After placing fourth in state championships, the Moorpark College Forensics team presented a variety of student-composed speeches at “Night Before Nationals” on March 27 and March 28.

The annual showcase reunited the community with esteemed forensics coaches and students ahead of the national Phi Rho Pi tournament on April 10-15.

Moorpark College Department Chair of Communication Studies Rolland Petrello is the director of the college’s forensics team and is one of five coaches guiding students through the speech and debate program this year. Petrello spoke about the college’s accomplished record within the sphere of forensics.

“We are the best-kept secret at Moorpark College,” Petrello said. “Moorpark College has the number one record of any community college in the country over the last 50 years. Over that 50-year period, we’ve won 11 national titles as a team and we’ve been in the top four for speech and debate 42 out of those 50 years.”

Petrello went on to highlight the team’s recruitment strategy for the spring 2023 competitive season.

“Most of the people that you will see performing tonight are either in their first year or, in some cases, first semester on the team,” Petrello explained. “Unlike sports, we don’t go to local high schools and middle schools for recruiting; we find people in our classrooms and our hallways.”

The “Night Before Nationals” production featured seven student-written speeches, ranging from public addresses to limited preparation and oral interpretation speeches.

Camryn Demaret, a first-year team member, wrote and delivered a persuasive public address on the dangerous nature of religious arbitration agreements. Demaret explained the process behind developing her speech topic and the support she received from her coaches.

“When deciding my topic, I knew I was interested in the intersection of law and religion, as well as issues affecting women,” Demaret shared. “My coach suggested some topics to look into that related to that interest and upon researching religious arbitration, I felt compelled to speak about it.”

Demaret added that regularly delivering persuasive speeches as a member of the forensics team is beneficial to her future career endeavors.

“I plan to go to law school and become a lawyer, so humanizing complex legal topics like religious arbitration is great practice, especially when trying to persuade an audience to take action,” Demaret said. “It really helps with confidence, as you really learn how to command a room and take up space.”

Later in the evening, forensics coach Neal Stewart called on the audience to participate in the evening’s performances by having them provide prompts for the two limited preparation categories featured in the showcase – impromptu and extemporaneous.

The crowd offered up famous quotations for an impromptu speech performed by Frances Jereb and trending news topics for an extemporaneous speech presented by Will Tipton.

Following these suggestions, Jereb, a first-year forensics student and state forensics champion, prepared a speech live on stage in under two minutes. Then, using only a notecard for guidance, Jereb explored the phrase “to be or not to be” by William Shakespeare in speech that lasted several minutes.

“Being is often defined by society’s expectations of us rather than our expectations of ourselves,” Frances said. “By taking a look at why it’s so hard to break out of these expectations, and examining how creative thinking can allow us to be ourselves, we can come to the conclusion that we don’t have to be stuck in the box of being.”

Students also presented dramatic oral interpretation speeches, which are performances that bridge the gap between traditional public speaking and acting. While delivering select excerpts from novels or plays, speakers utilize a black book to represent the author’s original work.

As a returning team member, second-year student Jade Morrisey performed a powerful prose interpretation of the novel “Story of My Life” by Jade McInerney. Before Morrisey delivered her speech, forensics coach August Benassi explained the strict guidelines oral interpreters must follow while performing.

“Oral interpreters don’t really get the benefit of costumes or makeup or sets. In fact, they’re only allowed a limited amount of movement,” Benassi explained. “What the performer is ultimately left with is their face, their body and their voice to craft the performance.”

Morrisey was a gold and silver medalist at last year’s national forensics tournament which took place in St. Louis, Missouri. This week, Morrissey and her teammates are looking to score big once again at the Phi Rho Pi National Forensics Championships in Annandele, Virginia.

For more information on Moorpark College’s forensics program, click here.