This past weekend, Burbank High School 11th grader Gwyneth Glover won the California High School Speech Association’s State Championship in Dramatic Interpretation at the 2026 CHSSA State Tournament, which was held April 17th-19th at James Logan High School in Union City, CA. In doing so, she became the first speech and debate state champion in Burbank High School history.
In Dramatic Interpretation, competitors are tasked with selecting and cutting a published work, and performing it without notes, costumes, or props. Performing as Marilyn Monroe in “The Unremarkable Death of Marilyn Monroe”, a one-woman play by Elton Townend Jones, Gwyneth competed in a field of 56 competitors in her event, each of whom qualified to the State Championship out of hundreds of competitors from 11 leagues from across the state. Gwyneth competed across 5 rounds and was ranked by 17 separate judges from all corners of California. In 2025, Gwyneth was the runner-up in Dramatic Interpretation, and in 2024, she placed 9th in Dramatic Interpretation as a 9th grader. Gwyneth also serves as the speech and debate team president.
Burbank High School’s speech and debate team is a nationally ranked and distinguished program. Under the leadership of volunteer team coach Brandon Batham, BHS won its first and second national championships in 2022 and 2023, and has now won its first state championship. Celebrating the win, Batham remarked, “Gwyneth’s success is exactly why I do this. I came back to coach at my alma mater because I wanted Burbank students to have the same opportunities I had in high school. To see them do that, and succeed with those opportunities, is the most fulfilling reward I could ask for as a coach.”
Gwyneth will next compete for a chance to win a national championship at the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament in June. For more information about Burbank High School’s speech and debate team, please visit www.burbankdebate.com.
