the Washington High School speech team are preparing to perform on the state’s big stage Saturday (2/16). Washington’s Musical Theatre Group ‘Something Rotten’ and the two-person team of Riordan Lujano and Karmen Knipfer in Improvisation not only received I ratings at the state contest but were also selected to perform at the All-State Festival in Ames. The ‘Something Rotten’ group includes Lujano, Logan Hanson, Stephanie Plants, Sarah Newman, and Abigail Schnicker.

Hanson says the speech ensembles are student-led with coach oversight, “They make it a point for the students to make a lot of the decisions, and the coaches come in for commentary and suggestions, because they say it allows the students to grow more creatively. And I say that’s a valid point.” Newman further explains what decisions the students made for their 10-minute musical theatre act, “We came up with how we would divide the parts, and our choreography, and the cuts we made in the music pretty much ourselves.”

Washington’s group improvisation will perform at Iowa State University at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and ‘Something Rotten’ will take the stage at 11:35 a.m.