As the iconic William Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Once again, the men and women of CCHS have the chance to be “players” in the annual National Shakespeare Competition held by the English-Speaking Union of the United States (ESU).

The competition’s main goal is to help students gain a deeper understanding of Shakespeare and communicate that understanding.

“It’s essentially simply a pure Shakespeare demonstration,” said Mr. Jeff McMurtry, AP Language and Composition and English 4 teacher.

The National Shakespeare Competition requires a student to memorize a maximum of twenty lines of a monologue or soliloquy.

“The competitor is also required to give a dramatic reading of one of Shakespeare’s sonnets,” said Mr. McMurtry. This sonnet does not have to be memorized.

“This year, the Shakespeare Competition comes early,” said Mr. McMurtry. On January 12^th, students will come prepared with their monologue or soliloquy and their sonnet to compete in the Lecture Hall after break.

The winner of the school competition will go on to the Shakespeare Competition held by the San Diego Branch of the ESU on February 6, 2012. This year, this level of the competition is going to be held at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego.

The winner of that competition will then be awarded an all-expense-paid trip to New York City for the ESU National Shakespeare Competition at the Lincoln Center.

The winner of the national level of the competition will be awarded a scholarship for summer study in the United Kingdom. The second place winner receives a scholarship for a theater camp in the US, and the third place winner receives $500 from The Shakespeare Society.

For more information about the competition, students may contact Mr. McMurtry at [email protected] or Drama teacher Ms. Katie Wilson [email protected].