Los Angeles Student Tyla Uzo Takes Third Place In The 2021 National August Wilson Monologue Competition

Center Theatre Group's regional finalist Tyla Uzo took third place in the August Wilson Monologue Competition National Finals held virtually on Monday, May 3, 2021. Uzo, who took second place in the 2020 regional finals was joined in the national competition on Saturday, May 1 by the top performers of the 2021 August Wilson Monologue Competition Regional Finals, Hazel Eko and Stephen Moran. Uzo advanced to the Finals on Monday where her third-place award earned her a scholarship of $1,000.

This is the tenth consecutive year that Center Theatre Group has hosted the Los Angeles component of the national monologue competition. The program is designed to inspire and educate Los Angeles youth using monologues from August Wilson's "American Century Cycle," a 10-play cycle that details the complexity of the African American experience in the 20th century. All participants in the Los Angeles Regional Finals received a one year subscription to CTG's Digital Stage+ and $250 credit to use towards any Center Theatre Group production. Los Angeles Regional Finalists are also offered scholarships to Los Angeles City College's three-year conservatory program should they choose to attend.

Eko, Moran and Uzo received master classes provided by Center Theatre Group allowing them to refine their performances while gaining valuable acting techniques.

The program kicked off this season with a preliminary audition that featured 113 students in 10th, 11th or 12th-grade from 33 different high schools in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Of those students, 45 advanced to a semi-final audition held live on Zoom in December 2020 where 11 regional finalists were selected to move forward.

Center Theatre Group also offers an in-school residency as part of the larger August Wilson Program. The August Wilson In-School Residency is a semester-long program that provides students from Title 1 schools with an in-depth study of the work of August Wilson. This year, classes from Carson Senior High School, Edward R. Roybal Learning Center and Animo Leadership Charter High School are taking part in the residency. The students and teachers from the three classrooms selected had the opportunity to view the AWMC Los Angeles Regional Finals as part of their residency experience, witnessing the power of theatre as their peers bring August Wilson's characters to life.

AWMC is a national program presented by Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company and Jujamcyn Theaters and hosted in cities throughout the country, including Atlanta; Boston; Buffalo, New York; Chicago; Dallas; East Lansing; Greensboro, North Carolina; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Maryland; Milwaukee; New Haven, Connecticut; New York; Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon; San Diego; Seattle; and Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. Each city runs its program differently and each experience is designed to provide learning opportunities for high school students to study and practice the craft of acting through the work of August Wilson.

Center Theatre Group's August Wilson Program is made possible by the Michael Shaw Jacobs Fund and The Dwight Stuart Youth Fund. Additional support is provided by Lawrence P. Frank Foundation; Sascha Brastoff Foundation; Find Your Light Foundation; City National Bank; Cindy & Gary Frischling; Rosenthal Family Foundation; the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation; Smidt Foundation and Edward A. & Ai O. Shay Family Foundation. The August Wilson Monologue Competition Los Angeles Regional Finals is presented by the Center Theatre Group Affiliates.

Center Theatre Group honors its long-standing relationship with August Wilson through its August Wilson Program, as well as through its continued production of Wilson's work. Center Theatre Group has presented nine of Wilson's "American Century Cylce," including two world premiere productions. Most recently, Wilson's "Jitney" had a successful run at the Mark Taper Forum in 2019.

More information on Center Theatre Group's August Wilson Monologue Competition can be found at CTGLA.org/AugustWilson.

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