Keota High School is the site of one of the southeast District Large Group Speech Contests on Saturday, January 20. More than two dozen schools will be in attendance with teams performing for a trip to the state contest. 

Keota sophomore and speech team member, Gavin Sieren, tells KCII that the recent weather affected rehearsal time, but he and the team are still prepared heading into Saturday. “We had to get a few quick practices in to try to catch up and we have done a very good job of getting caught up and getting everything down correctly, so I feel more confident going into it than before the weather.”

Performances begin at 8 a.m. Students will be participating in a variety of events throughout the school including One Act Play, Choral Reading, Ensemble Acting, Radio Broadcasting, TV Newscasting, Short Film, Readers Theatre, Musical Theatre, Mime, and Improv. 

Among the area schools competing are Columbus, Fairfield, Louisa-Muscatine, Mid-Prairie, Mt. Pleasant, Sigourney, WACO, Washington, and Winfield-Mt. Union. Any group that receives a Division 1 rating for their performance will advance to the state contest on Saturday, February 3. 

Anyone planning to attend the District Large Group Speech Contest at Keota High School is encouraged, but not required to pay a three dollar admittance fee. Concessions will be available in the cafeteria. For more information, click here.