News And Events
2023 People's Choice Awards
News
Vote for Your Favorite Performer
The People's Choice Award is an event for the whole ESU Shakespeare community! ESU members, friends, families, teachers, classmates, and communities will be able to vote for their favorite First Place Shakespeare Competition winner from ESU Branches all over the U.S.
Let's keep the fun going and vote for our Kansas City Branch Shakespeare Competition winner, Pierre Madlangbayan!
Click here to watch the video performances of 40 students who entered the 2023 National Shakespeare Competition. Be sure to watch Pierre Madlangbayan's video, she is #15.
It's easy to vote with a simple text message:
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Click on the link above to watch performance videos from ESU Branch winners from the 2023 ESU National Shakespeare Competition YouTube Channel. Each performer has been assigned a number.
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Using your mobile phone, text "NSC" and the number of your favorite performance to 212-818-1200 (example: NSC15)
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Remember to watch our Kansas City First Place Winner: #15 Pierre Madlangbayan. She had an amazing performance! Text NSC15
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You will receive a return text confirming that your vote has been received.
People's Choice Award Cash Prizes for Winners!
- FIRST PLACE WINNER RECEIVES A $1,000 CASH PRIZE
- Second place receives $500
- Third place receives $250
Please only vote once. Additional votes from the same number will be discounted. And please do not call in; your vote will not count and your call will not be returned. Voting is open to everyone, not just ESU members. Get your classmates, teachers, neighbors, relatives, and community involved.
We encourage you to share this email with friends, fellow students, and relatives so they can vote too! Let's show our support for Pierre and vote now!
Remember, voting ends at 11:00 pm Central Time on Thursday, April 20. The winners will be announced on Monday, April 24 at the ESU National Shakespeare Competition in New York City.
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The Secret Garden Book Club Film
News
ESU Kansas City Branch Co-Hosts a Book Club and Special Film Screening of the Classic 1911 English Children's Novel "The Secret Garden"
The Music Theater Heritage (MTH) at Crown Center is presenting the musical adaptation of The Secret Garden, a classic in children's English literature. MTH, The English-Speaking Union, Kansas City Branch (ESU), and the International Relations Council are co-hosts and invite all ESU members and Friends of ESU you to be part of MTH's new Book Club. Meet and Greet with other book and musical theater enthusiasts and join in discussions about this delightful 1911 novel. The Book Club will meet in-person on Mondays beginning March 13, 20, and 27th at 6:00 pm at the Music Theater Heritage, upper level of Crown Center Shops, 2450 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO.
Each of the three Book Club dates will focus on specific chapters in the book. ESU will be part of a discussion panel during each of the Book Club dates. If any ESU members would like to be part of the panel discussion during the Book Club dates, please contact Jeff Schnabel at (816) 878-1239. Even if you are not on the discussion panel, ESU members and guests are welcome to attend the Book Club discussion groups. The Book Club events are free, but registration is required. Read more.
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Churchill: Mobilizing the English Language and Sending It Into Battle with Allen Packwood
News
Next ESU Happy Hour
Churchill: Mobilizing the English Language and Sending It Into Battle with Allen Packwood
Please join our next ESU Happy Hour on Wednesday, April 5 at 3:00 pm CT. Allen Packwood will draw on the voluminous Churchill archives to show how Churchill used words to fight and refight the Second World War. This Happy Hour is hosted by the ESU Happy Hour Committee. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members, and the public. Registration is required. Read more here.
About Allen Packwood
Allen Packwood BA, MPhil (Cantab), is a Fellow of Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was awarded an OBE for services to archives and scholarship in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honors. His book, How Churchill Waged War, was published by Pen & Sword in 2018 and he has recently edited the Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill. The Churchill Archives Centre is located on the grounds of Churchill College and is home to the papers of Sir Winston Churchill, Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Major, and almost seven hundred of their contemporaries: politicians, diplomats, civil servants, military leaders, and scientists of the modern era. It is still collecting. Allen likes to joke that it is the equivalent of four American presidential libraries! He is responsible for the overall management of the team and collections.
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Winners announced for the Kansas City Branch 2023 Shakespeare Competition
News
Garden City, Kansas High School Student Wins First Place in ESU Kansas City Branch 2023 Shakespeare Competition
Garden City High School Student to Compete in the 40th English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition in New York City
Pierre Beatrix Madlangbayan, a junior from Garden City High School, Garden City, Kansas, achieved first place at The English-Speaking Union Kansas City Branch Shakespeare Competition held on February 19, 2023. Her sponsoring teachers are Alice Hilt and Robyn Hilt. Ms. Madlangbayan will receive an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to compete in the ESU National Competition on April 24, 2023 at Lincoln Center, where she will join more than 50 other contestants from around the country. The National Competition, virtual for the last three years because of COVID, returns to New York City for the semi-finals where each student will perform a monologue and sonnet before a panel of distinguished judges as well as their fellow contestants. Based on their performances, ten students will advance to a final round.
After winning competitions at their high schools, eleven students competed in the Branch Competition held at the Kansas City Public Library's Truman Auditorium. Approximately 100 students and teachers participated in preliminary high school competitions. Max Markovich, a junior from Paola High School, Paola, Kansas, earned second place, and Alyssa Maas, a sophomore from Salina Central High School, Salina, Kansas, was awarded third place in the ESU Kansas City 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. Ms. Madlangbayan, impressed the judges by performing a monologue of the character Mark Antony from the play Julius Caesar and reciting a Shakespeare sonnet.
Read more.
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Our Next ESU Happy Hour: The London of Sherlock Holmes
Event
Join us on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 3:00 pm CT for a fascinating look at the fictional British detective, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes knows everything about you: he sees your shoes and knows where you come from; he shakes your hand and he knows what job you do; he looks at the wrinkle in your brow and he knows what you are thinking. But how much do you know about Sherlock Holmes? Your tour guide is Annamaria Dall'Anese and she has the answer.
During this virtual tour of Sherlock Holmes's London, you'll answer quiz questions to collect clues to identify a mysterious London location. And, on the way, you will learn a lot about Sherlock and his creator. This Happy Hour is hosted by the ESU Central Pennsylvania Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members, and the public. Registration is required. Please register here. Read more.
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King Charles' Coronation Tea Party
News
The English-Speaking Union, Kansas City Branch, Celebrates King Charles' Coronation
SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2023, 2:30 PM
10:30 AM and 2:30 pm Seatings SOLD OUT
All ESU Members and Friends of ESU are cordially invited to attend a special English Afternoon Tea celebrating King Charles' Coronation. The celebration will be held on May 6, 2023—the same day as the King's official Coronation at London's Westminster Abbey, a place that has been the location of coronations for the past 900 years.
The Royal Family announced, "The Ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside Camilla, The Queen Consort." The last British Coronation occurred 70 years ago when King Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned in 1953.
Our Afternoon Tea celebrating King Charles' Coronation will be held at Anna Marie's Teas in Liberty, MO., in a stately 3-story, 5,000 square foot home built in 1913.
The tea will include a variety of tea sandwiches, sweets, Brenda's signature scones, mock Devonshire cream, fine fruit butter or fruit jams and premium tea. Our tea will include a special champagne toast to HRH King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort. We will again have our popular Trivia Quiz as well as some special door prizes.
Brenda Hedrick, the owner and proprietress of Anna Marie's Teas, proudly proclaims, "This is not just any tea party--our tea experiences are delightfully extravagant!"
When: Saturday, May 6, 2023 (10:30 am and 2:30 pm sold out)
Where: 343 W. Liberty Dr., Liberty, MO. Directions and parking: Click here
Tickets: $33 per person. This price is all-inclusive, including taxes and gratuities. Read more.
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Public Invited to 2023 Shakespeare Competition
News
Public is Invited to the
Shakespeare Competition
Kansas City Branch Semi-Finals
February 19, 2023, 2:00 pM
Join us on Sunday, February 19 at 2:00 pm at the Plaza Library, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, MO. for the 39th annual ESU Kansas City's Shakespeare Competition. This Competition is designed to develop students' speaking and critical-thinking skills while they explore the beauty of the language and the timeless themes in Shakespeare's works.
By preparing a monologue and sonnet for public presentation, students bring Shakespeare to life in their own way and learn to express his works with understanding, clarity, and feeling.
High school students from the KC metro area (Grades 9-12) will be competing for First Place at the Kansas City Finals on February 19 then to the National Finals at Lincoln Center April 24, 2023 in New York City. Students read, analyze, perform, and recite Shakespeare monologues and sonnets in three qualifying stages: their local school, ESU Kansas City Branch Semi-Finals, and the National Finals.
Approximately 2,500 teachers and 20,000 students in nearly 60 ESU Branch communities participate each year.
The ESU National Shakespeare Competition has been recognized by the Globe Center (USA), the Children's Theatre Foundation of America, and the American Academy of Achievement.
The Competition is free for the public to attend. Registration is not required.
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Architecture in London, 1066-1800 with Dr. James Glass
News
Join Us For Our Next ESU Happy Hour:
Architecture in London, 1066-1800
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 3:00 pm Central Time
Join architectural historian Dr. James Glass for an illustrated review of the major themes in architecture that appeared in London between the beginning of Norman rule in 1066 and the end of the 18th century. We will explore Norman, Gothic, Tudor, Renaissance, Baroque, English Palladian, and Neo-Classical architecture and meet architects who designed leading palaces, churches, houses, and public institutions in London over 700 years, including Inigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor, James Gibbs, Lord Burlington, William Kent, Sir William Chambers, and Robert Adam. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required. Please register here. Read more.
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39th Annual Shakespeare Competition
News
ESU Invites all Kansas City Area High Schools to enter our 39th annual Shakespeare Competition
2023 marks the 39th year for The English-Speaking Union's Shakespeare Competition in Kansas City. Registration is underway for all Kansas City Metro High Schools and Home School Programs to enter the Shakespeare Competition. The deadline to register your school is January 27, 2023.
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500 Years of Looking for Richard III with Jeffrey Wilson and Thomas Varga
News
An Online Program You Will Not Want to Miss
Monday, January 30, 2023 at 6:00 pm CT—Register Online Below
Disabled King of England, charismatic Shakespearean villain, star of the first play produced by an African-American theater company, Freudian case study, skeleton under a parking lot, inspiration for House of Cards, compared to Donald Trump in the New York Times—Richard III is reinvented for every new cultural moment.
While steeped in details of medieval English history, Shakespeare's Richard III and its configuration of disability, villainy, and tragedy still speak to us in the twenty-first century with a surprising urgency. How is Richard III always so historical and so current?
Jeffrey R. Wilson tells the story of Richard III's body traveling through time into Shakespeare's hands, on down to today. From Richard's own manuscripts, x-rays of sixteenth-century paintings, and Shakespeare's soliloquies to eighteenth-century editorial notes, nineteenth-century theatrical costumes, and twenty-first century disability theater, an interpretation of Richard's body is never just an interpretation of Richard's body. When we interpret Richard III, he interprets us in return. New Swan actor Thomas Varga will share speeches by Shakespeare's Richard III.
This is a free, online lecture program. While not part of ESU's Happy Hour Series, we wanted to share it with our ESU Kansas City members and Friends of ESU. This will be a fascinating look at Richard III as we have never seen before. Don't miss this program. Read more.
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