The ESU National Shakespeare Competition is a performance-based education program. High school students develop analytical and communication skills by performing Shakespeare at the school, community, and national levels. Since 1983, more than 425,000 young people have brought the timeless works of Shakespeare to life. The Competition helps students develop speaking and critical-thinking skills while they explore the beauty of the language and the ageless 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. Some 15,000+ students from 750+ schools across 50 regions nationwide participate each year.
High school students from the Denver area (Grades 9-12) will compete for First Place at the Denver Finals with the winner advancing to the National Finals in New York City on April 27, 2026. Students perform and recite Shakespeare monologues and sonnets in three qualifying stages: School, Branch, and National.
If you are a Theatre, English or Forensics teacher, or administer a home school program, we encourage you to enter to give your students an opportunity to participate in this exciting competition. If you are an interested high school student, please alert your teachers to this valuable program.
The 2026 ESU National Shakespeare Competition is underway in schools across the country. Following are upcoming deadlines for this year’s competition:
- School Registration Deadline – Friday, January 2, 2026
- School Winner Deadline – Wednesday, January 14, 2026
- School Winner Workshop – Saturday, January 17, 2026
- Denver Branch Competition – Sunday, February 22, 2026
- Branch Winners Announced – Monday, March 2, 2026
- Branch Winner Packets (with video links for the People’s Choice Awards) Deadline – Monday, March 16, 2026
The School Winner Workshop and Branch Competition will be held in partnership with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (specific venue to be announced). The first-place winner will compete in the National Shakespeare Competition in New York City. Cash prizes will be awarded to the second- and third-place winners. The public is invited to attend the Branch Competition. Refreshments will be provided.
2026 National Shakespeare Competition Prizes:
- 1st place: A scholarship to the Midsummer Conservatory at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, U.K.
- 2nd place: A scholarship to the American Shakespeare Center’s Theatre Camp in Staunton, VA.
- 3rd place: $1000
All dates are tentative and subject to change. Please watch our website for the latest dates.
Schools may begin registering and holding their school-level competitions immediately. School competitions must be concluded prior to the branch competition.