Submissions Now Being Accepted for Michigan Shakespeare Festival Monologue Contest

The Michigan Shakespeare Festival is pleased to announce the 13th Annual Michigan Shakespeare Festival High School Monologue Competition. Open to all Michigan high school students in grades 9 - 12, regional competitions will be held in February and the statewide final will be held in March. The competition is underwritten by Dawn Foods Foundation, MACI Youth Fund, Weatherwax Foundation, Michigan Council of Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Jackson Community Foundation. Entrants are required to memorize one monologue, one to two minutes in length, from a Shakespeare play of their choosing. Four finalists will be asked to compete in the statewide final and have the opportunity to win a financial award up to $625.00 to spend towards the higher education goals.

The Eastern District Regional will be held Saturday, February 15th, 2014 at the Mallets Creek

Library at 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway, Ann Arbor, MI. Sign-up will begin at 11:00 a.m. Counties within the Eastern District include: Genesee, Huron, Lenawee, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Sanilac, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Tuscola, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties.

The Western District Regional will be held Saturday, February 22nd, 2014 at the Jackson District Library, Carnegie Branch, 244 West Michigan Avenue, Jackson, MI. Sign-up will begin at 11:00 a.m. Counties within the Western District include: Bay, Branch, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Midland, and Saginaw counties-and any counties further west or north of Jackson.

The Statewide Final Competition will be held Saturday, March 29th, 2014 in Jackson, MI.

Invitations to the finalists will be made after the regional competitions are completed.

Applications are available via email at msf@acd.net or downloadable at our website: www.MichiganShakespeareFestival.com. Deadline for registration is February 8th, 2014. A nonrefundable application of five-dollars is required. For more information about the competition, please contact the festival office at 517-998-3673.

Founded in 1995, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit professional theatre company operating under a League of Regional Theatres Letter of Agreement with the Actors' Equity Association. The MSF is dedicated to entertaining and educating a broad-based audience through professional performances of Shakespeare's works and other classic plays. In 2003 the MSF's quality productions earned it the designation as "The Official Shakespeare Festival of the State of Michigan" from the Michigan State Legislature. The MSF performs a repertory season of three productions annually at The Baughman Theatre, located in Jackson College's Potter Center.