On May 17-18, the Gabrielino Screamin’ Eagles Speech & Debate team presented at their 26th annual Showcase in the Goodson Theatre from 7 to 9 pm. The two-night event celebrated a year of competitive excellence, featuring sixteen performances from accomplished team members.
Seniors Liliana Simpson-Castenada, Jojo Scannell, Veena Sundaramoorthy, and Kara Mak MC’ed the night. Former Gabrielino Speech Captain Alexandra (Emi) Naito directed and produced the showcase preview video, highlighting the performers’ messages and love for the team.
On Friday, May 17, the team honored their senior class and their families, announcing their college commitments. Following their performance was a surprise Duo Interpretation performance from Roosevelt Elementary Speech students, Abby Nguyen and Theresa Libette
On May 17, the showcase opened with sophomores Jordan Luu & Keilani Lee performing their duo interpretation.
“It was an exhilarating experience. It felt so nerve-wracking waiting in the back, but once we actually got up there, our bodies just took over, and it felt like a breeze,” Luu shared after the performance.
In their second year of Speech and Debate, Luu and Lee competed in the State Championship and have qualified for the National tournament this June.
Mak delivered an Original Oratory (OO). OO is an event where speakers give a ten-minute speech discussing a societal issue and propose a solution to the audience.
“I hope people take away a greater understanding of themselves and the value of their voice. No matter how it sounds, they shouldn’t be afraid to let that voice be heard. Open ears, open minds, open hearts,” Mak stated. Mak was runner-up in OO at the State Championship and will be traveling to Iowa for Nationals.
Mak’s speech was one of many that challenged audiences to reflect deeply on current issues. Senior Gabriella Sanchez delivered an Original Advocacy (OA) on the failures of the American education system.
“It’s nobody’s fault that the education system is as messed up as it is,” Sanchez explained. “It’s the system that needs to be changed.”
Junior Cedric Hua performed an Informative speech, an original speech on any topic of their choosing to educate an audience using the help of visual aids.
“I feel amazing, I couldn’t see anybody, but people were laughing. I’m glad I’ve been able to show everybody all my hard work,” shared Hua with a smile.
Hua was a semifinalist in the Informative event, placing ninth overall.
Junior Kayley Thai performed a Dramatic Interpretation (DI). “I just really want people to take in that we struggle every day and that we are not perfect, we are all human, we all have problems, and that’s ok,” Thai explained. Thai placed eleventh overall and will be performing her speech at the national tournament.
Seniors Aaron Situ and Marco Cisneros-Farber delivered a Debate Showcase discussing the benefits and disadvantages of AI use in education.
Cisneros placed 5th in International Extemp (IX) at the state and is headed to nationals. Situ was the first Lincoln Douglass debate state champion in program history.
“There’s always more to work towards. Thousands of people are vastly smarter than me in the debate community, and my goal moving forward is to just learn from these people,” Situ explained. ”The importance of winning state had more to do with ensuring my coaches’ efforts paid off and the process of grinding from the start of this year.”.
On night two, team captain Veena Sundaramoorthy performed her Program Oral Interpretation (POI), which highlighted the many difficulties women in politics face.
“Politics is hard enough to be in, but then to add on being a woman makes it harder in numerous ways. We’re not getting true representation because we’re pushing away a certain demographic that represents a huge portion of us [American citizens],” Sundaramoothy explained..
“At Showcase, I feel like I’m truly doing what POI is supposed to do–spreading a message–and thinking that my last time I actually get to advocate for something in front of an audience that could actually do something about it is so amazing.” Sundaramoorthy placed 16th at the state championship and will be heading to Iowa to compete in Humor.
Senior Kyle Tang closed the showcase with a Humorous Interpretation (HI).
“I saw a script about bugs, and I was like, wouldn’t it be ironic for a guy who’s afraid of bugs to do a script about bugs?” Tang joked.
