The Becker High School speech team will host an open house at the school on Tue., March 24 from 6:00 to 8:15 p.m., according to head coach Dan Olson (not to be confused with BHS social studies teacher Dan Olson).  “I’m the fun Dan Olson,” the speech coach said, tongue firmly in cheek as he watched a rehearsal by one of his duo teams this week.

 

Olson has been at the helm of the program for three years now, he said, and currently has 13 students involved in the various forms of public speaking.  These include interpretative readings, public address, oratory, informational speaking, poetry, duo (acting interpretation), storytelling, humor and extemporaneous speaking.  Students are often involved in more than one discipline, Olson said, which broadens the scope of the team performance and gives students a variety of experience in the realm of public address.

 

BHS will host the District 8AA speech meet on Thursday, March 26, Olson said, with the first rounds of competition set to begin at 4 p.m.  The meet is open to the public, and room locations will be marked for spectators on the day.

 

Olson was involved in speech competition at St. Cloud State University, and taught the subject at South Dakota State University.  He is still involved with the SCSU program, helping out with public speaking competitions there during the academic year in addition to his work at Becker.

 

During the Tuesday rehearsal, students Anna Landsverk and Makayla Graning were working on a piece derived from “Assassins,” the Stephen Sondheim musical that opened off-Broadway in 1990.  A recent change in competition rules allows students to incorporate more music into their speech performance pieces, Olson said.