‘What you created is real’

As one of the 10 groups from Creston who will be performing at the large-group state speech competition in Waukee on Saturday, Creston High School’s one-act play will compete under a former alum’s scriptwriting.

The murder-mystery satire “The Least Puzzling Case,” written by Samuel Duncan, has been adopted by a group of Creston students for their performance in speech competitions. The play has already had one successful performance at the district competition, earning a Division I rating, the highest honor at that stage.

Duncan wrote the play during his time at Creston High School with the intention to direct the one-act play himself for speech competitions, hoping to direct the next speech generation of freshmen and sophomores.

“It didn’t work out; the play I wrote is only for a few students,” said Duncan. “We had one group, but we changed it to accommodate a larger cast.”

After his 2024 graduation, Duncan gifted the script to his speech coach, Laura Granger. Granger is a speech and drama teacher for Creston High School and is the head coach for large-group speech teams.

Granger, along with a coaching staff of assistant large-group coach Abbi Hood, head individual coach Sara Lane, assistant individual coach Taron Needham and volunteer large-group coaches Kohl Ringer, Andrew Dunahoo and Dravin Drake prepare students for speech competitions.

“It’s competitive theater; there’s a ton of different categories,” said Granger. This year, Creston prepared 12 teams for district speech competitions across nine categories, with 10 of those groups advancing to the state speech competition.

“With so many categories, it provides a lot of different students opportunities,” said Granger. “It celebrates their quirks and uniqueness. Things that you wouldn’t think would be an asset, but can be.”

Granger described how one nonverbal student was able to participate in group mime, finding ways to be expressive through facial expressions and body language.

Some categories in speech allow for students to perform even if they’re participating in winter sports and won’t be able to make practices for live performances. Recorded formats like radio broadcasting, TV news or short film also help students who might be audience-shy.

In contrast, categories like musical theater and one-act play allow for students who are comfortable under the spotlight to perform, with all of the costumes and production values central to the format.

A one-act play being written by a student for speech competitions is unusual, with most teams preferring to purchase the rights to more well-known plays for their performances. Duncan had shared his writing with Granger throughout his time at Creston. After reading Duncan’s script for “The Least Plausible Case,” Granger decided to use it.

“I’m a straight shooter,” Granger said. “If I didn’t think it was very good, I would [help], but honestly, it’s hilarious.”

Granger called Duncan, who was beginning his freshman year at the University of Iowa, to ask for permission. Duncan said the moment was mind-blowing, and said he was very thankful for the opportunity.

“I didn’t think it would happen so soon. I was really excited,” said Duncan. “I still am.”

“The Least Puzzling Case” is a farce on typical murder-mysteries. The play is guided by a narrator, who says to the audience that this is his “first time narrating, very exciting, I know.” The victim is the daughter of the Sullivan family, Jane. When Jane is found by her mother and father, they assemble a cast of colorful characters with their own secrets to solve the mystery.

Duncan, who had performed “Murder in the Knife Room” in high school, wanted to find a way to flip the tone.

“I wanted to subvert it somehow,” he said. “I wanted to find a way to break the fourth wall a bit more, make some farcical, ridiculous players.”

A particularly memorable character is Mrs. Jenkins, an old, crazy, jealous widow with a funny voice who gets annoyed by all the commotion happening next door. The character is played by Kylor Budrow, who gets a laugh as his 6-foot-5 stature enters the stage in full costume, complete with foam curlers and a walker.

Granger said Duncan’s passion for performing arts was one of the reasons why she chose to give him this opportunity. Duncan had been a speech ambassador and dedicated himself to multiple productions across speech teams and drama.

“He’s always been in the pursuit of trying to be his very best,” said Granger. “I really admire and respect that.”

Duncan was invited to Creston to watch the group practice and give feedback, including giving his blessing to make changes, such as changing one character from a butler to a maid. These changes wouldn’t be possible in other production circumstances if the speech team had chosen to purchase the rights to a published play.

When Duncan saw his play in movement, he said the experience was one of a kind.

“It’s really wonderful,” Duncan said. “You’re able to see your ideas realized. It feels like what you created is finally real. When it comes to acting and performing, for me it was better than I imagined it.”

The freedom to make changes allowed for the show to evolve from Duncan’s script. Duncan said his initial writing for stage direction was vague, which made special rehearsals where he could share ideas great for boosting actors’ confidence.

The narrator, played by Carson Beer, has a scene where he storms off in the middle of the show. During one practice, instead of exiting through the wings, Beer stormed into the audience instead.

“Afterwards, he asked, ‘can I do that?’” Granger said. “We said yeah, it’s more dramatic.”

Beer had even called Duncan for advice on the role, as they became friends when they were in high school.

“When I knew he was taking on the character, he asked for advice on how to do the accent,” he said. “I knew that he would really care about performing the role; he’s a good actor.”

Another reason why Granger chose to use Duncan’s script was to give the chance for Duncan to publish the script. Granger had gone through a similar process when she had written a script when she was younger, but was stopped at a roadblock; some publishing companies require the script to be publicly performed before they can be published.

“I wanted to give back because there’s a window of opportunity, and he was always so dedicated to the team,” said Granger.

With “The Least Puzzling Case” having had a public performance already, the process for Duncan to have the play officially published is closer. He still continues to write new plays.

“I’m already looking at outlets, it’s a much more complicated process,” he said. “I definitely want this published, but I think the first step is to write more, more plays.”

Across all speech teams, the goal for Granger is to give students an opportunity for expression, creating a comfortable environment where creative energy can spark.

“I want them to gain confidence in themselves,” she said. “Your unique quirks are encouraged and celebrated. I want them to be their goofy self.”

The cast list of the one-act play group who will compete at state Saturday, Feb. 8 include: Carson Beer, Narrator; Chaylee Needham, Daughter; Mahi Patel, Mother; Spencer Brown, Father; Lila Berning, Maid; Wyatt Hitz, Policeman; Kylor Budrow, Mrs. Jenkins.