2024 ESU Atlanta Shakespeare Competition

News

Sixteen high school students competed in the annual ESU Atlanta Shakespeare Competition at the Shakespeare Tavern on Feb 25, 2024. Here are the top performers:

1st Place – Amelia G., St Pius X Catholic High School (Chamblee, Dekalb). Te

acher Jami Warren.

2nd Place – Mars W., Westminster School (Buckhead, Fulton). Teacher Kate Morgens. This is Miss Wilkiemeyer's second appearance on our stage.

3rd Place – Charlotte C., Mount Vernon School (Sandy Springs, Fulton) Teacher Tyler Dale.

Amelia G. will represent ESU Atlanta in New York City as a participant in ESU's 41st National Competition on April 15th at Lincoln Center. The 1ST PLACE winner of the National Competition will receive a fully funded summer study abroad at the BRITISH AMERICAN DRAMA ACADEMY MID-SUMMER CONSERVATORY PROGRAM at Oxford University.

1st Place Winner Amelia G. with ESU President Susan Phillips

Our ESU Atlanta Shakespeare Competition benefits from the many hours that students and teachers dedicate to preparing for this event. This is the second year in a row that St. Pius X has taken first place, albeit with a different teacher. Their last theater teacher was Tracey Buot, and Jami Warren is the current teacher. Westminster has participated since the early 1990's. Kate Morgens has been the teacher for many years, and her students regularly do well. Ms Morgens was inducted into Westminster's Hall of Fame for alumni who excel in the arts. She graduated from the school in 1991, and she is in good company – actors Brian Baumgartner and Ed Helms of The Office fame were two of her classmates! Mount Vernon High School has become a theater power-house in recent years due in large part to one student, Miss Arden Adams, who won our competition two years in a row, and placed third in another year! We are happy to report that she is continuing to pursue her passion for the stage as a student at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. She will graduate in 2025 with a BFA.

Thank you to Diane and Randy Brannen for the phenomenal job they do each year in organizing and presenting this event. 

Congratulations, Amelia!

See photos of the event

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