The English-Speaking Union
Boston Branch
411 Waverly Oaks Rd., Suite 331B
Waltham, MA 02452
(781) 647-7029
fax: (781) 647-7222
Contact Us
To see what's planned this Fall be sure to visit the Calendar of Events. |
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Summer, 2008
Congratulations to the Winners of the
2008 Boston ESU Shakespeare Competition
for High School Students
Xandra Clark, winner
Meg Dunn, first runner-up
Emily Soukas, second runner-up
FINALISTS
Mildred Aroko
Alex Caron
Xandra Clark
Brian Cowe
Meg Dunn
Rebecca Knowles
Sarah Macdonald
Amy McNabb
Emily Soukas
Mary Trull
Welcome to the Boston Branch of The English-Speaking Union. We are a membership organization sponsoring educational programs for students and teachers, as well as lectures, social events, and travel for our members.
For students, we offer the annual Shakespeare Competition for High School Students, in which competitors perform a twenty-line monologue from one of Shakespeare’s plays, and recite a sonnet. All high schools – public, private, parochial, or charter schools -- in Boston and the metropolitan area are eligible. Winners of school-based competitions go on to the semi-finals, held this year on Sunday, January 27 2008 at the Museum of our National Heritage in Lexington from 10 AM to 4PM. Ten finalists went on to the finals, held on Sunday, February 3, 2008, at the Tufte Performance Center at Emerson College, from 1-4PM. The Boston winner went to the ESU’s National Shakespeare Competition at New York’s Lincoln Center in April. For more information about the Shakespeare Competition, go to our Calendar of Events page.
Last Spring the second Boston ESU Middle School Debate Contest, featured six teams from three Boston charter schools: Excel Academy Charter School, Boston Preparatory Charter School, and Boston Collegiate Charter School. We plan to expand this program to other schools in 2008. For more information, contact Patricia Buddenhagen at PGB8848@aol.com, or 617-277-9418.
For teachers in the greater Boston area, we offered a workshop on Teaching Shakespeare Interactively in June, 2005, presented by Michael LoMonico, a well-known Shakespeare specialist. We repeated this one-day workshop on Saturday, May 31, 2008, with a Folger Library-trained presenter. For more information, contact Patricia Buddenhagen, PGB8848@aol.com or 617-277-9418.
Members of the ESU’s Boston Branch enjoy a stimulating mix of activities. Last season, we went on a curling excursion to the Broomstones Club in Wayland, where we watched a match, received instruction in curling, played ourselves, and had lunch. In March, we joined the Oxford/Cambridge Society for a breakfast and talk on Charles Darwin at the Royal Sonesta Hotel overlooking the Charles River, followed by a tour of the Darwin exhibit at the Museum of Science. In April, our Book Group had a lively discussion of "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson. In May, a beautifully preserved Back Bay townhouse provided an appropriate setting for a reception and talk by the Director of the American Museum in Britain. Later in May, ESU members joined the New England Churchillians for a reception and talk on Churchill's writing of history. Our season ended with our Garden Party and Silent Auction in June. Please check the Calendar of Events section for a list of upcoming events and recent events.
ESU Boston Branch members also have the opportunity to travel. In June,2005, members of the Boston Branch attended the launch of the Czech Republic ESU in Prague, which featured five days of tours and special events, as well as a weekend tour of Southern Bohemia. The 2005 National Conference of the ESU took place in San Diego, and the 2006 National ESU Conference was held in Nashville. At the end of October, 2006, ESU Chile was launched in Santiago. The 2007 National ESU Conference was held from October 31st to November 4th in Richmond, VA to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. It featured a lecture and visit to Jamestown, a Churchill symposium, a Shakespeare festival and talk by the Chinese ambassador to the UN. In September 2008, an international ESU conference will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Whether at home in Boston, at ESU branches around the U.S., or at ESU branches abroad, ESU members participate in activities designed to further our mission of Creating Global Understanding Through English.
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