Shakespeare Competition for High School Students to Award Renewable University Scholarships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Higgins, 610.282.9455, ext. 4
January 31, 2014
Lisa.Higgins@pashakespeare.org

Center Valley, PA — The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival announces its sixth Shakespeare Competition for high school students to be held Saturday, March 15th on the Center Valley campus of DeSales University. All high school students in public, private, or home school are eligible to participate. The registration deadline for the competition is Friday, February 21.

The Shakespeare Competition provides multiple performance opportunities for students, direct evaluation of each performance by professional actors and teaching artists from New York and Philadelphia, and observation of peer and university performances. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage in workshops and panel discussions with the professional artists.

Prizes range from $1,000 to $5,000 in renewable scholarships to major in the performing arts department at DeSales University. In addition, adjudicators will nominate candidates to present pieces of outstanding merit in a showcase performance at the conclusion of the event.

“The competition creates a unique opportunity for students and teachers to explore Shakespeare’s characters and text and gain feedback from professional evaluators,” says PSF Director of Education Jill Arington.

Past competitions have featured up to 21 schools and 68 students.

The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is a professional theatre company and the official Shakespeare festival of the Commonwealth. The 2014 summer season features Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Two Gentlemen of Verona; the Tony Award-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof, the madcap comedy Lend Me A Tenor, Tina Packer’s Women of Will, Cinderella, and Shakespeare for Kids. The Festival runs May 31 through August 3.

The season sponsor is Breslin Ridyard Fadero Architects. The Associate Season Sponsors are the Harry C. Trexler Trust, Drs. Frank and Carol Szarko, Linda Lapos and Paul Wirth.

For information, contact Education Director Jill Arington at Jill.Arington@pashakespeare.org or call 610-282-9455 ext. 9. Download guidelines and registrations at www.pashakespeare.org/competition.