December’s cold weather brings a spark of excitement in Brauer Auditorium in a storied tradition: the annual Prize Speaking competition. Sponsored by the English Department, this long-standing tradition involves student orators performing well-rehearsed and memorized short monologues from plays or literary pieces. The performances are one-and-a-half to two minutes long. It’s just the student, the stage, their selected work, and the audience. The 2025 competition featured four students who selected four distinctive works to share in this 109th rendition.
Cade Miller ’26 took the stage first, sharing an excerpt from The Alchemist, a novel by Paulo Coelho. The story features an Andalusian shepherd named Santiago, and Miller’s excerpt was of Santiago talking to the sun and the wind about transforming himself one last time. “Well, why did you say that I don’t know about love?” he began.
Hayden Ludwig ’26 then shared an excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat, a classic horror story that details the narrator’s descent into madness and violence. She gazed out upon the audience and spoke. “On the fourth day of the assassination, the police came.”
James Snyder ’26 chose a scene from the iconic 1989 movie Dead Poet’s Society. Teacher John Keating takes his students to a wall of photographs of former students who have become notable alumni, beseeching them to realize that one must live in the moment. “Because we’re only going to experience a limited number of springs, summers, and falls,” he began.
Finally, Ava Casillas ’26 selected a scene from A Scanner Darkly, a novel by Philip K. Dick published in 1977 that tells the story of identity and deception in a near-future dystopia under constant surveillance. “It’s my house!” she cried. “Nobody can drive me out!”
After the performances, our judges adjourned to the Hearth Room to discuss their observations. JK-12 English Department Chair Lynn Mittler, JK-12 Arts Department Chair Bonnie Carpenter, Upper School Theater Teacher Matt Kerns, Upper School History Teacher Andy Cox, and Upper School Science Teacher Brian Coco compared their notes and discussed the strengths of each performance. They considered stage presence, body languages, facial expressions, pace, and articulation. They talked about maintaining good spatial relationships, the use of non-verbal cues, and they noted intentional decision with movement to try to connect with meaning. Did the orator draw in their audience with the timing of their words? Was there a balance of fluctuation and body language? After careful consideration, they selected a winner.
Nicole Trueman-Shaw, Director of Upper School Student Leadership, took the stage and announced the winner: Ava Casillas will have her name inscribed on the Dartmouth Cup for Excellence in Public Speaking as our 2025 Prize Speaking Competition winner!
Bravo to all of our student orators, and congratulations to Ava for her outstanding performance!