 | Canyon View High School (above), and Hurricane
High School(right) were two ensemble division of
the annual Shakespeare Competition.
| By: Ashley Langston
| More than 2,500 students from 95 schools converged on Cedar City the weekend of Oct. 2-4, for the 32nd annual Shakespeare Competition, put on by the Utah Shakespearean Festival and Southern Utah University.
The students came from middle schools and high schools in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Idaho and Wisconsin to compete as actors, dancers and theatre technicians.
They were judged by theatre and dance professionals from across the country, including New York and Los Angeles, and awards were given in a variety of categories. The acting and dance competitions were broken up into six divisions, and each school fit into a division based on its size and type.
Within the acting portion, students participated in monologue, duo/trio and ensemble competitions. Several students from Tuacahn High School won awards, and junior Danielle Landau, of Hurricane High School, received the third place monologue award and the Barbara Barrett award in her school’s division.
The Barbara Barrett award is named for the USF’s first education director. The award includes a $500 scholarship to next summer’s Actor Training Program.
Cedar High School and Canyon View High School, from Cedar City, also participated in the competition.
The participants had a great opportunity to hear from the judges after their performance, and learned what they were doing well and what needed improvement. In this way, the competition helped them improve their skills.
Amanda Caraway, USF media and public relations director, said the dance portion of the competition was particularly interesting, because the dance groups competing had chosen a scene from a Shakespeare play and choreographed it, so the whole scene was done through dance.
The Tech Olympics allowed kids who prefer the technical aspect of theatre to shine as well. Rachel Mann, MFA production assistant, said the tech event allowed students to compete in costumes, audio, lighting, construction, props, and rigging.
Cody Marsili, a senior from Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, said the biggest challenge of the competition was that it was timed. In his technical class at school, they were completely focused on accuracy, and did not worry about time.
Mixing accuracy with speed would help him develop his skills, which is beneficial because he hopes to pursue theatre professionally, he said.
In addition to competing at the event, students had the opportunity to participate in workshops led by professionals. One such workshop was stage combat, where students learned moves that appeared violent, but actually were not.
Caraway said in addition to benefiting the students, the competition boosts the local economy. She said restaurants and hotels were very busy for the few days of the event, with students staying in hotels all over Southern Utah, including Hurricane and St. George.
The event was sponsored in part by KSL Television. |
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