Congrats to Danielle, Megan, Jeffrey, Jeff, Sarah, and Julia H, all of whom medaled at Huntley yesterday. It was a good showing considering our fractured and fragmented team, and we all should be proud.
Nonetheless, we have lots of work to do.
This week is the week that will define and either make or break our season. That sounds melodramatic, but it is not. Whether we can come together
as a team to pull off a successful tournament and a strong showing at that tournament will put a stamp on us that will determine who we are this year.
So far, we are a group of folks who show up once in a while, when it is convenient, and as a whole (though with clear exceptions) are not dedicated to each other, even if we are dedicated to our own performances and pieces. (Sometimes we are not even dedicated to that.) There have been many factors that have played into this. Some have been outside of our control; some have not.
Here is what I know:
This is called the Forensics
Team. We draw from a variety of places, and before our season begins everyone is involved in other things: plays, sports, etc. We get that; we always have. No one expects forensics to be the number one priority for very many students from the start of the school year (though it's always nice when it is).
However, once that play or that sports season ends,
this is your team. You've got to be here. You've got to realize that your commitment to
this team, to
this program, is every bit as important as your commitment to whatever other extracurricular activity you are involved in. That is the only way we can continue to have the success we have been able to achieve in the past.
Plays or athletics demand that you attend practice five days a week after school. Forensics does not
demand this, but in the brief season from November through December we
expect it. Circumstances may affect your availability. Maybe there are days each week you cannot make. That is all the more reason you need to redouble your effort on the other days. And the reason you come is not only to work on your own pieces; it is to help others with theirs, to watch and give feedback, to provide audiences.
Team has to have meaning or we are just a bunch of random people speaking to walls.
Things will change in January. Expectations will change. Once a week meeting with a coach will be enough for polished pieces by then. But that is not the case now. At this time of the year, when the season is in its fledgling stages,
we need to be there all the time. And also, it is important that you
show up when you are scheduled to meet with a coach. All of us have been frustrated by students who sign up to meet and then fail to come. There have been times that we have stayed
just for you, but you are not here. Take some responsibility. Be where you are supposed to be.
Speaking of which, when the bus is supposed to leave at 6:00, that does not mean 6:20! I know that we generally arrive at a tournament with time to spare, so maybe you do not think there is a rush. But the reason we get there so "early" is that
extemp prep begins 45 minutes before the rest of the tournament. On Saturday, Mark had to
run off the bus to get to his prep on time. And he barely was able to do so. We schedule departure times for a reason. Please consider others and set multiple alarms; otherwise, we will be leaving without you (as we did leave this week without those who were even later than the unreasonably late time we waited for).
This is a lot. And it sounds very negative. I don't mean for it to: I want to look forward to the part of our season that (finally!) does not overlap with plays and sports with enthusiasm and excitement. But I do need you all to know that it is this week that makes or breaks it. When we make the decision about who can come to Bradley, it will not be people who have not shown an interest in being members of a
team. And Bradley is the next big step, and the most fun we'll have all season.
So let's dive in this week, have a great time, get a ton of work done, and enthusiastically and creatively put on our best festival yet. Our leaders have decided that, in our festival of musicals, we are going to be Sweeney Todd, so let's find ways of having fun with that. (Other schools are going to be playing around with
their assigned shows.) And let's get some folks into the experiments events: Original Prose and Poetry, Wretched Interp, and Improvisational Duet Acting.
Signups for both LFHS and Bradley open tomorrow. I need
both filled by Wednesday.
KT
