Haines sophomore Sheeshao “Max” White got the jitters as she prepared to deliver the final performance of last weekend’s Drama, Debate and Forensics meet.
“I was scared,” she said.
White’s piece, a humorous interpretation of “A Journey Into My Colon and Yours” by humor writer Dave Berry, earned her the Command Performance award for the meet – a recognition of White’s talent and hard work.
Her final performance was in front of more than 110 people.
Coach Amanda Randles talked about White’s fear of forgetting lines or that people wouldn’t laugh by saying, “From where I was standing, people were busting up. It was kind of like a (public service announcement).”
Natalie Helms, a volunteer judge, said, “It was hilarious.”
Continuing the strong comedic showing for Haines was sophomore Tiaya Ruggirello, who placed second in the humorous interpretation category for her nine-minute adaptation of Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant.”
Ruggirello said she chose the piece “because it’s an anti-war thing and that’s probably important… because peace is a good thing. It wasn’t a ‘statement’ necessarily, but more of a general message to be peaceful.”
Ruggirello, who took home second place at last year’s DDF state meet, hopes to continue working on the piece as she pursues a state title this year.
The strong showing by White and Ruggirello came as no surprise to Randles.
“Both of them are really talented, but what separates them is their motivation and preparation. We have a lot of talent on this team, and a lot of people might think someone has a ‘knack’ for acting or other DDF events. But the reality is this is a skill and takes practice and dedication like anything else, and they both demonstrate that,” she said.
Additional participants for this year’s Haines DDF team were seniors Rachel Haas (team captain) and Mori Hays, sophomore Lili Benassi, and freshmen Brandt Alten-Huber, Dylan Chapell, Kayliegh Fisher, Nathan Haas and Rebecca Wheeler.
In the debate competition, this meet’s resolution topic tasked students with debating the merits of decreasing PFD funding in order to balance the state budget. The winning team was Audrey Kistler and Madyson Traudt of Ketchikan.
“This year’s event could not have happened without the dedicated help and assistance from the community of Haines.” Randles said. “We had nearly 80 volunteer judges, not including the volunteers who provided food, ran bake sales, housed kids from other towns, etc. It was a great undertaking and we are so thankful to those who helped make this meet a success.”
The team’s next DDF meet will be in Ketchikan on December 9-10.