Vale shares experiences on drama team

James Vale, a junior at Bigfork High School, moved to the area this year from New Jersey. In the fall he made big contributions on the Vikings football team, and now he is making his mark on the speech, debate and drama team.

This is Vale's first year competing in the activity, but he was active in his previous school's drama class and school plays.

"I'd always liked acting back home, so when I came out here I thought I'd give it a try," Vale said.

This year he has competed in Humorous Solo, Serious Solo, Humorous Duo and Serious Duo. Last weekend, he and his partners took second in Humorous Duo and Serious Duo at the Bigfork Invitational.

He performed his Serious Duo piece with freshman Amber McDaniel.

His Humorous Duo piece with partner Jacob Sefcak created buzz throughout the tournament and helped fill the audience during the final round of the event. It was only the duos second time competing together. Their piece, a comical look back at American History, which includes songs set to Vale's guitar playing, earned them third place in the previous week's tournament in Columbia Falls.

He answered the following questions for the Eagle to help readers gain a better understanding of what it is like to be a part of BHS' speech, debate and drama team.

Where is your Hum Duo piece from and why did you choose it?

Our piece is from the Reduced Shakespeare Company, who makes some hilarious plays. It's intended for three people to perform so it translated easily into a two person performance, and it's amazingly hilarious. We chose the jokes that best work, but there's so much more in the original.

What other events do you do and why do you enjoy them?

I've also done Humorous Solo and Serious Solo. I liked being alone on stage for Humorous Solo. It was fun to just go out there, and also I was a bazillion characters so it was fun to play with that. My Serious Solo was fun because I haven't done too much serious acting, I always get funny characters and comedy roles, so it was fun to change that up for a bit.

What is the toughest part about preparing a piece?

The toughest part I find in preparing a piece is cutting it down to 12 minutes. We have a full-length play and are only using a fraction of the script. To have a storyline that makes sense, has smooth transitions and is still funny, it takes a lot of tedious work.

What goes through your head before you perform at a meet?

Before I perform, I'm generally going over my first line. Usually one line leads to the next so if I can get that first line, and just listen to what's being said the whole piece becomes a conversation rather than reciting memorized lines.

Why do you like being a part of drama?

I enjoy being someone else for those minutes of a performance. There's a lot of adrenaline involved before and after a performance, but during one I feel transported to a different world, and when you've prepared properly you don't think about lines and blocking, you just move and talk. It's a very natural and organic feeling.

What do you think the most misunderstood thing is about speech, debate and drama?

I think people tend not to see how much fun it Is. The competition, especially for drama, is very friendly. There's plenty of jokes between teams. There's competition, but it's a bunch of nice, outgoing people who are there mainly to have fun. Winning is important, but having fun is a must.

What is the greatest challenge you face going into divisionals?

I think the biggest challenge is making a funny piece hilarious.

What are you working on going into divisionals with your Humorous Duo piece?

At this point it's polishing the piece and the devil is in the details of the details. We have a lot of work to do, but I'm confident we will rise to the task.

What's your favorite accomplishment from the season so far?

My favorite moment in speech was getting second in Serious Duo. That was just a big surprise, and a lot of fun.

If people watched a speech, debate and drama meet that had never been to one before, what do you think would surprise them the most?

I think people would be surprised how much work is involved. These are all-day events that really test endurance, and also the level of talent. There are some amazing kids at these meets, and a lot of talent.

What is different about speech, debate and drama than other activities that you participate in (i.e.. Teams, theater groups, etc.)?

Speech, debate and drama is a lot more mentally challenging. At a certain point you just don't want to do the piece a fourth time, but you've got to bring the same energy. It's knowing that you're going to be sick and tired of your piece by the end of the day, plus you see everyone else's piece several time throughout the meet and the season. It's very monotonous, and you have to make each show seem unique, special and new. It's a different type of challenge than what I'm used to, but it's a lot of fun.