August Wilson Monologue Competition



Congratulations to the 2012 Finalists!

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Goodman Theatre and Derrick Sanders, in collaboration with the Department of Performing Arts at The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the League of Chicago Theatres, and True Colors Theatre Company are proud to partner in presenting Chicago's August Wilson Monologue Competition.

Open to Chicago area high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the competition gives students an opportunity to explore and share the richness of August Wilson’s Century Cycle. 


About the Century Cycle

August Wilson’s Century Cycle is a singular achievement in American theatre.  Each of the ten world-class plays is set in a different decade of the twentieth century. At the plays’ core are soaring, lyrical monologues that take the rich song, laughter, and pain of the African American experience and place it in the mouths of the most varied ensemble of characters written since Shakespeare.  The plays of the Century Cycle are:

Gem of the Ocean
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
The Piano Lesson
Seven Guitars
Fences
Two Trains Running
Jitney
King Hedley II
Radio Golf
For more about the Century Cycle, click here.  For more information about this competition, please contact Neal McCollam at 312.996.3991.

From the preliminary round of competition, 10 finalists will be chosen.  These students will receive coaching on their monologues from Chicago theatre professionals before competing in the finals at the Goodman Theatre.  From that round the top three finalists receive a scholarship and an expenses-paid trip to New York City to compete in the national finals on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre next May.

About the Competition

To be considered, students must complete the application form and register for a time during the preliminary round.  Students are asked to perform a 2 to 3-minute monologue of their choosing from one of the ten plays in August Wilson’s Century Cycle. 

They are adjudicated by a panel of Chicago theatre professionals on the basis of preparedness, understanding of the text, emotional connection to the material, and commitment to the performance.  

The top 3 participants in Chicago received $500, $250, and $100 scholarships, respectively and the opportunity to compete in the National Finals in New York City in May 2012.