If you’re having a bad day and need someone to make you laugh, just ask AJ Galli. He recently placed 17th in the state for his Original Comedy as a part of Joliet West’s speech team. The regional competition was the first step towards making it to State. AJ tied for 3rd place and was able to advance to the sectional competition. There, he placed 3rd again, qualifying for State Finals.
The state competition took place at the Peoria Civic Center on February 18th and 19th. Schools from across Illinois sent students to compete in fourteen different categories. Galli was one of 19 in his event, and he competed in two rounds against six other contenders.
Each tournament has two preliminary rounds and there are usually six contenders in every round. At the IHSA competitions, there are two judges in these rounds who score competitors on a scale of one to six, one being the highest. If a person scores high enough in the prelims, they advance to the final round. Six competitors make it into final round, which is judged by three people. The winners of final round are announced at the awards ceremony.
Galli competed in the two prelim rounds at the State tournament but unfortunately he did not make it to the final round. Galli’s Original Comedy (written by him) followed an old lady in a nursing home as she tried to escape to get her first kiss with Bob Barker. Per speech team rules, Galli included numerous characters, all with a distinct voice and posture, including a cat, a nun, a PA announcer with a lisp, a choir director, an old man, an aerobics instructor, and a grandson. Each performance garnered smiles and laughs and even a few raised eyebrows, all in the interest of humor.