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Theater Fri Feb 27 2015
Chicago High Schoolers to Compete in August Wilson Monologue Finals March 10
The August Wilson Monologue Competition finals for Chicago high school students is set for 6pm Tuesday, March 10, at the Goodman Theatre. Twenty finalists will compete by performing a 2-3 minute monologue of their choosing from one of the 10 plays in the late playwright's Century Cycle. Three winners will receive cash prizes ($500 for first place, $250 for second and $100 for third) plus expense-paid trips to compete in the national finals in New York on May 5.
Judges for the Chicago finals will include Ron OJ Parson, resident artist at Court Theatre, and August Wilson's daughter, Sakina Ansari Wilson, plus two judges to be announced.
This year 700 students--sophomores, juniors and seniors--participated in the Chicago competition through in-school or after school programs. Three hundred students competed in the preliminary round and 64 students in the semi-finals. The competition focuses on exposing students to Wilson's work and incorporating the plays into the standard high school curriculum.
Sponsors of the competition are the League of Chicago Theatres, Goodman Theatre and the University of Illinois Chicago. The 2015 August Wilson Monologue Competition is part of the spring 2015 citywide retrospective, the August Wilson Celebration, which celebrates the late playwright's work and influence on American culture.
The monologue competition is organized by Derrick L. Sanders of the UIC School of Theatre and Music and founding artistic director of Congo Square Theatre Company.
Tickets to the August Wilson Monologue Competition Finals are free but reservations are required. Reservations can be made online or by calling 312-443-3800.
Photo copyright www.britannica.com.
