Grinnell High School Speech program brings home Critic's Choice banner for third straight year

      Kevin Hosbond, Grinnell High School Speech instructor, left, is shown with the Group Mime cast and winners of the Critic's Choice banner for their production of "The Spider-Woman" at the Iowa High School Speech Association Large Group All-State Festival on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Ames. Pictured are, from left are: Hosbond, Peyton Stevenson, Cora Miller, Chloe Alger, Kiran Elfenbein, Sarah Ashing. This banner represents the 13th banner won by the Grinnell Speech program and a third year in a row that the speech program has earned the Critic's Choice honor. Submitted photo.

       A group of 36 out of 61 Grinnell High School Large Group Speech Team students traveled to Ames on Saturday, Feb. 17 for the Iowa High School Speech Association Large Group All-State Festival. Of all the attendees, 19 were designated All-State performers and gave their final performances of the season in front of professional critics. And by the end of the day, a group of six of those performers would be Critic’s Choice winners.
       The day began with opening ceremonies at CY Stephens Auditorium where Kiran Elfenbein served as the Banner Page for Grinnell. She carried the Group Mime banner on stage as a representative of last year’s banner-winning mime team “The Heist.” 
    Grinnell’s first performance was the One-Act Play “Reflex Action”, directed by Jennie Flinspach. The ensemble performed to a full house at Fisher Theatre. Upon the conclusion of the performance, guest critic Connor Wang of Broadway applauded the group’s heightened sense of humor and how they brought the script to life because of their commitment to the scene. “You made your school proud,” he told them. The cast and crew includes Forrest Behrens, Diane Boyd, Eli Boyd, Tobias Crandall, Elisabeth Kelley-Chown, Mackenzie Kohl, Reece Madren, Myles Manley, Ellie Mintle, Charlie Nicklas, Natalie Nieuwsma, Owen Shepardson, Cameron Thompson, and Lucy Turley.
      Grinnell’s next performance was the Group Mime “The Spider-Woman,” written and directed by Kevin Hosbond along with the cast. Critic Jane Hawley, a dance artist from Luther College, commented on the group’s hard work and unique innovation. “That is a lot of discipline that you’ve just shown us,” she said of their performance. She added that their work was bordering on the epic work of an evening-length performance like the many she has created in her career. 
       The day concluded with the closing ceremonies taking place at a fully packed CY Stephens Auditorium with overflow audience members watching online and from the Scheman Building. Senior Reece Madren served as the medals page for GHS, carrying out the role of collecting the team’s 27 All-State medals. These included the special recognition medals for the Readers Theatre “Ray and Milo”, directed by Flinspach and featuring Tobias Crandall, Roman Mackenzie, Reece Madren, Charlie Nicklas, Moby Ostby, Anna Schubert, Peyton Stensrud, and Jeslyn Voogd.
        Each critic then gave their choice for the "Critic's Choice" award--represented by a traveling banner that goes on display in each school for the year before returning the next season. Critic Jane Hawley told the packed auditorium that it was “a great day for mime in Iowa.” She soon after announced “The Spider-Woman” was the Critic’s Choice for Group Mime, marking the third year in a row that this honor has been bestowed upon Grinnell.  
        According to the IHSSA, "135 Iowa high schools had groups selected as ‘Outstanding All-Staters’ at the 49th Annual IHSSA All-State Large Group Festival held on Feb. 17 at The Iowa State Center in Ames. Approximately 24,000 students started at the district level from 484 school memberships. Approximately 1,870 students earned the right to be named as Outstanding All State Nominees.
        [The] Critic's Choice is selected by a professional in the specific field as a top performer in the State of Iowa in that performance area for 2024, much like winning a banner at a state championship.
        Of his third Group Mime banner, Hosbond states, “It felt surprising and unreal, but I truly appreciate thcritic’s perspective and the way she honored the hard work of these performers. I’m extremely happy for the students who were part of our previous banner groups and were honored yet again, and I’m grateful we added some new performers to the team who got to share in this journey. I also continue to believe the banner represents the legacies of every GHS mime student that came before. They have all played a role in building this team.”
         This banner represents the 13th Critic's Choice banner received by Grinnell. It will be on display this year in front of the auditorium. The GHS Speech Team extends gratitude to the Ramsey Family Foundation who continues to fulfill their standing promise of purchasing a replica to hang on the auditorium wall for years to come. 

     Grinnell’s One-Act Play “Reflex Action," directed by Jennie Flinspach featured from left, front row: Reece Madren, Diane Boyd, Elisabeth Kelley-Chown, Tobias Crandall. Back row: Cameron Thompson, Owen Shepardson, Eli Boyd, Natalie Nieuwsma, Charlie Nicklas, Ellie Mintle, Myles Manley, Mackenzie Kohl, Forrest Behrens and Lucy Turley. The group performed at the Iowa High School Speech Association All-State Festival on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Ames. Submitted photo.

       Grinnell High School Speech Group Mime category performed "The Spider-Woman" at the Iowa Speech Association All-State Festival, earning Critic's Choice honors. Pictured are, from left: Peyton Stevenson, Sarah Ashing, Kiran Elfenbein, Cora Miller, Forrest Behrens and Chloe Alger. The All-State Festival was held on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Ames. Submitted photo.