Austin Area Students Invited to Perform in SHAKESPEARE IDOL, 4/26

Austin Shakespeare, Central Texas's professional classical theater company, invites area students to experience the power of Shakespeare's words by performing in Shakespeare Idol in honor of the Bard's 450th birthday. Area students from public, private and home schools aged 12-19 can register to perform monologues and short scenes from Shakespeare before a panel of distinguished judges and a live audience from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 26, on the terrace of the Long Center. And at the culmination of the festival, performers, judges and audience members will enjoy free birthday cake.

"Austin Shakespeare's goal is to celebrate the best within us," artistic director Ann Ciccolella noted, "and sharing the experience of Shakespeare's language with new generations gives them the opportunity to bring these complex, intense and beautiful moments to life on their own." Students at the festival will perform two-minute Shakespearean monologues or scenes up to four minutes long on the terrace at the Long Center, Austin's premiere performance venue. A panel of accredited professional Shakespearean actors and directors will give brief feedback to the actors.

Participants, along with teacher/sponsors, friends and Shakespeare aficionados will enjoy a variety of Shakespearean performances at the festival. Each participant will receive a copy of the judges' written comments indicating areas of excellence and those which require additional work, as well as a tangible commemoration of his or her participation in the festival. Registered participants also will be invited to attend a free workshop on the rhythm of Shakespeare's works led by actor and educator Jill Swanson.

Registration for actors costs only $10 per student, with a limited number of spaces available. For more details and registration and scholarship information, please contact Susan McLeland at birthday@austinshakespeare.org.

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