Corrections were made to this story on [4/04/2024]. 

In the story, Caitlin’s name was written as “Caitlin Velacrusis”. Her name is “Caitlin Villacrusis”. This has been rewritten with the correct name. 

A hyphen and capitalization was not put in the caption for the title “Lotus Eaters” The hyphen and capitalization has been added.

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Students took over the Brandt Black Box Theater. Yellow light shone down on each performer. Artwork from the Seeds in the Black Earth literary and arts magazine accompanied the spoken pieces. When communications freshman Valentina Saenz-Daza stepped up to recite “Twisted,” a Program Oral Interpretation about curly hair, the projector showed a photo of a little girl with curly red hair. 

The annual Figure of Speech showcase took place March 7 after school. It was a collaboration between speech and debate and creative writing students to present their work.

“I feel like this show is going to give the communications majors a chance to show our art (and) demonstrate what we’ve been working on in class (and) after school the hours we put in,” communications sophomore Bianca Angelino said. 

Communications teachers Angela Anyzeski and Brittany Rigdon have been preparing for the performance since February. They monitored auditions and deliberated with the Seeds editors to coordinate which artwork would be displayed while each speaker presented. 

“We confer about who we think has the most powerful pieces that represent our department in the show.” Ms. Rigdon said. “Then we’re also thinking (about) which pieces go together (with the spoken pieces).” 

Communications senior Emily Singer’s Dramatic Interpretation “Girls and Boys” dealt with family homicide, where she acted as a mother who was dealing with the death of her two children.

“I think Figure of Speech is such a unique opportunity because we’re in the black box,” Singer said. “It’s so intimate. You’re just directly interacting with the audience, and I don’t think we get a lot of opportunities to do that.” 

The show also provided an opportunity for students to come together and write pieces. Angelino and communications sophomore Karmiah Smith, junior Ayan Payne, and communications freshman Trisha Babji Rao performed a slam poem titled “Bleeding Melanin” about how the kidnapping of people of color is ignored in the media. 

“I want the audience to take away that there are a lot of injustices and inconsistencies in our country,” Payne said. “There needs to be a change, and if not, students like us are going to be spreading awareness and calling it out until there is.” 

This event allowed the audience to see how students view the world through the pieces that they performed.

“It’s always so unexpected and inspiring to see how young people perceive the world and their deep thoughts,” parent Maya Kirby said. “It’s just an amazing thing to witness, and it’s something that we don’t always think about.”