Pittsburgh Public Theater celebrated 30 years of the Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest on Monday night, when winners were chosen at the O’Reilly Theater showcase.
More than 700 students from more than 80 schools competed in the preliminary rounds of this year’s contest, and contest finalists performed live for an audience of more than 200 people.
Winners of the 2024 Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest:
- Lower Division | Monologue: Kate Jeon (Helena), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Avonworth Middle School.
- Lower Division | Scene: Leo Williams and Cole Shaffer (Brutus and Cassius), Julius Caesar, Blackburn Study Center.
- Upper Division | Monologue (tie): Devontez Moses (Antony), Antony and Cleopatra, Woodland Hills High School, and Lia Kashiwagi (Hamlet), Hamlet, Slippery Rock Area School District.
- Upper Division | Scene: Grant Kingston (Malvolio), Ellie Jedrzejewski (Olivia), Isabelle DeMarco (Maria), Twelfth Night, Slippery Rock Area School District.
The Public also announced Rachel Lendyak-Peters from Environmental Charter School as this year’s recipient of the Rob Zellers Award for Excellence in Arts Education.
Judges for this year’s Showcase of Finalists included First Lady of Pittsburgh Michelle Gainey, former Pittsburgh Public Theater Director of Education and award-winning playwright Rob Zellers, actor and performance educator Amy Landis, and theatermaker and choreographer Alex Manalo.
The 30th annual competition was presented by Richard W. Moriarty, M.D., with support from the Grable Foundation, BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania, McKinney Foundation, and Jack Buncher Foundation. Additional education and engagement support is provided by EQT Foundation, The Buhl Foundation, Howard and Nell E. Miller Foundation, Hefren-Tillotson, Inc., Baird, and UPMC Health Plan.
Categories: Arts Education, Company, Our Posts
Leave a Reply Cancel reply