Juniors Abigail S. and Emma D. both earned top six finishes Tuesday at the Interscholastic Competition in English, or ICE, at SUNY Geneseo.
An annual competition sponsored by Genesee Valley BOCES, ICE tests three-member teams in three distinct areas of English: Literary analysis, creative writing and dramatic presentation.
Abigail took fourth place for Avon in the dramatic presentation category while Emma took sixth in creative writing.
For her dramatic presentation, Abigail chose Jenny’s monologue from “Better Version of Jenny,” by Joseph Arnone. In the monologue, Jenny reacts to seeing a happy couple at a bus stop and grapples with her own inability to find inner happiness.
In the creative writing category, students were scored on two writing prompts.
The first, which students completed back in November, was capped at 500 words and required competitors to write an essay or story on one of five topics: “The loss,” “sibling rivalry,” “banquet of life,” “my magic carpet,” or “hunting in a trash pile.”
For the second prompt, competitors were given two hours and 100 words the day of the competition to write a “concise reaction” to the following quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
For the literary analysis portion of the competition, students completed a 50- to 75-question exam that tasked them with analyzing:
A short video clip
Two or three essay or short stories that are classics of the English literary canon
Two or three poems - likewise considered classics of English
A piece of flash fiction
In all, 18 teams from six schools - Avon, Caledonia-Mumford, Geneseo, Livonia, Pavilion and Wayland-Cohocton - competed in Tuesday's competition. Geneseo’s three, three-student teams took first, fourth and fifth place en route to winning the ICE Cup for the 12th straight year.
Full results from Tuesday’s Interscholastic Competition in English are below:
Literary interpretation
6th: Elijah Currier, Wayland-Cohocton
5th: Ava Amorese, Caledonia-Mumford
4th: Lucy Sexton, Livonia
3rd: Grace Slocum, Pavilion
2nd: Madeline Geiser-Getz, Geneseo
1st: Anna Levy, Geneseo
Dramatic presentation
6th: Kaedin Andrews, Geneseo
5th: Pearl Walker, Wayland-Cohocton
4th: Abigail S., Avon
3rd: Caroline Capel, Geneseo
2nd: Will Schiener, Geneseo
1st: Poppy Thomas, Geneseo
Creative writing
6th: Emma D., Avon
5th: Will Chanler, Geneseo
4th: Sophie Prinzi, Geneseo
3rd: Aaliyah Mills, Wayland-Cohocton
2nd: Lily Clement, Caledonia-Mumford
1st: Daisy Sheldon, Livonia
Senior Lexx. S. is pictured above performing Jeffrey’s monologue from “Dark Place,” by Joseph Arnone during the Interscholastic Competition in English Tuesday at SUNY Geneseo. In the monologue, Jeffrey, an actor, speaks with a friend during visiting hours at a mental institution. Jeffrey, who spends the entire monologue in a straight jacket, has been committed after stabbing his director with a pair of scissors while rehearsing a new play.
Senior Isis S. is pictured above performing Cindy’s monologue from “Other SIde of the Road,” by Joseph Arnone Tuesday during the Interscholastic Competition in English at SUNY Geneseo. The monologue follows an upset Cindy immediately after she hits a squirrel with her car on the way to her grandparents’ house.
Junior Abigail S.is pictured above performing Jenny’s monologue from “Better Version of Jenny,” by Joseph Arnone Tuesday at the Interscholastic Competition in English at SUNY Geneseo. In the monologue, Jenny reacts to seeing a happy couple at a bus stop and grapples with her own inability to find happiness.
Abby S., third from left, poses for a photo Tuesday following her fourth place finish in the dramatic presentation category of the Interscholastic Competition in English at SUNY Geneseo.
Junior Olivia N. is pictured above performing Allegra’s monologue from “Pretty Theft,” by Adam Szymkowicz Tuesday during the Interscholastic Competition in English at SUNY Geneseo. In the monologue, Allegra speaks bitterly to her estranged mother following her father’s funeral.
Emma D., far left, poses for a photo Tuesday following her sixth place finish in the creative writing category of the Interscholastic Competition in English at SUNY Geneseo.
Above is a compilation of the dramatic presentation monologues Avon students performed Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 at SUNY Geneseo as part of the Interscholastic Competition in English, or ICE.