News And Events

2016-2017 OPENING MEETING OF ESU-LEXINGTON BRANCH

BUSS Scholarship winner Janie Thames with Maxwell Caskie,

Education Chair

Lexington ESU members heard from the recipients of three awards provided by the group at its October 14, 2016 opening meeting and reception held at Kendall Hall.  The speakers were Mausam Mehta, winner of the Lexington branch Shakespeare competition in May, BUSS scholarship winner Janie Thames, and Oxford scholarship winners Sarah Lemon and Danielle Hughson.

Mehta, a junior at Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton, Virginia, treated the audience to a monologue from "The Winter's Tale" that she had performed onstage at the Lincoln Center.  After winning the Lexington branch competition in May, Mehta participated as a semi-finalist in the 33rd annual ESU National Shakespeare Competition in New York City. 

 

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2016 Lexington Branch Shakespeare Competition

Lexington Branch Shakespeare Competition participants, January 16, 2016

Mausam Mehta, from Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton, Virginia, won the ESU Lexington Branch Shakespeare Competition on January 16, 2016, at Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton.  Mausam was coached by John Fregosi, mathematics and theater teacher at her high school. The 2015 winner, Nora Oeschlin, was also from Robert E. Lee High School and coached by Mr. Fregosi.

Mausam was one of eight area contestants.  Kasey Britt, a student at Turner Ashby High School, Harrisonburg, was runner up and Ryan Boloix, a student at Spotswood High School, Penn Laird, placed third.  Each of the three winners was awarded a partial scholarship to the American Shakespeare Center (ASC) summer camp.

 

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2015 Lexington Branch Shakespeare Competition

Nora Oechslin, a sophomore at Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton, Virginia, won the ESU Lexington Branch Shakespeare Competition on January 17, 2015, at Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton.  Nora was coached by John Fregosi, mathematics and theater teacher at her high school.  She was one of eight area contestants.

To read more about the contest, please click here. 

 

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2015 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 2015 ESU National Shakespeare Competition. The Competition provides teachers with a free performance-based program for the study of English Language Arts and Shakespeare that satisfies Common Core State Standards. High school students from the local arearecite Shakespeare's monologues and sonnets and compete for the chance to win a trip to New York City.  Learn more on our ESU Lexington, Virginia Branch Shakespeare Competition page - Click Here

 
 

VIRGINIA PROGRAM AT OXFORD

The 2014 opening meeting of the Lexington Branch of the English Speaking Union was held on September 26.  The meeting featured reports from the two local university students who had spent the summer studying at Oxford University partially sponsored by scholarships provided by the Lexington Branch.  The students were Brittany Norwood, a junior at Washington and Lee and Joseph Amato, a third classman at Virginia Military Institute.

Click Here to see pictures of the Scholars

 

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The English-Speaking Union

Lexington Branch

Welcome to the ESU

The ESU celebrates English as a shared language to foster global understanding and good will by providing educational and cultural opportunities for students, educators, and members.

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