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Ranney School Hosts 10th Annual Forensics Festival

On April 13, Ranney School hosted its 10th Annual Forensics Festival. The Ranney School Forensics Team competed against students from Oak Hill Academy, The Winston School, St. Jerome School, Ocean Township Intermediate School and Rumson Country Day School in front of an audience of more than 300 guests for top honors in the categories of dramatic pairs, storytelling, humorous interpretation of literature and dramatic interpretation of literature. The judging panel consisted of members of the New Jersey Storytellers Association, the Two River Theater Artists’ Network, Count Basie Theater Network, Algonquin Theater staff and several other experienced theater professionals. Mrs. Nancy Wade, Middle School Forensics Director, served as the coordinator of the event, with Forensics Coach and Drama Director Mr. John Doyle, Forensic Coaches Mrs. Allison Reddington and Ms. Marie Gerace, Musical Theatre Director Mrs. Lilly Torrente and Director of Performing Arts Mrs. Tess Nielsen assisting. In all, Ranney students earned recognition for 18 performances.

Forensics is a popular co-curricular activity at Ranney School that celebrates the talents of students and has an ongoing tradition of success. “For many years, I have watched the continued growth of Middle School Forensics under the guidance of Nancy Wade and her excellent team of teachers,” explained Head of School Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff. “In this program, many students took their first steps into the world of stage performance. Forensics builds confidence and character, and so many of our students generated their initial success in this extraordinary program.”

At Ranney, drama and forensics begin in fourth and fifth grade when students can join the Lower School Forensics activity. The program encourages students to explore their passion for the arts and introduces them to drama and public speaking. In Middle School, students are instructed by award-winning Forensics coaches and further develop their public speaking skills.

The poise and confidence they acquire through Forensics competition, starting at a young age, become invaluable as they advance to Upper School competition. As high schoolers, students participate in the New Jersey Drama and Forensics League, a state-wide competitive league sponsored by high school theater directors.

Ranney’s Middle School Forensics Team has established itself as an accomplished program with a track record of success. Since 1994, the team has garnered more than 338 awards at competitions throughout New Jersey, with 116 of these award winners earning first place recognition.

In honor of the 10th anniversary, Ranney senior and former Middle School Forensics award winner Ben Puvalowski honored the program with a monologue conveying the importance of theater in the lives of children. “This is where it all began,” he expressed to the audience. Ben has volunteered as a forensics mentor for the past two years and enjoys watching the students he mentors take their turn on the Ranney stage. During his time in the Upper School, Ben has appeared in several Performing Arts productions and has performed on stage at multiple events, including coffeehouses, battle of the bands and most recently, Dr. Sykoff’s retirement celebration. While on stage, Ben reminisced about being a member of the Middle School Forensics Team, noting that the program inspired him to perform. He will be attending New York University next year.

“Children who have participated in this remarkable program have gone on to capture more awards and honors in high school and college forensics and performing arts programs,” added Dr. Sykoff. Congratulations to all participating members!

The following Ranney students claimed the top prize for most outstanding performance:

Karl Brand (Humorous Interpretation—Grade 9)
Carmine Mastrokostas (Humorous Interpretation—Grade 7)
Ankur Govil (Dramatic Interpretation—Grade 7)
Sathya Edamadaka (Storytelling—Grade 6)
Samantha Riebesell & Alexandra Greenberg (Dramatic Pairs—Grade 6)

Distinguishing themselves by winning second place awards were the following:

Taylor Zenner (Humorous Interpretation—Grade 8)
Evan Schultz (Storytelling—Grade 8)
Mackenzie Schultz (Humorous Interpretation—Grade 6)

The following students received commended performance awards:

Kyra Citron (Storytelling—Grade 9)
Leigh Brandt (Humorous Interpretation—Grade 8)
Liam Fitzmaurice & Matt Torpey (Dramatic Pairs—Grade 8)
Madison Chamas (Dramatic Interpretation—Grade 7)
Shana Fitzmaurice (Humorous Interpretation—Grade 6)

Honorable Mention certificates were also awarded to the following:

Jacob Wahba (Dramatic Interpretation—Grade 9)
Julianna Poupard (Storytelling—Grade 8)
Leah Nawy (Dramatic Interpretation—Grade 6)
Alyssa Mendez (Storytelling—Grade 6)
Aiden Denver-Moore (Humorous Interpretation—Grade 8)
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.