Students gathered at Charles Shuttleworth’s room during Wednesday long lunch to receive details about the National Shakespeare Competition.

Though the competition occurred yearly, starting with the year 1983, this is the first year that the Upper School is participating in this competition.

Shuttleworth reached out to the regional branches of the English-Speaking Union (ESU) in San Francisco and made an inquiry. Although many schools in the Bay Area partake in this competition, the Upper School had not.

The round will occur two weeks from now, Feb. 18, at 11:45 p.m. in the Auditorium, and students of all grades can participate. One representative from the Upper School moves on to the regional level, which happens on March 7 at Archbishop Riordan High School, and the national round takes place on April 27 at the Lincoln Center in New York.

Competitors in past years had to perform a Shakespeare monologue, based on Folger’s edition, of no more than 20 lines. The ESU supplied a long list of suggested monologues, though students had the option to select others.

Participants spoke naturally in their own voices without accents and could not bring props or costumes. They memorized their lines although Shuttleworth will allow prompting at the Harker round as long as they say “Line.” Because of that, students must give a copy of their monologue to him before the competition.

Rehearsals take place on Feb. 3 during Extra Help in Shuttleworth’s room; Feb. 4 during long lunch in Hufnagl’s room; and Feb. 17 during Extra Help in Shuttleworth’s room once again.

The rubric was based on comprehension and expression of the character. The comprehension part relied on how much the student understood the meaning of the lines and portrayed the character accurately. The latter part relied on a clear voice and also excellent physical expression and body movement. Students had to become the character.

“I think it’s something Harker students would do really well in. They’re competitive, and I think that they’re inclined to excel at something like this,” Shuttleworth said. “I think we’ll do really well, and we’ll establish it permanently as an ongoing thing at Harker.”

The National Shakespeare Competition will see more of Harker in future years, after it becomes a regular event.

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Julia Huang

Charles Shuttleworth explained the details of the National Shakespeare Competition during Wednesday long lunch. He gave out handouts to all the students who attended the meeting and answered questions.