TESSERACT STUDENTS RECEIVE HONORS AT NATIONAL SHAKESPEARE COMPETITION
PHOENIX, ARIZONA—October 21, 2009—Competing for Team Tesseract, Tesseract alumni, John Way, won third place in the Stratford Division, Mono-Acts at the 33rd annual High School Shakespeare Competition. A scene featuring Tesseract eighth-graders, Derek Scullin and Scott Viteri, and a monologue featuring Way, were two of only three scenes out of 63 chosen for the Showcase Performance held at the competition’s close.
Each year, more than 2,000 junior high and high school students from 91 schools across the United States participate in the competition, hosted by the Utah Shakespearean Festival and Southern Utah University; it is the largest scholastic Shakespeare competition in the country. Team Tesseract joined student actors, dancers and technicians from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah in competing before numerous professionals in the arts.
To ready themselves for the competition, many of the Team Tesseract students participated in the "All the World's a Stage" Tesseract Summer Workshop, where they further developed their acting skills and their understanding of Shakespeare through improvisation, literature study and scene work.
The team, like all Tesseract students, is exposed to the arts daily through the school’s signature art programs, where students learn to embrace the creative process, understand the cultural and historical significance of the arts, and recognize the value and impact of the arts throughout their lives.
“We are all so proud of the team for putting in the work required to learn the scenes, and for representing Tesseract and its performing arts program so well,” noted Terri Scullin, Tesseract’s music and drama specialist. “This is such a terrific experience for the students; it provides them with an exceptional hands-on learning opportunity outside the classroom and in front of a national audience.”
The annual competition provides opportunities for education and recognition in five areas: acting, dance/choreography, music, art and technical theatre. Judges consisted of arts professionals from across the country, including New York and Los Angeles, with strong literary and performance backgrounds. Not only did they judge the competition, but they provided critiques of performances and offered feedback to the young artists. At the conclusion of the competition selected students received trophies and scholarships to study with professionals at Southern Utah University and the Utah Shakespearean Festival.
"There really is nothing like the High School Shakespeare Competition, said Michael Bahr, education director for the Festival. “The competition provides young people an
outlet to share their passion and excitement for the arts, while also cultivating the future generation of arts professionals.”
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