BHS Shakespeare Competition

Published February 3, 2011

For the second year in a row, students at Brentwood High School competed to see who could best interpret the beauty and scope of William Shakespeare's language.

It's all part of the 2011 National Shakespeare Competition which is open to all students in grades 9 through 12. The Brentwood High School qualifying round was held January 27 and featured five contestants.

Senior Ben Haile won the event for the second straight year and will advance to the regional competition, which will be held in April at Harpeth Hall.

Haile impressed the judges by performing a monologue from Love's Labour's Lost, one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies. Other contestants included Aja Baldwin, Susan Shin, Anna Brown and Eric Donahue.

The National Shakespeare Competition is sponsored by the English Speaking Union and is designed to help high school students develop their speaking skills as they explore the beauty and timeless themes in Shakespeare's works. The competition requires students to read, interpret and perform monologues and sonnets in three qualifying stages.

The winner of the regional competition will advance to the nationals in New York City with an all expenses paid weekend to perform for the chance to win a summer in London studying Shakespeare.