Students Perform in Historic Merrill Prize Assembly
Exonians filed into the Assembly Hall to watch students perform in the 120th Merrill Prize Assembly on Tuesday. The students performed a variety of artistic forms, from slam poetry to skits. Seniors Ian Johnson and Billy O’Handley opened the assembly with a short skit where O’Handley was fooled out of his money. The following performers recited poems and skits that dealt with world affairs, identity and love.
The Merrill Speaking Contest is Exeter’s oldest running competition; the first competition took place in June 1897. The Prize is funded by and named after Dr. Abner Merrill, a distinguished alumnus of the class of 1938 who gifted to Exeter the Merrill buildings, which include the administrative offices, the additional recitation hall and the Merrill business block on Water Street. He also endowed the Harlan Page Amen Professorship with $50,000.
The original goal of the Merrill Speaking Competition was to motivate young men to participate in the art of public speaking and composition. This year, winners of the competition will receive cash prizes and a lunch at the Principal’s house.
Before performing at assembly, students first had to pass a round of auditions either in the monologue or duologue category. This year, the auditions took place in Fisher Theater, with Chair of the Theater and Dance Department Robert Richards, Theater Instructor Sarah Ream, Theater Designer and Technical Director D. Cary Wendell and Theater Teaching Intern Luke N. Ahlemann judging the participants.
According to Wendell, the instructors had lots of experience in judging the competition. “As colleagues who spend all our time in theater, we’ve established a few guidelines over the nearly two decades we’ve worked together, that reflect our values and priorities,” he explained.
However, each judge brought slightly different perspectives when it came to critiquing the contestants.
For Wendell, the delivery of the performers was especially important, asking, “Are they engaged with the material? Are they vocally and physically expressive? Have they analyzed the script and applied their understanding in ways that enhance the piece?”
This year, students who performed at the assembly included preps Rose Chen and Sofia Etlin, lower Ayush Noori, uppers Eugene Hu and Anna Clark and seniors Brian Zhao, Billy O’Handley and Ian Johnson. Each of the students had different reasons for partaking in the assembly.
Some performers saw the competition as an opportunity to express their interest for drama and performing. “I do a lot of Dramat. I’ve been into theater since the seventh grade. Monologues are a big part of any major play or production, and there’s also an element of public speaking,” Hu said. In addition, Hu said the contest was important opportunity to share something he truly cared for, in this case, the “very heartfelt and very passionate” message of the poem What Kind of Asian Are You? that he recited at this year’s assembly.
Noori shared a similar sentiment, saying, “I’m super passionate about poetry, so I think this is a wonderful opportunity.” For him, it was important to “express [worldly] ideas and be passionate about them.” For him, the prize was an opportunity to work on that skill.
O’Handley’s interest in theatre was also what led him to perform. “I do it for the love of theatre. Every time I have the opportunity for theatre, I take it,” he said.
Other students saw the competition as an opportunity to speak about important current issues. Etlin chose recited William Faulkner’s banquet speech after he won the Nobel Prize. According to Etlin, the speech’s connection to present day tensions and fears was what made it so powerful. “It was written in the 1950s, after World War II, about the fear of being blown up. I think it is still very relevant to this day,” she explained.
Senior Elly Lee, who recited the poem “Shrinking Woman” by Lily Myers at last year’s assembly and was awarded second place, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the Merrill Speaking Prize. “It prepared me in public speaking, since the Assembly Hall is really scary to speak in front of,” she said. “I’d encourage a lot more people to just show up to the audition, because you never know what could get chosen.”