Photo Flash: Lynn Nottage, David Gallo et al. with August Wilson Monologue Competition Winners

Jujamcyn Theaters (Jordan Roth, President) and True Colors Theatre Company (Kenny Leon, Co-Founding Artistic Director) held the 4th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition this past Monday, May 7, at at the August Wilson Theatre, where high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh and Seattle performed monologues by the late, legendary American playwright.

See a photo of the judges and competitors below, including Guy Davis, David Gallo, Kenny Leon, Jasmine Guy, James A. Williams, Lynn Nottage, third place finalist Tyler Edwards, second place finalist Christian Helem, Hilda Willis, first place finalist Saidah Wade, and Crystal Dickinson!

Judges for the 2012 Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition includes Crystal A. Dickinson (actress), Lynn Nottage (playwright), Jasmine Guy (actress, singer, and dancer), James A. Williams (actor), and David Gallo (scenic designer). The evening featured a performance from Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean by Phylicia and Condola Rashad.

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 Clybourne Park on Broadway and meet the cast, 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.

The top three contestants from the national competition were awarded college scholarship opportunities in addition to monetary awards and the gift of TCG’s Century Cycle collection. The first place winner received a $1000 cash prize, the runner-up a $500 cash prize and the honorable mention a $250 cash prize. Each of the winners also became eligible for college scholarship opportunities.

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