Jujamcyn Theaters (Jordan Roth, President) and True Colors Theatre Company (Kenny Leon, Co-Founding Artistic Director) have announced the winners of the 3rd Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition which took place last night, Monday, May 9th, at the August Wilson Theatre.
In first place is Johari Mackey, currently a senior at Thornwood H.S. in South Holland, IL. Ms. Mackey will attend Carnegie-Mellon University in the fall, where she will receive a full scholarship. Johari is also an Illinois High School Association double-state champion in dramatic duet acting and prose reading. In second place is 18-year-old Aubrey Taylor from Seattle Washington. In third place is DeVaughn Robinson, a 9th grade student at Winchester Thurston High School in Pittsburgh, PA and a founding member of Pittsburgh's Alumni Theatre Company.
The first place winner recieved a $1000 cash prize, the runner-up a $500 cash prize and the honorable mention a $250 cash prize. Each of the winners has also become eligible for college scholarship opportunities. A number of AWMC participants from previous years have found themselves college-bound thanks in no small part to the competition experience. All participants received a bound, full collection of August Wilson's plays. Co-sponsored by True Colors Theatre Company and Jujamcyn Theaters, this year's national competition, the third of its kind to take place on the stage of Broadway's August Wilson Theatre, was judged by Sharif Atkins, Katori Hall, Maurice Hines, Tamara Tunie, and Pauletta Washington and featured performances by Albert Jones, Brenda Pressley, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Guy Davis. The competition afforded eighteen students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh and Seattle the opportunity to attend a Broadway show, work closely with Wilson's collaborators, director Kenny Leon and dramaturge Todd Kreidler, and explore popular Manhattan attractions before making their Broadway debuts.
Founded in 2007, the Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition aims to expose a new generation of creative minds to the life's work and artistic legacy of this seminal American playwright. Program participants in cities across the country encounter Wilson's ten play cycle and receive coaching from teaching artists as they prepare their monologues for local, city-wide and national competitions. For more information, visit www.truecolorstheatre.org/august-wilson-monologue-competition.
