News And Events

The ESU National Shakespeare Competition Starts Now!

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We are pleased to announce the kick-off of the ESU's National Shakespeare Competition! Schools in our region may enter now, giving students the opportunity to compete in The San Francisco Branch Competition.  The winner of the branch competition will travel to NYC to compete in the national finals at Lincoln Center!  

 

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40th Anniversary ESU National Shakespeare Competition Winner

Congratulations to the San Francisco Branch's own Victoria Salazar, who was a top 10 finalist at the 40th Anniversary ESU National Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 24, 2023. Victoria, a student of Michele Sanner at Novato High School, was one of forty-one semi-finalists who came from all over the country, along with parents, branch coordinators, teachers and supporters for this exciting weekend-long event.

 

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SAN FRANCISCO TEEN WINS THE 34th ANNUAL ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION NATIONAL SHAKESPEARE COMPETITON IN NEW YORK CITY

With a performance of a sonnet and monologue from Shakespeare, Ogechi Egonu from San Francisco, CA, a student of Jennifer Grimes at San Domenico School in San Anselmo, won the 34th annual English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition. The Competition took place on May 1, 2017 on the Mitzi Newhouse Theater stage at Lincoln Center in New York City with 54 semi-finalists from as many ESU Branch competitions nationwide. Ogechi previously won the ESU San Francisco competition.

As the winner of the 34th English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, Ogechi received a full scholarship to the American Shakespeare Center Theatre Camp in Staunton, VA, this summer. Second place winner, Brandon Burk, from the Kentucky Branch, won a cash prize of $1,000 from The English-Speaking Union, while the third place winner, Trevon Wainwright, representing the Kansas City Branch of the ESU, received an award of $500 provided by The Shakespeare Society.

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Jordan Ford, winner of the 2016 San Francisco Shakespeare Competition, reflects on his experience

Last year I had the chance to compete in the ESU San Francisco branch's Shakespeare competition, in which 30 schools from all over the Bay Area participated. Each school sent a representative to compete, and first place secured a fully paid trip to New York, in which the winner would then compete at Lincoln Center against winners from other branches from almost every other State. It was my (utterly unexpected but very joyous) privilege to go to New York via this opportunity and compete again at the national level. 

 

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2017 National Shakespeare Competition

We invite schools serving Grades 9-12 in our area to celebrate the Bard's 450th birthday this year by participating in the 2017 ESU National Shakespeare Competition. The Competition provides teachers with a free performance- based program for the study of English Language Arts and Shakespeare that meets state standards.. High school students from the local area recite Shakespeare's monologues and sonnets and compete for the chance to win a trip to New York City. Learn more on our ESU San Francisco Shakespeare Competition page. Click Here

 
 
 

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