“Most people think of speech and debate as just the movie scenes of students arguing a topic,” said Nelson Deer. “But people forget there’s also a speech aspect. That’s what I do.” Deer, a Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community member and senior at Mesa High School took first place at the Arizona State Speech and Debate Championship in Dramatic Interpretation this past March.

His winning piece, based on Native American author Sherman Alexie’s autobiographical essay “Superman and Me,” explores literacy, identity and life growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in northeastern Washington.

“When I read it for my English class, I could just see the words come alive,” Deer said. “I knew I had to bring it to the stage.”

In speech competitions, students recite dialogues from either original or published materials. The student’s content, delivery and flow are judged to find the most skilled speaker. Deer explained most speech students find their competition piece the summer before the school year, but he was still searching for his. By September, he unexpectedly came across his competition piece during a reading assignment. At first, Deer’s mentors were skeptical of his choice of literature. Despite it, he knew he had gold. 

“What? This is sick, I love this,” Deer told his mentors.

In Dramatic Interpretation events, Deer says students often select pieces that involve exaggerated performances of crying or shouting.

However, the Alexie piece stood out to him because it wasn’t just a dramatic piece, it was layered. “There’s humor, hope, passion, sadness, fear, anger, and resolution,” he said. “It feels like a 10-minute movie.”

During this fourth time of performing this piece, he won state. Prior to his winning piece, Deer’s journey in speech and debate began with a desire to act.

“I told my mom I wanted acting classes, so she said I had to prove I was serious first,” he said “So, I signed up for speech and debate classes my freshman year.”

At first, he started casually, but by sophomore year, Deer’s passion for storytelling took off. He explored the variety of speech competitions categories such as impromptu speaking, original oratory, duo interpretation and dramatic interpretation. His duo interpretation of a scene from “Marriage Story” (2019) gave him a taste of storytelling on stage, but it was “Superman and Me” that demonstrated his range of emotions.Deer draws inspiration from his favorite actors Cillian Murphy and Ryan Gosling.

The more he observed other actors, speakers, and performers, Deer realized the importance of connecting to his audience. 

“I’ve found it’s really important for me to stay in touch with my emotions,” he said. “Especially with someone like Sherman Alexie, who’s passionate about letting people know there are smart Native kids on the reservation.” To immerse himself in his performances, preparation begins with hours of studying, watching character videos, and rehearsing in front of mentors. 

He credits his growth in realism to his acting coach, Cara Alvey.

 “She told me, ‘When I see you act, I don’t want to watch a movie-I want to see a story.’”

Deer also draws from the teachings of his parents. His mother, who is a musician, instilled an appreciation for the arts to Deer and his brothers. Here, he found his passion for saxophone playing.And from his father, he found his love for storytelling.  “People felt good whenever they hear from him,” said Deer. “It’s something I’ve grown up loving and admiring about him. He can engage a whole audience.”

Especially when competition nerves are at an all-time-high, Deer recalls his father’s mindful words.

“‘It’s not nervousness–it’s excitement, you’re excited to perform the piece,’” said Melvin. “When they call your name, stand proudly, smile, and greet the judges. That confidence makes a difference.” With graduation around the corner, Deer plans to take acting more seriously, continue attending workshops, and giving his all into his auditions. With confidence, and the right words up his sleeve, the future for Deer’s interest in speech and acting looks bright.

“Put yourself in a room with competitive people, spot the best competitor, then do better than them,” said Deer. “Just don’t be that guy that doesn’t know when to turn off competition mode.”