Waxing Rhapsodic on Speech

While it is often said that actions speak louder than words, that maxim is put to the test nearly every day at Cleveland High School, where the award-winning forensic team rehearses humorous and dramatic interpretation, impromptu speaking and debate year-round.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, speech and drama teacher Sarah Rosenberg, sporting overalls and worn Converse high tops, relaxed in the Reseda campus’ drama room as a clique of chatty students rehearsed for an upcoming national forensic tournament in Arizona.

“Amy, remind me to work with you on your pacing, babe,” Rosenberg said to 15-year-old Amy Siegman, who just performed a segment of her dramatic interpretation of “Family Secrets.”

As Chris McDonald took Amy’s place at center stage to prepare for his moving interpretation of “Phoenix,” the students, never at a loss for words, waxed rhapsodic about the woman who is their coach and mentor.

“I’ve never met a more committed person than [Rosenberg] in my life,” said Sarah Garber, 16. “I used to be very quiet and shy, and now you can’t get me to shut up! This program’s opened so many doors for me.”

“Rosie helps us to do the best we can,” added Julie Mendelsohn, 16. “It’s not about winning; it’s about improving ourselves.”

The easy camaraderie among the speech and debate students can be attributed to both the familial atmosphere encouraged by their teacher and by the fact that the students who participate in the program debate and rehearse together every day at lunchtime, after school, weekends and during vacations.

The payoff is evident not only in the thousands of trophies that the students have earned during Rosenberg’s eight-year tenure as speech coach, but, most important, she said, also in the hidden talents she gets to nurture seven days a week.

“I love this work because I get to watch the students gain self-confidence,” Rosenberg said. “The kids begin the year feeling very shy and, by the end of the year, they’re polished speakers who can go anywhere and speak well.”

Hanging around Rosenberg, one gets the feeling that the Nevada native was born to the stage. After earning a degree in English and speech communication from the University of Nevada, the mother of two went on to earn her M. A. in English from Cal State Northridge. While working on her master’s, she taught at Pacoima’s Maclay Junior High School, a post she held for 22 years.

Rosenberg, who took a brief stab at an acting career right out of college, moved to Cleveland High eight years ago, where she has coached her speech and drama students to numerous first places at tournaments such as the recent one in Hawaii, where they took home the Sweepstakes Trophy.

“There’s truly no one like Rosie,” said Ken Ross, whose son David finished first in Varsity Humorous Interpretation in Hawaii. “She helps the kids to be successful not just in speech, but as world citizens.”

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Rosenberg said her program’s success lies in both the enthusiasm of the students and the parents’ willingness to help raise funds for and chaperon the numerous out-of-town trips.

“What we have at Cleveland is students willing to put in incredible hours to do their best,” Rosenberg said. “My attitude is simply that it’s got to be fun or we shouldn’t be doing it. That seems to have rubbed off.”

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