Park Forest, Schools

Southland College Prep Wins IHSA State Speech in Performance in the Round for 2nd Straight Year


Southland College Prep PIR cast members (L to R) Trinity Price, Indya Gettings, Alexis Eiland and Angelica Ferguson
Southland College Prep PIR cast members (L to R) Trinity Price, Indya Gettings, Alexis Eiland and Angelica Ferguson on stage at IHSA Speech Finals in Peoria. Photo: (Eric Lites)

Richton Park, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Southland College Prep Charter High School placed first in the Performance in the Round section of the Illinois High School Association’s State Speech tournament for the second consecutive year, according to a release the school sent. The IHSA State speech finals were held Saturday in Peoria.

A 10-member troupe of actors, musicians and student directors staged “We Were Just Children,” an original Performance in the Round piece written by Southland speech and theater faculty member Lauren Wells, the release said.

“Her production is a very powerful narrative about the recollections of African-American young people who survived the horrendous bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963,” according to the statement.

In 2017, the Southland Performance in the Round team took first place in the State speech tournament with its performance of an African folk tale, “Anansi, the Spider.” The piece was originated by the Ashanti people of present day Ghana and over the years spread by oral tradition throughout Africa, the release said.

Cast members of the first place 2018 Performance in the Round team are: juniors Alexis Eiland, Angelica Ferguson, Keiyonte Ugbesia, Indya Gettings and sophomore Trinity Price. Student directors and musicians are seniors Kaitlyn Barksdale and Kassidy Hayslett, juniors Jayden Posley and Terrance Mayfield and freshman Nyah Ware.

Earlier this winter, the Southland Performance in the Round team placed first in both the Chicago South Suburban Regional and Sectional events leading up to the State tournament, the release said.


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