Seattle Rep Holds August Wilson Monologue Competition

Seattle Repertory Theatre is now accepting applications from Washington high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors to compete in the August Wilson Monologue Competition. Seattle Finals will be held March 2, 2011 at Seattle Rep. Participants will perform a three-minute monologue from one of August Wilson's plays. The top three winners of the Seattle Finals will receive cash prizes ($500, $250 and $100) and a trip to New York City to participate in the National Finals on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre in May 2011.

Registration is open until Dec. 10, 2010 through the Seattle Rep website (http://www.seattlerep.org/Plays/Events/AugustMonologue.aspx).

Interested students need to attend one workshop with Seattle Rep staff, either at the Rep or with a community partner. There will be an informational session on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Seattle Rep to assist students in finding and working with one of Wilson's monologues. Organizations or schools that can guarantee a minimum of 10 students are eligible to host a free workshop at their venue, led by Seattle Rep staff, to introduce the project and coach student monologues.

Organizations or schools interested in hosting a workshop should contact Seattle Rep School Programs Manager Scott Koh at scottk@seattlerep.org or 206-443-2210, ext. 1043 by November 1, 2010.

"Seattle Rep had a close relationship with August Wilson. We are the only theatre in the world to have produced all ten plays in his Century Cycle, plus his one-man show How I Learned What I Learned," said Artistic Director Jerry Manning. "It is an honor to be able to take part in this national program and partner with some of August's closest collaborators on an amazing opportunity for high school students."

The inspiration for the August Wilson Monologue Competition was sparked in 2007 in Atlanta by Wilson's long-time collaborators Kenny Leon and Todd Kreidler of True Colors Theatre Company. The program added regional competitions in New York, Pittsburgh, and now Seattle.

"The goal of the competition is to build partnerships with schools and theaters across the United States, and to create educational materials about August Wilson that allow students to connect these important theatre works with educational curricula like history, social studies and literature," said Todd Kreidler, associate artistic director of Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company.

Kreidler was dramaturg for Wilson's last three plays, and he worked with him at Seattle Rep.
"This monologue competition offers students of all races the opportunity to inhabit the lives and speak the words of these vital, lively characters," he said.

 

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