After months of memorization, preparation, and rehearsal, the freshman duo of Angelina Vu and Addison Peck, along with sophomore Lara Funnell, placed in the state forensics competition.

Forensics assistant coach Michelle Huettl was glad to help guide the team through a very difficult and unusual year.

“At West, forensics is about not only growing skills of public speaking and performance, but also developing camaraderie as a group, building one another up and supporting the development of your teammates,” she said.

Peck and Vu took third place for their performance, “Birthday Candles,” in the category of Duo Interpretation, reading literary texts aloud by relying on vocal delivery and facial expression.

“‘Birthday Candles’ really shows the unbreakable bond between sisters,” Vu said. “Even death doesn’t change their love for each other.”

The thought-provoking piece takes the audience on an emotional journey as they follow the narrative of twin sisters, Sam, played by Vu, and Sawyer, played by Peck. The twins are celebrating their 23rd birthday which inspires the girls to reflect back on their lives, highlighting special moments that they have shared.

“You get a good sense of the connection between the two sisters before it is revealed that Sam is alone,” Peck said. “Sawyer died in a car crash four years ago. The piece ends with Sawyer reminding Sam that she would never really leave her, but she needs to move on with her life.”

Though the ending may be bleak, it gives light to a very important lesson.

“The most important message that the piece conveyed was that not even death can break the bond and love between two sisters,” Peck said. “Sam still feels connected to Sawyer, even if she isn’t really there anymore.”

Being a part of this group was challenging for Peck on many levels, yet it proved to be very rewarding.

“Forensics definitely improved my acting skills, especially with the variety in this piece,” she said. “There are heartfelt moments, as well as many that are meant to make the audience laugh. I definitely learned a thing or two about how to best portray certain things to make people feel various emotions. In more general terms, however, it definitely boosted my confidence in my skills and in myself.”

With the duo interpretation being one of the toughest categories in forensics, the two had to take on play-acting, but with an offstage focus, and lack of physical interaction. Forensics director Scott Thurwatcher had nothing but admiration and respect for these young standouts.

“The national competition only has six categories, and one of them is duo so it's huge, and the fact that a freshmen duo took third at state is an incredible deal,” he said.

Because of COVID restrictions, the performances had to be recorded this year, which came with unique challenges.

“On the day that we recorded our piece for state, everything that could have gone wrong with our technology went wrong, so we ended up staying at school until 7:30,” Vu said. “It was worth it though because we took third!”

Among the state placers was Funnell, who competed in the storytelling category, placing seventh overall.

“Some of the strengths I had in this category were expressing myself through movement and emotion, and my weaknesses were remembering the long lines and parts of the story that had a tendency to slip my mind,” she said. “I did have to run them a couple of times but I believe that my weaknesses can become my strengths and I have become better over time.”

The challenge for Funnell was making a classic piece of literature her own through interpretation and engagement.

“You work hard through the seasons to perfect and make your piece good; it all pays off when you're standing on stage at a tournament, which isn't as scary as it seems,” she said. “A story like Charlotte's Web showed that no matter how small, or how insignificant, you can make a difference.”

Funnell spent many hours outside of school each day to practice and perfect her piece, and no matter how many times she ran through the story, there was always one line that would never fail to make her smile.

“‘Then Charlotte wrote her final word, Humble. So when the judges walked around they saw the web..and then looked down at the pig...and then up at the web...and then down at the pig...Humble as can be,’” Lara said. “And finally, they made their decision... I use the judge’s voice at this part...‘Why this is certainly some pig! He is the most terrific! Mooosssst Radiant! and the most humble pig I have ever judged! He wins first prize!’"

Armed with all the lessons she has learned participating in forensics, Vu prepares for the national competition with her duo in complete confidence.

“Forensics has taught me a lot about hard work and has helped me grow so much as an actor,” said Vu. “The best part about forensics is bringing a story to life and I plan on participating throughout high school with the hope to make it to nationals every year.”

Thurwatcher was touched to lead his students to success.

“The reason I wanted to do what I do is because of my high school speech and drama teacher, Mr. [Tom] Lynch, who taught here at West,” he said. “It was my dream to have the opportunity to impact people like he did, and have success; he had monster-huge teams. To experience success and carry the flag was huge, and I can't even describe it.”

By A. Eaton, T. Funnel, and E. Nessman

Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue VII

April 30th, 2021

State forensics competition yields national qualifiers with story to tell