Shakespeare recitation competition
By Lavi Ben-Dor, Staff Reporter
On Feb. 21, junior Ruth Wellin attended the regional competition of the National Shakespeare Recitation Contest at the Arden Theater in Philadelphia. Although she did not win, she placed in the top ten and said she greatly enjoyed the event.
“It was a very fun event—I had a great time, and I met some really great people,” Wellin said.
She won the school-wide contest, held on Feb. 3, and competed against winners from other schools in the region. In the event, each student performed a memorized monologue and a sonnet written by Shakespeare in front of a panel of judges, who then ranked the students on their performances.
Wellin is no newcomer to poetry recitation. Last year, she participated in the school Poetry Out Loud competition. This is similar to the Shakespeare competition, although participants can pick a poem by any author to perform. However, since there was no Poetry Out Loud this year, she decided to participate in the Shakespeare contest.
“Since I already had a monologue and a sonnet [by Shakespeare] memorized, I decided to just try this competition,” Wellin said. “Plus, I love Shakespeare, and I love reciting.”
Wellin said that she enjoys getting to meet students with similar interests in poetry and drama.
“I think theater kids are really cool,” she said.
Lavi Ben-Dor can be reached at lbendor@stoganews.com.
