THE CINCINNATI BRANCH

OF THE

ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION

 

 

SHAKESPEARE COMPETITION COMMITTEE

 

September 9, 2002

To:

 

The Cincinnati Branch of the English-Speaking Union, a non-profit organization, is celebrating the seventeenth anniversary of its Shakespeare Competition open to students in the 10th-12th grades in the Greater Cincinnati area high schools.  We invite your school to participate. Last year's competition was enthusiastically received by students, teachers and parents. Over 300 students competed at their high schools, with some 150 teachers involved. Last year over 50 high schools from around the nation competed in the annual National Shakespeare Competition held in New York City. Since 1985 when Cincinnati first started to participate, our winner has placed in the national finals five different times. Will your school give us the first place winner?

 

The purpose of the competition is to interest today's students in Shakespeare, his dramatic and poetic art, his universality, and his use of the English language. In preparing a passage from one of the plays for recitation, a student can bring Shakespeare to life and can learn to express his words with feeling, comprehension and clarity.

 

Briefly, the competition has three stages. Participating schools hold their own internal competitions to select a single winner to represent the school. School winners will enter the local semifinals on Saturday, February 22, 2003 where six semifinalists will be chosen. Then these six semifinalists will enter the local finals on Saturday, March 1, 2003.

 

The Cincinnati English-Speaking Union offers as first prize a $1000 scholarship award for the winner. In addition, the area winner will be flown to New York City Saturday-Monday, April 26-28th to represent Cincinnati in the National Competition.  Second prize is $500, third prize, $250, and there are three awards of a copy each of the Riverside Shakespeare. Teachers of the three winning students will receive $200, $100, and $75, respectively. All semifinalists will be awarded certificates. Details of the local semifinal and final competitions and further information for contestants will be mailed after entry forms are received. (MID NOVEMBER)

 

We hope you will give your students the opportunity to participate in SHAKESPEARE '03. We enclose additional information on the competition, an entry form, and posters for the appropriate bulletin board. PLEASE POST THE POSTERS. We have additional posters available if you would like to post in additional locations.  Just give one of us a call listed at the bottom of this letter. If you have no interest in working on this contest please pass this information on to another interested English or Drama teacher. The English-Speaking Union hopes to extend the opportunity to study and perform Shakespeare to every eligible student in the Cincinnati area. We will be happy to answer your questions.

 

The number listed after our name (Janice and Bob) is our home phone number. It is impossible to take calls at work so please leave a message on our recorder at home if you call during the day. Please leave an evening number. We cannot return calls during the day so again please leave your evening number and we will be happy to return it in the evening.

 

Sincerely yours,                                                                                                                                                  

Janice Flanagan and Bob Amott, (859) 291-0621

Co-Chairs

SHAKESPEARE '03

GUIDELINES FOR THE SCHOOL COMPETITIONS

 

Information on the speeches to be prepared by the students and on the criteria for judging will be provided after we have received the competition entry forms.  Please note that students will be required to prepare only one speech for the school competition.  The student may choose from a list of passages taken from a designated list of plays that will be supplied to you in another mailing.  Deadline for receipt of your intention to participate is November 4, 2002. You will then be mailed additional information on November 11th, 2002.

 

Students chosen to participate in the semi-finals are required to prepare a Shakespearean sonnet as well as a monologue.  Sonnet choices will be mailed with the list of monologue choices so that teachers may require recitation of the sonnet in the school competition if they wish to do so.  Many teachers work the Shakespeare Competition into the curriculum so that their students are especially encouraged to study Shakespeare.

 

The school competition may be held at any time that fits into the school schedule. Some schools use a class period for the competition; others make it a separate event or feature it in an assembly. We have found that Shakespeare competitions held in a general assembly engender the most enthusiasm and reach the most students. At least three students should compete. Essential elements are an audience and judges.

 

There should be no fewer than three judges and no more than five.  Their number should include one or more teachers.  Parents or friends of the school who have some knowledge of theatre or drama could be asked to serve.  Some high schools have permitted the classes serving as audiences to help judge the school competition.  The ESU Shakespeare Committee urges you to allow as many students as possible to see and hear their peers perform Shakespeare.

 

To encourage interest in our unique, culturally and financially rewarding competition, we are enclosing posters for your bulletin board.  Please post the posters where they will attract the attention of your English and drama students.  We are hoping to reach more high school students every year.  Extra posters are available from the committee.

 

Schools are asked to notify the Cincinnati Branch of ESU of their intent to participate by November 4, 2001.  Reasonable requests for extension of this deadline will be granted.  School competitions must be held and the school winner reported to the ESU on or before February 9, 2003.

 

 

 

2003 Shakespeare Competition

Calendar

 

 

November 4th 2002 –

Mail back “School Competition Entrance Form” & “Conditions of Participation Form” included in 1st mailing.

 

Week of November 11th 2002 –

Second Mailing - Participating schools will receive the Monologue and Sonnet selections for 2003 competition.

 

February 3rd 2003 –

Schools mail in “School Results Form” sent with 2nd mailing.

 

Week of February 22nd –

Schools will receive 3rd mailing with confirmation of participation and competition information.

 

Saturday, February 22nd –

Semi Final competition (location to be announced)

 

Saturday, March 1st –

Final competition (location to be announced)

 

April 26-28th –

National competition in New York City

SHAKESPEARE '03 COMPETITION ENTRY FORM

 

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT CLEARLY

 

 

NAME OF SCHOOL:

ADDRESS:

 

                                                                                                                   ZIP:

TELEPHONE:

 

TEACHER IN CHARGE OF INTERNAL COMPETITION:

 

 


HOURS WHEN THE TEACHER MAY BE REACHED BY TELEPHONE AT SCHOOL:

 

 

 

 


IF WE CANNOT REACH YOU AT SCHOOL, MAY WE TELEPHONE YOU AT HOME?

 

YES (  )   NO (  )   EVENING PHONE NUMBER: 

 

*PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT FUTURE MAILINGS SENT TO YOUR HOME.  IF SO, PLEASE SUPPLY YOUR ADDRESS.*

 

 

 

 


PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM BY NOVEMBER 4, 2002 TO:

 

                                                             MS. JANICE FLANAGAN & MR. BOB AMOTT

                                                            1074 JACKSON ROAD

                                                            PARK HILLS, KY  41011

 

If you have any questions or need an extension of the deadline, telephone Janice Flanagan or Bob Amott at (859) 291-0621.  Please note that this is a home phone number as neither of us can take calls during the day at work.  If you need for us to call you please be sure to leave an evening number so that we may call you back.

SHAKESPEARE '03

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

 

 

The Principal or Head of each participating school is required to sign this form and return it to the English-Speaking Union with the school entry form by November 4, 2002.

 

I AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING:

 

1. The Competition is open to students who are permanent residents of the United States enrolled full-time in grades 10, 11, and 12 in the Cincinnati area public, parochial and/or private schools.

 

2. The Competition excludes students who are paid to appear in a professional or semi-professional theatrical performance between September 1, 2002, and May 1, 2003.

 

3. The Competition is open to students irrespective of sex, religion or national or ethnic origin.

 

4. Each participating school agrees to hold an internal Shakespeare competition from which a winner will be selected to go forward to the semifinals.

 

5. Participating schools agree to be bound by the decisions of the Panels of Judges in the semifinal and final stages of the Competition.

 

 

Date Signed:

 

Principal/Head:

 

School:

 

 

Please return this form along with the school entrance form to Ms. Janice Flanagan and Mr. Bob Amott, 1074 Jackson Rd., Park Hills, KY  41011