Marietta High School senior Dovan Bucher is a two-time state champion. As a junior, he
was named best of the best in Monologue, and at this year’s Speech and Debate State
Championships, he won again in Monologue.
In Monologue Acting, contestants perform two themed pieces – one comedic and one
dramatic – back to back. Bucher’s pieces were entitled “Five Stages of Love and
Marriage” and “Funerals are Better With Tater Tots.”
Despite a change in teachers from last year to this year, Bucher obviously made the
adjustment quite well.
“Mrs. [Alicia] Harris was my teacher last year and was instrumental in me winning state,”
said Bucher, “and Mr. [Elijah] Wharton was instrumental in this year’s win. Between the
two of them, I had the tools and skills, and then someone with a background in acting
and productions, so there has been a comfort level with both of them.”
After his high school graduation later this month, Bucher will be heading to the
University of Oklahoma, where he will be majoring in Theater and Acting.
“I was just admitted into the program a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “I auditioned in
February, and had a bad audition, so they had me on a waitlist. They had some people
drop out, and they called me to ask if I was still interested – I was.”
According to Bucher, his chosen college major will be quite different than Speech and
Debate in high school. Instead of contests, it will be more focused on productions and
plays. And instead of winning those contests, the long-range goal will also be different.
“I want to become a successful actor, maybe win an Oscar someday,” he stated. “After
OU, maybe I’ll go to Hollywood and audition until I book something, or I might join a
theater company, because I would love to keep acting on stage, too.”
Bucher wrote and directed a play during his freshman year of high school, and he’s also
thought about giving that another go.
He’s ready to move on to the next stage of his life, pun intended, but there’s one more
thing he’s looking forward to before graduation. On May 18 at 6 p.m., MHS Speech and
Drama students will be doing a showcase. All students who made it to regionals will be
performing their pieces, and then the group will do a play. The public is invited to attend.
Who knows, maybe someday Bucher will earn his Oscar, and we’ll be able to say we
saw him way back when he was in high school.