The Kansas City Branch of the English-Speaking Union (ESU) invites high schools and home school organizations to join us in participating in the 2025-26 ESU National Shakespeare Competition. 2026 marks the 42^nd year of the ESU Kansas City Branch Shakespeare Competition. This performance-based education program unites students in our Branch’s territory with students in other ESU Branches nationwide, on average reaching approximately 15,000 teenagers in over 750+ schools and home school organizations across the United States.

Our Branch’s Shakespeare Competition is not limited to Kansas City area students. We welcome schools and home school organizations from across the State of Kansas and the western half of the State of Missouri. The First Place winner of last year’s Kansas City Branch Competition finals was from Paola High School, and the student placing second was from Salina Central High School. The ESU St. Louis Branch also sponsors a Shakespeare Competition that may be more convenient for schools in Eastern Missouri

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. 

Details below on how to register your school for the 2026 ESU National Shakespeare Competition.

Documents & Forms

All materials including the online school participation form, teacher and student handbooks, and packets of monologues and sonnets are located here.

Branch Contact

A schedule for this year’s Branch Competition is provided below. If you have questions or want additional information about the Competition, please contact Dan Bukovac, the ESU Kansas City Branch Shakespeare Competition Coordinator, at dan.bukovac@gmail.com.

2025-26 ESU KANSAS CITY BRANCH COMPETITION SCHEDULE

Fall/Winter 2025-26: High schools register to enter Shakespeare Competition, using the online School Registration Form here.

Registration is now open with no fees to enter.  

Fall/Winter 2025-26: High schools and home school organizations organize School Competitions.

February 10, 2026: Last day for schools to submit the online School Registration Form

February 20, 2026: Last day for schools to hold a School Competition and submit information about the results, using the online School Winner Form (online form not yet available)

March 1, 2026: ESU Kansas City Branch Competition finals in the Truman Forum Auditorium at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri, 2:00 pm.

March 16, 2026:  Branch winners must submit the 2026 ESU National Shakespeare Competition Branch Winner Packets with video links for the People’s Choice Award.

April 25-27, 2026 (tentative): ESU National Competition finals weekend in New York City for Branch First Place Winners.

Two previous Kansas City Branch winners have won First Place in the National Shakespeare Competition in New York City. One past Kansas City winner won Second Place in the National Competition and, in 2017,  Trevon Wainwright from Paseo Academy, won Third Place in the National Finals. Four past Kansas City winners have placed in the top ten finalists in the National Competition.

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. It is the only national Shakespeare competition in the U.S. and the only such program exclusively for high school students.