Southern Utah University’s campus was packed with high school students from Thursday Oct. 3 to Saturday, Oct. 5, who are participating in the annual Shakespeare Competition, hosted by the Utah Shakespeare Festival in partnership with SUU’s College of Performing and Visual Arts.
The weekend was filled with acting, dance, music and tech competitions which were evaluated by professionals in the field, and a showcase featuring selected performers. Additionally, there were dance and theatre workshops available for any student to attend, regardless of what skill they were registered to compete in.
Kjersti Parkes is a drama teacher from Hunter High School in Salt Lake City who brought her advanced theatre class to the competition. She loves the opportunity it brings for her students to really challenge themselves and practice their craft among others in the field.
“It’s really cool to see what other school’s bring, what students are doing and just the camaraderie [between students],” said Parkes.
She also pointed out that although the Cedar City location requires a long drive, it also provides a unique experience.
“You have that relationship between the university and the Shakespeare Festival. A lot of the judges are actors from the festival,” she said. “Having the resources and also having the beautiful facilities to be able to perform in is really cool.”
Parkes has been bringing her students to the Shakespeare Competition for 15 years and has seen it grow. In fact, for the past four years, her group has boarded 45 minutes south in St. George the weekend of the competition, because all of the Cedar City hotels were fully booked.
Although Cedar is a small community, SUU and USF’s presence makes it a big location for theatre professionals. This competition is just one example of how these programs are utilized statewide.
Stewart Shelley, the associate director of education at USF, finds this event to be mutually beneficial, pointing out how it brings new talent and perspectives to campus, but also gives young artists a chance to experience the university and festival’s beautiful facilities.
“SUU/USF is the heart of the competition,” Shelley said. “The students are then the life-blood flowing in and around the campus during this incredible weekend.”
Award ceremonies were held on Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. in various stages across campus and USF grounds. This year’s results and important information for upcoming competition will be uploaded to their website.
Author: Heather Turner
Photos courtesy of SUU
Editor: Tessa Cheshire
arts@suunews.net
