Forest Hills Teen To Compete In National Speech Tournament

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS -- One Forest Hills teen will put years of speech practice, school plays and acting classes to the test in June when she represents her NYC high school on a national stage.

Isabelle McNamara-Angel, a junior at Loyola School on Manhattan's Upper East Side, will head to Florida in June to compete in the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament, where she'll read the monologue that earlier in March helped her snag second place in a citywide speech tournament.

"I couldn't believe it," McNamara-Angel told Patch of the second-place slot in the tournament that qualified her for Nationals. "I was so nervous. I knew only first and second place would qualify for Nationals, so I didn't expect much to come from it."

McNamara-Angel, captain of Loyola's debate team, was competing in the NYC District Tournament in Forensics. She had just switched into the "Humorous Interpretation" category, where contestants memorize and perform a comedic monologue of their choosing, and she had only a few weeks to memorize her lines.

"It's like putting on a small play, but with only one person," she said.

The pressure was on.

But pressure, much like a spotlight, is something McNamara-Angel has grown used to performing under. She's done - and watched other actors do - it nearly all her life.

McNamara-Angel was introduced to the world of theatre as a child by her mother, who used to work on Broadway plays as a stage manager. By the time she started high school, McNamara-Angel had years of theatre and acting classes, neighborhood playhouses and school plays under her belt.

"I've always really enjoyed (acting)," she said. "I love the feeling of being onstage, and being able to put on a whole new persona and live a whole new life for a short period of time."

Despite living across East River - and much of Queens - from Loyola, McNamara-Angel said she applied to the Manhattan high school because she wanted to "experience the city and get an idea of what being an adult would be like."

"I fell in love with the school and got in early decision," she said.

Joining Loyola's speech and debate team seemed like a natural outlet for for her acting bug, said McNamara-Angel, who memorized her first dramatic monologue as a freshman. She has since competed in other speech tournaments, but this will be her first year as a NSDA contestant.

McNamara-Angel is among more than 3,500 high schoolers who will compete in the 2018 National Speech and Debate Tournament in Fort Lauderdale from June 17-22. The winner is dubbed National Champion, lauded on NSDA's website as "the most prestigious title in high school academics."

For the tournament's "Humorous Interpretations" category, McNamara-Angel will read a piece from Bekah Brustetter's "Fat Kids On Fire," a play following a group of teenagers' journey through 'fat camp,' which she said she chose for its emphasis on body positivity and friendship.