SKOWHEGAN -- They are peerless, these practitioners of the
spoken word. And they show no sign of slowing down.
Skowhegan garnered 46 points in the competition, more than
double that of second-place
"They've pretty much swept all the competitions this
year," said Lisherness, who has coached the team
for 35 years. "They've been amazingly consistent."
Lisherness, who will retire in the spring following 35 years as an English and
speech teacher, said that Skowhegan keeps feeding on past successes.
"This is performing arts, and that's a
strength here," he said.
Seniors Jake Withee, Emma Brown,
Eric Axelman, Samantha Paradis and Emily Xie along with sophomore Samantha Allen won individual
championships. Lisherness noted that some read poetry
or short stories while others read together, or as an ensemble.
"It's oral interpretation," he said. "Some of
it was original writing."
Withee was among those. He and an MDI student were the only two in the
competition to win two individual titles.
His subject: snails.
"It was humor," Lisherness
said. "It was a parody."
Withee, who also won a state title last year, said following jazz band
practice Tuesday that he enjoys doing original oratory. Withee
wrote about snails, he said, because people focus on too many irrelevant things
in the world when there are real problems that should be addressed.
"I wanted to think of the most mundane subject in the
world," Withee said. "The judges liked my
language, asides, parenthetical humor and scientific fact."
Sheer numbers help Skowhegan keep on winning team championships,
Withee said. Lisherness and
his speech students encourage incoming freshmen to join.
"Keeping it fun is what helps," he said. "It
encourages people to practice. After rehearsals, we break off into groups and
critique each other."
Withee plays also saxophone for the school jazz band, which is gearing up for
regional and state competition of its own.
He plans to major in biology at St. Michael's College in
Winooski, Vt.