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Honoring Bob & Jo Brand
It has been 31 years since The Honorable Robert A. Brand and Josephine M. Brand started the Central PA Branch of the ESU and 30 years for the Shakespeare Competition in Central Pennsylvania.
Dr. Karen Blair-Brand receives ESU Merit Award at Newport R.I. General Meeting this past October. (l-r) Robert Hankes, ESU Central PA Branch President, Karen Blair-Brand, and Josiah Bunting, ESUUS Chairman.
News And Events
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PrintCentral Pennsylvania student performs at the 36th Annual National Shakespeare Competition in New York City
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April 30, 2019 — New York City: April 29th may have been a normal Monday for most high school students, but for Brady Chilson from Carlisle High School it will be a day to remember forever. Brady, student of Douglas Hewlett and Sue Biondo-Hench, placed as a semifinalist at the 36th Annual National Shakespeare Competition celebrating William Shakespeare's birthday while competing against 50 students from around the US on stage at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center Theater. The event is the culmination of a year-long competition hosted by the English-Speaking Union (ESU).
To qualify for the National Shakespeare Competition semi-finals, Brady won the regional ESU Central Pennsylvania Branch Shakespeare Competition earlier this year.
Carlisle Area High School Student to Compete in the 36th English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center in New York
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Central PA Branch of the ESU – Regional Competitors Front Row
Brady Chilson – Winner (Carlisle High School), William Shakespeare, Playwright,Eli Weary, CAPA ( Capitol Area Schoof for the Arts) 3rd Place
Standing
Emily Carlisle, Yenisha Lopez (Susquehanna Township High School, Anna Farris( Delta Program), Isabelle Snyder, Alternate, Sadie Sublett (State College Area High School Logan Gunoskey, Julia Malek (Pottsville High School)
Loretto, PA —Brady Chilson student of Douglas Hewlett and Susan Biondo-Hench from Carlisle High School in Carlisle, PA achieved first place at the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition Central PA Branch tournament on Saturday February 16, 2019 Brady will travel to New York City along with more than 50 other contestants from around the country to participate in the ESU National Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center Theater in New York on April 28-30th 2019.
Isabelle Snyder from State College Area HS earned second place, and Eli Weary, representing CASA ( Capitol Area School for the Arts) was awarded third place in the Central PA Branch competition. Each student performed a Shakespearean monologue of their choice and recited a sonnet. Competitors were judged on their understanding of their selected texts and on their ability to communicate their interpretation to the audience. Judges for the Branch Competition included faculty members of Saint Francis University: Dr. Brennan Thomas Phd. of Literature and Languages Department, Ethan Leydig, actor with Band of Brothers Shakespeare in Stackhouse Park Johnstown, PA, and Alan Zajdel, Shakespeare in performance reviewer. The Saint Francis competition coordinator was Dr. John Woznak Phd.
Saint Francis University Hosts Regional Shakespeare Competition
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2018 Central PA Branch Regional Competitors Alex Winnick – Hershey High School, Mary Rose Valentine -- The Delta Program, Ava Rose Wendelken – Carlisle High School, Hope Showers – Juniata Mennonite School, Gillian Letson – Phillipsburg-Osceola High School, Isabelle Snyder – State College High School, Ari Michael Dym – Susquehanna Township High School
Saint Francis University hosted the English Speaking Union's Central PA Regional Shakespeare Competition on Saturday, February 17 at JFK Auditorium. Students from eight high schools presented monologues and sonnets from the works of William Shakespeare.
Check Us Out on YouTube
Check out our new YouTube Channel and see performances from the 2014 Shakespeare Competition: Click Here
Central PA Branch out and about
Members of the Branch see The Globe Theater's production of Hamlet at the Folger Shakespeare Library this past July. L to R: Rob Hankes III, Robert Hankes, Deborah Dreher, and Karen Blair.