ESU Hawaii President’s Message

Honolulu, February 21, 2026 —Sophia LaPorte, student of Linda Johnson from Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, achieved first place at the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition Hawaii Branch tournament on February 21, 2026. Ms. LaPorte will travel to New York City along with more than 50 other contestants from around the country to participate in the ESU National Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater in New York on April 27, 2026.  

Bridget Ryan-Kern of Iolani School earned second place, and Danika Wong of La Pietra was awarded third place in the Hawaii Branch competition. Each student performed a Shakespearean monologue and sonnet of their choice. Competitors were judged on their understanding of their selected texts and on their ability to communicate their interpretation to the audience. Judges for the Branch Competition included Betty Burdick, Taurie Kinoshita, and Nicolas Logue. 

The English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition is a performance-based education program in which high school students nationwide read, analyze, perform, and recite Shakespeare’s works. Through the program, students develop communication skills and an appreciation of the power of language and literature. In the Competition’s three progressive levels, students perform in their own schools, at ESU Branch community competitions, and at the National Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center in New York City. Since 1983, more than 300,000 young Americans of all backgrounds have taken advantage of this opportunity to bring the timeless works of Shakespeare to life and learn to express his words with understanding, feeling, and clarity.

The Hawaii Branch of the English-Speaking Union has had more national winners than any other branch in the history of the competition: Connor Lawhorn (2011), Sarah Spalding (2015), Ari Dalbert (2016), and Elena Hollenbeak (2023). 

At the ESU National Shakespeare Competition in the world-renowned Lincoln Center Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on April 27, each national semi-finalist will perform a monologue and sonnet before a panel of distinguished judges, their fellow contestants, and a sizeable group of spectators. Based on their performances, seven to ten students will advance to a final round. Those finalists will perform their selections before a new set of judges as they compete for the first place award, which is an all-expenses-paid scholarship to study acting and Shakespeare for three weeks in Oxford, England at the British American Drama Academy Summer Conservancy. For additional information regarding the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, please visit this link: https://www.esuus.org/what-we-do/shakespeare-competition/.

Founded in 1920, The English-Speaking Union is a non-profit, non-political educational organization that employs English as a catalyst to foster global understanding and good will through educational and cultural exchange programs. The ESU carries out its work through a network of 58 Branches nationwide along with affiliates in the United Kingdom and 60 other countries. For additional information about the English-Speaking Union, please visit https://www.esuus.org/what-we-do/shakespeare-competition/ For details about the ESU Hawaii Branch or to join the Branch please visit https://www.esuus.org/hawaii/.

Left to right: Danika Wong (third), Sophia LaPorte (first), Bridget Ryan-Kern (second)

Top three winners in the Hawaii segment of the 2026 ESU National Shakespeare Competition.

An Appealing Sonnet

To fund the ESU Hawaii Branch

Is what this humble sonnet asks of you 

So that deposits, which we long to bank, 

Increase enough to let us follow through

In nurturing young minds we cherish dearly. 

If Bard of Avon’s your fond proclivity,

Help underwrite our competition yearly

And more Shakespearean activity.

To “ESU Hawaii” make out your check

In an amount best matching with your means,

And a noble difference you will make

In lives of brave, performing island teens.

The truth of this is ineluctable:

Your gift is fully tax deductible!

Checks made out to ESU Hawaii may be mailed to Mark Lawhorn, 2121 Ala Wai Blvd., Apt. 2705, Honolulu, HI 96815.

Thank you for visiting the ESU Hawaii web site. The ESU president and other executive committee members may be contacted at esuhawaii@gmail.com

‘Eleu Lukey, student of Linda Johnson at Mid-Pacific Institute, was awarded first place at the Hawaii segment of the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition held on February 22, 2025 at Luke Auditorium in the Punahou School’s Wo International Center. The competition progresses through three qualifying stages.

• Ninth through twelfth graders are eligible to participate in a school-wide competition (provided they have not been paid for performing during the current school year). Schools have the option of requiring that students perform both a sonnet and monologue at the school level competition.
• The school winner then advances to a competition held at the local ESU Branch.

As winner of the Hawaii competition, ‘Eleu will travel to New York City for the national competition.

Punahou School student KG Pan earned second place, and ‘Iolani School student Qingqing Chen was awarded third place in the Hawaii 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.

Pictured above are the top three finishers in the Hawaii segment of the 2025 English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition: KG Pan (2nd place), ‘Eleu Lukey (1st place), and QingQing Chen (3rd place). Photo by Jeff Stearns.

‘Eleu will join more than 50 other contestants from around the country in 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. For additional information regarding the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, please visit https://www.esuus.org/what-we-do/shakespeare-competition/ .

The English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition is a performance-based education program in which high school students nationwide read, analyze, perform, and recite Shakespeare’s works. Through the program, students develop communication skills and an appreciation of the power of language and literature. In the Competition’s three progressive levels, students perform in their own schools, at ESU Branch community competitions, and at the National Shakespeare Competition in New York City. Since 1983, more than 400,000 young Americans of all backgrounds have taken advantage of this opportunity to bring the timeless works of Shakespeare to life and learn to express his words with understanding, feeling, and clarity.

ESU Hawaii, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is operated entirely by volunteers and relies on charitable contributions (tax deductible!) to continue the mission of ESU founder Sir Evelyn Wrench “to bring together in the bonds of friendship the English- speaking peoples of the world.” The Hawaii Branch of the English-Speaking Union has had more national winners than any other branch in the 41-year history of the ESU National Shakespeare Competition: Connor Lawhorn (2011), Sarah Spalding (2015), Ari Dalbert (2016), and Elena Hollenbeak (2023). If you would like to support our efforts to continue bringing Hawaii’s students together to celebrate the language of Shakespeare, please consider becoming a member via the link on our site or making a contribution (or both!).

An Appealing Sonnet

To fund the ESU Hawaii Branch
Is what this humble sonnet asks of you So that deposits, which we long to bank, Increase enough to let us follow through
In nurturing young minds we cherish dearly. If Bard of Avon’s your fond proclivity,
Help underwrite our competition yearly
And more Shakespearean activity.
To “ESU Hawaii” make out your check
In an amount best matching with your means,
And a noble difference you will make
In lives of brave, performing island teens.
The truth of this is ineluctable:
Your gift is fully tax deductible!

Checks made out to ESU Hawaii may be mailed to Mark Lawhorn, 2121 Ala Wai Blvd., Apt. 2705, Honolulu, HI 96815.

Thank you for visiting the ESU Hawaii web site. The ESU president and other executive committee members may be contacted at esuhawaii@gmail.com

Aloha,

The Hawaii Branch has participated in the National Shakespeare Competition from its inception in 1983. Since then, more than 6,000 students, from public, independent and charter schools statewide, as well as homeschooled students, have had the opportunity to compete in this challenging program. By participating, high school students develop their appreciation of literature as they explore the language and timeless themes in Shakespeare’s works. Hawaii students have excelled at the competition over the years as evidenced by the frequency of Hawaii students making it to the final round of the top ten competitors nationally. Additionally, one of the top three places has gone to a Hawaii student several times and four Hawaii students have won the national competition within the last ten years (Connor Lawhorn, 2011; Sarah Spalding, 2015; Ari Dalbert, 2016; and Elena Hollenbeak, 2023). In the 41 years since the competition began, no other branch in the country has ever had back-to-back national winners, and no other branch has ever had four national winners. 

Hawaii’s Latest National Winner: Elena Hollenbeak
Elena Hollenbeak not only became a finalist but achieved first place in the 40th national competition for her stellar performances of Sonnet 14 and a monologue by Lady Macbeth from Macbeth. Lyn Ackerman, Elena’s drama teacher at St. Andrew’s Schools: The Priory in Honolulu, attended the national competition and was awarded the $1,000 Teacher Recognition Award.

Elena’s grand prize was a scholarship to the British American Drama Academy Midsummer Conservatory Program in London. Additionally, Elena, who is now a college student in New York City, was asked to do a workshop encouraging this year’s national competitors in New York. She kindly obliged, of course!

Left to right: ESU Chairman Quinn Peeper, Elena Hollenbeak, and Lyn Ackerman at Lincoln Center in New York City, April 24, 2023

2024 Activities

Competition.  The 2024 High School Shakespeare Competition took place at Punahou School’s Luke Auditorium on February 17. All high schools in Hawai’i are invited to participate free in the competition. Each student performs a Shakespeare sonnet and monologue. Three theater professionals judged the State competition:  Betty Burdick, theater professor at Leeward Community College, Taurie Kinoshita, Chair of the Play Development Committee at Kumu Kahua Theatre, and Eden Lee Murray, well known director, teacher, and actor. 

2024 Hawai’i Competition top three (left to right): third place, Aya Okimoto. Punahou; first place, Kainoa Kelly, ‘Iolani School;  second place, Alyssa Cubangbang, University Lab School

The Hawaii winner, ‘Iolani student Kainoa Kelly, competed on April 15, 2024, in the ESU National Shakespeare Competition held at Lincoln Center in New York City. Both his mother, Lee Cataluna, and his drama teacher, Julia Ogilvie, accompanied Kainoa to the national competition. Julia Ogilvie was Hawai’i’s winner in 2004 when she was a student at Punahou School. Julia went on to place third in the national competition. Later, she attended the Julliard School across the street from Lincoln Center and devoted herself to the theater for years in the Big Apple. The emcee for this year’s Hawai’i competition was Connor Lawhorn, our national first place winner from 2011. It is wonderful to see former student competitors giving back to the organization in ways that help to keep the excitement alive in Hawaii!

Through the competition, students develop communication skills and an appreciation of the power of language and literature. By performing a sonnet and monologue, students

• develop essential skills: critical thinking, close reading and public speaking
• increase self-confidence through reading, analysis and performance of Shakespeare
• explore the beauty of Shakespeare’s language and classic themes
• meet local, state and national standards in English Language Arts and Drama.

Teacher Professional Development.  Another English-Speaking Union program that was on hiatus during the height of the pandemic was the Study Abroad program for US teachers to go to the United Kingdom. In 2019, the Hawai’i branch awarded a stipend to Jacqueline Seaquist, English teacher from Hilo High School, to attend a ESU-sponsored education opportunity at the Globe Theatre in London – “Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance.” Ms. Seaquist wrote to express her gratitude in this way:

I recently returned from the course at the Globe! Being at the Globe has changed the way I look at and teach Shakespeare. The course was an amazing immersive experience, and I am grateful to ESU Hawaii for sponsoring me so I could participate!

For 2025, we would like to send another Hawai’i teacher to participate in one of the ESU offerings:

Shakespeare’s Globe—London

Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance*

University of Oxford

English Literature* 

History, Politics and Society*

Creative Writing*

International Politics*

The Story and Future of English (New)

University of Edinburgh

Text and Context: Modernism, Scottish Literature, and Contemporary Literature*

Creative Writing* 

Theatre and Performance*

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art—London 

The Language of Drama (New)

Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust—Stratford-upon-Avon

From Page to Stage: Text to Theater (New)

Conclusion

Teaching Shakespeare is as vital as ever. Students find that though he wrote over 450 years ago, Shakespeare still has much to teach about the modern human condition. His plays have been performed in almost every language, on stage and screen. Even in prisons, teachers find that Shakespeare offers contemporary connections that open pathways to learning for some of society’s most marginalized individuals. With stories that cover the many dimensions of human experience, Shakespeare continues to inspire new generations.

Through the national competition, students are able to bring the timeless works of Shakespeare to life and learn to express his words with understanding, feeling and clarity. We hope you will join us in continuing this wonderful opportunity for Hawaii’s high schools students and at least one Hawai’i teacher.  If you would like to support our efforts to continue bringing Hawaii’s students together to celebrate the language of Shakespeare, please consider becoming a member via the link on our site or making a contribution (or both!).

 An Appealing Sonnet

To fund the ESU Hawaii Branch

Is what this humble sonnet asks of you So that deposits, which we long to bank, Increase enough to let us follow through

In nurturing young minds we cherish dearly. If Bard of Avon’s your fond proclivity,

Help underwrite our competition yearly

And more Shakespearean activity.

To “ESU Hawaii” make out your check

In an amount best matching with your means,

And a noble difference you will make

In lives of brave, performing island teens.

The truth of this is ineluctable:

Your gift is fully tax deductible!

Checks made out to ESU Hawaii may be mailed to Mark Lawhorn, 2121 Ala Wai Blvd., Apt. 2705, Honolulu, HI 96815.

Thank you for visiting the ESU Hawaii web site. The ESU president and other executive committee members may be contacted at esuhawaii@gmail.com