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The English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition

ESU Kansas City Branch Announces
19 Schools in 36^th Annual
2020 Shakespeare Competition

Sunday, February 16, 2020
NEW START TIME: 1:30 PM
Plaza Library, 4801 Main St.,
Kansas City, MO

The ESU Kansas City Branch, in its 100^th birthday year, is thrilled to announce nineteen area high schools have entered the 2020 Shakespeare Competition. This is the largest group of high schools to enter the Competition in our 36 years of hosting the Competition in Kansas City. Congratulations to these schools and best of luck to each student representing their school.

Blue Springs South High School
Blue Valley High School
Center High School
Garden City High School
Gardner-Edgerton High School
Harrisonville High School
Lincoln College Preparatory Academy
Notre Dame de Sion
Olathe Northwest High School
Olathe South High School
Ottawa High School
Paola High School
Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts
Shawnee Mission North High School
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Spring Hill High School
St. Teresa's Academy
St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Summit Christian Academy

Students from these nineteen high schools are preparing in preliminary competitions at their schools. The nineteen students who win those preliminary competitions will be competing at the Kansas City Branch finals on Sunday, February 16, 2020. The new start time for the Competition is 1:30 pm. This annual event is designed to develop students' speaking and critical thinking skills as they explore the beauty of the language and the timeless themes in Shakespeare's works.

Deborah McArdle, Kansas City Vice President and Competition Coordinator, commented, "What better way to celebrate the ESU Kansas City Branch's 100^th birthday in 2020 than hosting 19 high schools in our 36^th annual Shakespeare Competition. We are pleased to have many new schools enter the Competition for the first time this year. We also thank our committed teachers who give so generously of time and talent."

The First Place winner of the ESU Kansas City Branch Competition receives $150, a full scholarship to Shakespeare Exploration, a conservatory-styled camp for teens offered by the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, an all-expense-paid round-trip to New York City to compete in the ESU National Shakespeare Competition on April 27, 2020, as well as other group activities in New York City.

The First Place winner of the ESU National Shakespeare Competition receives an all-expenses paid scholarship to study in England during the summer.

The ESU Shakespeare Competition will be held Sunday, February 16, 2020, at 1:30 pm at the Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch, Kansas City, MO. NOTE THE NEW START TIME: 1:30 PM. The Competition is co-sponsored with the Kansas City Public Library and is a free event. The public is invited.

The ESU National Shakespeare Competition has been recognized by the Globe Center (USA), the Children's Theatre Foundation of America and the American Academy of Achievement. Many distinguished judges have served on the Competition panels. It is the only national Shakespeare competition in the U.S. and the only such program exclusively for high school students.