In a premier program at the Branch and National Levels, local high school students compete in a debating society type presentation of a selected Shakespeare speech. Local winners advance to regional, then national competitions.
In 2024 The Greenwich Branch had 22 Students competing, representing 13 local schools, with the following winners:
1st place – Daia Jade, ACES Educational Center for the Arts
2nd place – Sean Byrne, Norwalk High School
3rd place – Audrey Compare, Fairfield Ludlowe High School
Honourable Mention – Ava Clear, Convent of the Sacred Heart
The Competition helps students develop 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. Approximately 2,500 teachers and 20,000 students in nearly 60 ESU branches participate each year.
High school students from the Greenwich metro area (Grades 9-12) will be competing for First Place at the Greenwich Finals with the winner advancing to the National Finals in New York City in April 2024. Students perform and recite Shakespeare monologues and sonnets in three qualifying stages: school, branch, and National levels.
If you are a Theatre, English, 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.