The English Speaking Union Shakespeare Monologue Competition is a competition where students will prepare a Shakespearean monologue that is less than 20 lines. This year, 25 MHS play production students participated. Other classes have participated in the past as well.
Competitions at the state level usually have around 25-30 schools participating. This year senior Kamila Regalado won a finalist position with her performance of Desdemona from the tragedy Othello. The ten finalists will go on to the preliminary round at Mount Ida College, in Newton. Then, one person is chosen from the panel of judges to go to New York.
For the final round, students are required to perform a monologue with only fifteen minutes of preparation with the text. The competition is held during January midterms in the auditorium. Then, for the next two rounds, it will be in Mount Ida College. The performers who advance to the national competition go to New York City for performance and workshops, all expenses paid.
Regalado got help from Mr. Walsh, Mrs. Clapp, and Mr. Berryman on the pieces. “All their input really helped me in understanding the monologue and sonnet and getting ready for the cold read”. She thinks that the competition was really enriching and that “everyone should at least try it [because] it pushed me in a direction I didn’t think I would’ve ever gone. Shakespeare is difficult, but once you dig into it, it’s fascinating.” The contestants were asked to keep the school a secret since there are many other different kinds of schools. “It was always interesting when our schools were revealed. It just comes to show it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can still be as great as what you do as kids with the resources.” When asked about how Regalado feels about it, she said “It didn’t feel like a competition until I saw the great, powerful performances on stage.”
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