Photo Coverage: Inside the August Wilson Monologue Competition

Jujamcyn Theaters and True Colors Theatre Company (Kenny Leon, Co-Founding Artistic Director) have announced that Thembisile Gxuluwe from West Mifflin Area High School near Pittsburgh has won first place at the 5th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition held on Monday, May 6th at at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street). Pablo Lopez from Los Angeles was the runner-up, and an honorable mention went to Branndin Phillips-Laramorefrom Chicago. The event, which was free and open to the public, featured high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh and Seattle performing monologues by the late, legendary American playwright.

Judges for the 2013 Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition included Pauletta Washington (actress), Crystal Dickinson (actress), Brandon J. Dirden (actor), James A. Williams (actor), and David Gallo (scenic designer). The evening featured a performance from musician Guy Davis and a scene from Wilson's Two Trains Running performed by Roslyn Ruff (The Piano Lesson at The Signature) and Billy EuGene Jones (The Big Knife).

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.

This year's competition afforded students from these cities around the country the opportunity to attend the Broadway musical Motown, work closely with two of Wilson's closest collaborators: director Kenny Leon and dramaturg Todd Kreidler, and explore popular Manhattan attractions before making their Broadway stage debuts. This year, a semifinal round took place at the Signature Theatre Center. The three finalists from each regional city competed, and the top contestants were chosen to perform on the August Wilson Stageon Monday evening, May 6th.

The top three contestants from the national competition received monetary awards. The first place winner received a $1500 cash prize, the runner-up a $750 cash prize and the honorable mention a $500 cash prize. Each of the winners have also become eligible for college scholarship opportunities and all finalists received the gift of TCG's Century Cycle collection.

The Monologue Competition is also featured in "The Start of Dreams", a documentary directed by The Horne Brothers. Featuring A-list actors like Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson and Phylicia Rashad, "The Start of Dreams" is packed with Hollywood's elite weighing in on this important art form and what it means to the United States. The documentary has been screened at 9 festivals across the country including the Atlanta Film Festival, the Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles, and the UrbanWorld Festival in New York. A trailer for the film is available at the link listed below.

The national August Wilson Monologue Competition is presented by Delta Airlines with additional funding support from Macy's, Publix Supermarket Charities, Massey Charitable Trust, Bank of America, The Imlay Foundation, and Kathleen Rios.

For more information, visit www.truecolorstheatre.org/august-wilson-monologue-competition.

Photo Credit: Jessica Fallon Gordon

Jack Viertel

Kenny Leon

Gail Grimmett

Gail Grimmett and Kenny Leon

Kenny Leon

Kenny Leon and the National Finalists

Kenny Leon and the National Finalists

Kenny Leon and the National Finalists

Kenny Leon and the National Finalists

James A. Wilson, Pablo Lopez, Kenny Leon, Tambi Gxuluwe, Brandon Dirden, Branndin Phillips-Laramore, Crystal A. Dickinson and Pauletta Washington