The Kansas City Branch of the English-Speaking Union (ESU) invites high schools and home school organizations to join us in participating in the 2024-25 ESU National Shakespeare Competition. 2025 marks the 41st 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 800 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 winner of last year’s Kansas City Branch Competition finals was from Garden City High School, and the student placing third 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 2025 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.

2024-25 ESU KANSAS CITY BRANCH COMPETITION SCHEDULE

Fall/Winter 2024-25: High schools and home school organizations register to enter Shakespeare Competition, using the online School Participation Form at School Participation Form Registration is now open with no fees to enter for schools and organizations in the ESU Kansas City Branch.

Fall/Winter 2024-25: High schools and home school organizations hold School Competitions. At School Competitions held at high schools, home school organizations or nearby theaters or auditoriums, a minimum of three students perform monologues (15-22 lines in length) from Shakespeare’s plays and recite Shakespeare’s sonnets before a panel of three judges. All forms, handbooks, packets and resources for teachers, students and judges can be found on the ESU’s website at the following link: Shakespeare Competition

February 7, 2025: Last day for schools and home school organizations to submit the online School Participation Form at School Participation Form

February 14, 2025: Last day for schools and home school organizations to hold a School Competition and submit information about the results, using the online School Winner Form at School Winner Form

February 23, 2025: ESU Kansas City Branch Competition finals in the Truman Forum Auditorium at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri.

Students winning School Competitions in the Kansas City Branch territory advance to compete at the Competition’s second stage–the ESU Kansas City Branch Competition finals.

March 16, 2025: Last day for winner of Kansas City Branch Competition to submit Branch Winner Packet with video link for the People’s Choice Award.

April 28, 2025 (tentative): ESU National Competition finals in New York City. The winner of the Kansas City Branch finals advances to the Competition’s third stage—the ESU National Competition finals.

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.