Green Level Theatre will be hosting its first-ever Shakespeare Competition on Thursday, January 8, at 5:30 p.m. The competition gives students the opportunity to showcase their acting skills and bring classic literature to life.
The event is part of the English-Speaking Union’s (ESU) National Shakespeare Competition, a nationwide program that encourages students to study, perform, and appreciate the works of William Shakespeare each year. Students will perform a memorized monologue from the official ESU packet.
“The competition is through the English-Speaking Union; it is their National Shakespeare Competition. This is a school-level competition, and the top two students from our school will advance to the regional competition at William Peace University in February. The winner from that round is flown to New York City in the spring to compete at the national level,” said Ms. Craig, the competition’s organizer.
Winners at the school and regional levels earn the chance to advance to the national competition, where students can receive scholarships and national recognition.
This is the first year Green Level has participated in the ESU competition. “At the school level, students are only required to perform a monologue, but whoever moves forward will be required to perform both a monologue and a sonnet. There are more than 200 pieces for students to choose from, provided in a packet put together by the ESU,” said Ms. Craig.
“I think it’s valuable for students because Shakespeare is cross-curricular. It includes historical elements, theater elements, and English, because students have to understand what they’re saying and the context it was written in,” Craig said. “It’s important for students to work through a dense text and learn how to communicate its meaning to an audience, even if every word isn’t immediately understood.”
The two winners from Green Level will advance to the ESU Branch Competition at William Peace University, where they will perform both a monologue and a sonnet. Winners of the regional competition will then move on to the national competition on Monday, April 27, at Lincoln Center in New York City.
“That long-term preparation and willingness to put yourself out there takes a level of courage that’s hard to find,” Craig said. “Live performance teaches students how to handle both disappointment and success, and those experiences can shape how they approach challenges in the future.”
Students interested in participating must submit a virtual pre-screening video by December 15, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. The video must be a single, unedited recording featuring a short introduction followed by a full monologue performance. More information, rules, and registration details can be found through the Green Level Theatre program.
