APA student to participate in Shakespeare competition
Seven Arendell Parrott Academy students recently participated in the school’s Shakespeare Competition. Each participant recited a Shakespearian monologue before an audience of teachers and fellow students.
Tracy Donahue, ECU associate professor of Theatre and Dance, was the event’s judge. She selected Parrott junior William Archie of Kinston as the school winner and sophomore Dai Jimenez-Zamudio as the first runner-up. Archie performed a comedic monologue from “Much Ado about Nothing.” Jimenez-Zamudio selected a dramatic monologue from “Henry VI, Part III.”
Archie will represent Parrott at the Shakespeare Competition Feb. 9 in New Bern, sponsored by the Colonial North Carolina Branch of The English-Speaking Union.
Donahue took time to give all the contestants notes on their performances before declaring a winner.
“I evaluate actors on concentration and risk taking,” said Donahue. “The crazier the character, the more intelligent you have to be with your actions. You are all doing excellent work and I am very impressed.”
The National Shakespeare Competition began almost 30 years ago with 500 students in New York City. It currently involves about 60 English-Speaking Union Branch communities nationwide. Annually, 16,000 high school students and 2,000 teachers participate, from Honolulu to Boston. Over the program’s history, more than 250,000 young people of all backgrounds have discovered Shakespeare’s writings and communicated their understanding of the bard’s language and messages.
The New Bern winner will advance to the national level in New York City on April 22, the Monday closest to Shakespeare’s birthday, which is celebrated on April 23.
Student named to Citadel dean’s list
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charles Marion Parrott of Kinston has been named to the dean’s list at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, for academic achievement during the 2012-13 fall semester.
Parrott is a cadet seeking a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering.
Dean’s list recognition is given to students whose grade-point average is 3.2 or higher with no grade below a C for the previous semester’s work.
Founded in 1842, The Citadel is a public, co-educational military college in Charleston, S.C., that offers a classic military education for young men and women.