'Unfolding Truths' earned the Kingston College drama club, Nomaddz, the national special award for an outstanding presentation. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer ARMED WITH the reggae cadence of dub poetry and pointed social commentary, Kingston College (KC) won the two top trophies in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) speech finals on Tuesday. The finals took place at The Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Drive, St. Andrew, and featured more than 60 entries in storytelling, public speaking and poetry.
KC had only two entries in the finals and both were outstanding. Everaldo Creary won the school the creme of the awards by taking the trophy for 'Best Overall Presentation'. Competing in Class Five, Creary performed 'Unfolding it Palitically'. The poem looked at the social/political situation of Jamaica. It benefited from good direction as well as good dramatic presentation. Of course, Creary also took the Class Five trophy for 'Best Dub Poetry'.
As a group, KC's students performed under the title Nomaddz. This year, their contribution was 'Unfolding Truths', another social commentary piece. 'Unfolding Truths' was entered in Class Seven for Dub Poetry Ensemble and not only did it win the Class Seven trophy for 'Best Dub Poetry Ensemble', 'Unfolding Truths' also gained the second highest score in the competition, thus gaining the 'Special Award for Outstanding Presentation'.
LESS IMPRESSIVE
Kingston College's wins was, however, less impressive than last year's performance at the speech finals when they won the top four awards. Their group presentation 'Pressure' had accomplished the rare feat of earning a score of 100, thus securing the trophy for the 'Most Outstanding Speech Presentation'. They had also earned the 'Special Award' through Sheldon Shepherd with his dub poem 'House Fi Live Inna'.
This year, however, the other top awards went elsewhere. Pauline Matthie of St. Jago High School won the trophy for 'Best Overall Speech Instructor'. Matthie's trophy brought the school's haul to four.
Shayne Powell earned two Class Three trophies. Displaying great linguistic dexterity, he won trophies for standard English poetry and dialect prose. The poem 'Looking At Your Hands' won him the class trophy for 'Best Standard English Poem' while 'What More Could She Want' won the trophy for 'Best Dialect Prose'.
St. Jago's other trophy was won in Class Five through a group effort when the all-female speech choir walked away with the trophy for 'Best Speaking Ensemble'. The speech choir had performed an extract from Odale's Choice and the rather funny 'The Linguist'.
Two persons went home with the fourth trophy the 'Louise Bennett Award' which is awarded across classes. The Louise Bennett Award in the speech competition is given to the 'Best Overall Jamaican Dialect'. Interestingly, one of the persons who won the award, Jermaine Nairne, is a high school student, while the second, Jade Harris, is still in kindergarten.
Nairne, a student of Glenmuir High School, won the trophy with his hilarious performances of 'King Street Palaver' and 'Yu Tink I Mad Miss', for which he also won the Class 5 trophy for Best Dialect.
Barely big enough to be seen with the naked eye, Harris performed 'Cuss Cuss' and delighted the audience with her surprisingly textured performance. 'Cuss Cuss' also won her the Class One trophy for 'Best Dialect'.
Fifteen additional trophies were given out for the various categories, according to class. In Class One, Toni-Ann Cameron of Ewarton Primary School took the trophy for 'Best Standard English Poem' back to St. Catherine for her performance of 'War'.
The two final Class One trophies went to St. Aloysius Primary School for 'Best Experimental Speaking Ensemble', while Sashoka Small of Wallen's Preparatory took home the 'Best Jamaican Dialect Prose' trophy.
Hope Valley Experimental won two of the five trophies up for grabs in Class Two. Performing 'Trench Town Shock', Dominic Cobran won the trophy for 'Best Jamaican Dialect Poem' and Kaylia Ellis won the Best Standard English trophy with 'What Children Want Their Parents To Know'.
Lanaman's Preparatory took home the trophy for 'Best Dub Poetry Ensemble (Boys)' with their performance of 'Literacy'.
CLASS TWO AND THREE
In Class Two, however, the trophy for 'Best Speaking Ensemble (Girls)' was swept up by Ardenne Preparatory with their performances of 'The Wonderful World' and 'Out of Many One People'. Balmagie Primary School won the final Class Two award, 'Best Dub Poetry Ensemble (Girls)' with 'The Teacher'. The related Class Three award went to Sandy Bay Primary for their performance of 'Soun de Abeng'.
The final dub poetry performances were awarded for 'Best Dub Poetry Ensemble Mixed'. Ferncourt High's Speech and Drama Club won the Class Four trophy for 'Why Yuh Noh Like Me' and Edwin Allen High won the Class Five trophy with 'We Have Aids'.
Cornwall College took home two trophies with their Class Five entries. Odain Murray won the trophy for 'Best Jamaican Dialect Poem' and the Cornwall College Debating Society took the trophy for 'Best Grand Speaking Ensemble (Boys)'.
Jodi Ann Bowen added to her trophy collection with the award for Class Five 'Best Jamaican Dialect Prose' for 'Mother and Daughter Talk'. Jean Brown took home the adult trophy in this category (which also allows poetry) with her performance of 'Mi Bredda', 'Claat', and 'Back up Bwoy'.
Only a single trophy was awarded for the storytelling and public speaking categories, and both were in Class Five. Mount Alvernia High's Jodi Hylton won for 'Best Public Speaking' while the trophy for 'Best Storytelling' went to Jerron Green of Manchester High, who had performed 'The Man Called Plan'.
