Results of the 2014 Shakespeare Competition

News – March 4, 2014

2014 finalists and judges at the Morgan Library & Museum.

2014 New York Shakespeare Competition 

Regan Sims, a student of Casey McClellan at Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, won the 2014 English-Speaking Union New York Branch Shakespeare Competition.  The finals event was held on March 4^th at the Morgan Library & Museum, where twelve student finalists from the New York City area presented selections from the Bard's timeless canon.  Ms. Sims impressed the judges and captivated the audience with her performance of Constance from King John and her recitation of Sonnet 129.  She was awarded $250 from the Shakespeare Society and will go on to represent the New York City area at National Competition (held May 4-6 at Lincoln Center Theater).

Jordan Mayo of the Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts placed 2^nd in the competition; she received $250 from the Shakespeare Society and tickets to the Theatre for a New Audience's King Lear.  Chiara Mannarino of the Marymount School of New York placed 3^rd and received a selection of books from the Folger Shakespeare Library.  Other finalists included:  Abigail Bowman (Millennium High School); Martin Bernstein (Hunter College High School); Gerri Ferreyra (Preston High School); Ryann Garcia (Maspeth High School); Alex Mendez (Fort Hamilton High School); Firozah Najmi (Academy of American Studies); Adam Orme (Saint Ann's School); Ali Rosenthal (Trinity School); and Kingsley Udoyi (The Scholars' Academy).

Judges for the program included:  Ty Jones (Producing Artistic Director, Classical Theatre of Harlem); Katie Miller (Education Director, Theatre for a New Audience); Dr. Sid Ray (Associate Chair of the English Department, Pace University); Michael Sexton (Artistic Director, The Shakespeare Society) and Dr. Robert Young (Former Director of Education, The Folger Shakespeare Library).  Local program sponsors were:  The Morgan Library & Museum; The New York Public Library; The Shakespeare Society; and Theatre for a New Audience.

The English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition is a performance-based education program in which high school students nationwide read, analyze, perform and recite Shakespearean monologues and sonnets.  Through the program, students develop communication skills and an appreciation of the power of language and literature.  In three progressive competition levels, students present the Bard's works in their own schools, at ESU New York sponsored community competitions and at the National Shakespeare Competition.  Since 1983, the program has given more than 250,000 young people of all backgrounds the opportunity to bring the timeless works of Shakespeare to life and learn to express his words with understanding, feeling and clarity.

View the 2014 NYC Competition Photo Gallery

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