LEWISTON – Top trophy winners from the Lewiston High School Speech Team have been invited to share their talents with the public at an Oral Interpretation Showcase at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, in Callahan Hall, Lewiston Public Library.

Presenting a program that ranges from dramatic and humorous interpretation to oratorical declamation will be seniors Rachel Spilecki, Ian Smedley and Jessica Fortin, and freshmen Maame Bonsu, Rebecca Spilecki and Lindsey Gaumont.

All of the students – as well as teammates Ashley McWhorter and Cassie Jensen, both seniors – placed either first or second in their categories at recent state tournaments, qualifying them to represent Maine at the national level.

“This is an ideal opportunity for them to fine-tune their competition pieces before they head into the nationals,” said LHS Speech Team Coach John Blanchette, who is proud of his team’s accomplishments this year. “To my knowledge, this is the largest complete team ever to qualify from Maine,” he said.

Blanchette shared some statistics on the connection between involvement in forensics and academic success. A student who participates on his or her high school’s speech or debate team has a 28 to 33 percent better chance of getting into his/her first-choice college, he said.

“Speech and debate involvement clearly offers great benefits academically,” said Blanchette, “but the best reason to do it is because it’s fun.” Many of the speech categories draw on participants’ acting skills, he explained, allowing them to play roles that they might otherwise never have a chance to do.

A case in point with this year’s team is Rachel Spilecki, whose competition piece is “The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet,” a humorous take-off on the classic Shakespearean tragedy, which has Spilecki personifying not only Juliet – with a distinct Valley-Girl interpretation – but also Romeo and an assortment of other colorfully updated cast members.

Rachel will head off to Houston between May 24 and 28 to compete at the Catholic Forensic League National Tournament with her sister, Rebecca, and four LHS teammates: Jessica Fortin, Maame Bonsu, Lindsey Gaumont and Ashley McWhorter.

For the National Forensic League Nationals in Wichita, Kan., June 16 to 23, Rachel and Ashley will be joined by Ian Smedley and Cassie Jensen.

While admission is free to Tuesday’s speech team showcase at the LPL, there will be an opportunity for those who desire to contribute to the team’s travel fund. The library is located at 200 Lisbon St., corner of Pine Street, downtown Lewiston. More information is available by calling 784-0135, ext. 210.