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April 23 may have been a normal Monday for most students, but as the birthday of William Shakespeare and the date of the 35th Annual National Shakespeare Competition, April 23, 2018 will be a day that fifty-five high school students will never forget. Students from around the US competed on stage in the Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center as the culmination of a year-long competition hosted by the English-Speaking Union (ESU). 

Jackson Dean from Palm Valley High School in Rancho Mirage, California was the winner of the 35th Annual English in Action National Shakespeare Competition and received a full scholarship to attend the Young Actor's Summer School at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. A student of Susie Zachik and representative of the ESU Palm Springs Branch, Jackson performed as Iago from Shakespeare's Othello and recited Sonnet 55 in the final round of competition.

Eli Owens from Penfield High School in Penfield, New York placed second in the competition and received a scholarship to attend the American Shakespeare Center Theater Camp in Staunton, Virginia. A student of Regina Darling and representative of the ESU Rochester Branch, Eli performed as Parolles in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well and recited Sonnet 29 in the final round of competition.

 

"I'm excited to be surrounded by individuals who share a passion for something most individuals our age turn a blind eye to—individuals who look at Shakespeare as an art form, not an academic." wrote Eli about the experience of competing with fellow students.

Julia Talbot from Medford High School in Boston, Massachusetts placed third in the competition and received a cash prize of $500. A student of Douglas Bowen-Flynn and representative of the ESU Boston Branch, Julia performed as Richard from Shakespeare's Richard III and recited Sonnet 129 in the final round of competition.

 

"Every time I read or reread Shakespeare, I have a miniature revelation: where that idiom came from, how another author was inspired, the origin of some quote I never even realized was a quote. His influence is everywhere in our culture, and so culture itself begins to make more sense reading him. He's just so universal: Hamlet will be relevant for as long as there are fathers and sons; Macbeth, as long as there are husbands and wives; Romeo and Juliet, as long as there are teenagers (and teenagers will always be teenagers)." wrote Julia about Shakespeare.

 

 

• Kelley Curran, actor and former National Shakespeare Competition participant
• Michael LoMonico, Senior Consultant on National Education at the Folger Shakespeare Library
• Alexandra López, Associate Director of Education at Lincoln Center Theater
• Geoffrey Owens, actor
• Sid Ray, Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies at Pace University

• Sarah Enloe, Director of Education at the American Shakespeare Center
• Christopher Hodgkins, Professor of English at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and member of the ESU Board of Directors
• Dana Ivey, actor
• Louis Scheeder, Director of the Classical Studio at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (and longest running competition judge)
• Graham Turner, actor

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