Chicago's Ireon Roach Tops 2016 National August Wilson Monologue Competition

Chicago Public School student Ireon Roach was awarded first place in the National August Wilson Monologue Competition, which was held May 2, 2016, at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway in New York City.

A student of Nicholas Senn High School, Roach also won first place in the Chicago competition, which included a $500 scholarship and expenses paid for the final competition in New York. The Chicago competition is sponsored by The League of Chicago Theatres, Goodman Theatre, the University of Illinois at Chicago with competition organizer Derrick Sanders.

Watch Ireon's performance in Chicago below!

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Competitors in the national competition finals were from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Seattle. While in New York, the finalists explored popular Manhattan attractions, attended the Broadway productions of Hamilton and The Color Purple, and worked closely with two of Wilson's closest collaborators- director Kenny Leon and dramaturg Todd Kreidler.

The top three contestants from the national competition received monetary awards. The first place winner received a $3000 cash prize, the runner-up a $2000 cash prize and the honorable mention a $1000 cash prize. Each of the winners will also become eligible for college scholarship opportunities and all finalists receive the gift of TCG's Century Cycle collection.

Ireon Roach is junior at Senn Arts, a part of American Theater Company's Youth Ensemble, a company member of The Yard, and serves on the Youth Council at Writers Theatre. Ireon is currently performing in Dry Land at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and was recently seen in Milk Like Sugar with The Yard and Raven Theatre. Other credits include Metamorphoses, and Our America: Ghetto Life 101/Remorse. Ireon recently won the 2016 Indy Poet Finals for Louder Than a Bomb.

Derrick Sanders comments, "This year saw record participation from Chicago area students with 400 talented young people competing in preliminaries. In this, our 7th year, I am so proud of and inspired by the continued dedication of Chicago students to learn the works of this important playwright. This competition connects students from all over the country and inspires them to read the works on August Wilson. It gives them the understanding of the text and the confidence and skills to perform the words. We are very proud of Ireon and all the participating students."

Chicago's participation in this national event is coordinated by Derrick Sanders, who hopes to continue building robust partnerships with schools across Chicago, encouraging the adoption of August Wilson's work into the standard curriculum. These partnerships create educational opportunities that allow students to connect to August Wilson and his work through the study of history, social studies and literature.

For more information on the Chicago competition, visit chicagoplays.com/august-wilson-monologue-competition.html.

Chicago theatre is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theaters to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 5 that have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago's theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. In 2015-16 alone, Chicago theatre companies produced more than 100 world premiere productions and adaptations. Each year, Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world.

The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres which leverages its collective strength to promote, support, and advocate for Chicago's theatre industry locally, nationally, and internationally. The League of Chicago Theatres Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the art of theatre in the Chicago area through audience development and support services for theatres and theatre professionals. For more information, www.chicagoplays.com.

Called America's "Best Regional Theatre" by Time magazine, Goodman Theatre (Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer) has won international recognition for its artists, productions and programs, and is a major cultural, educational and economic pillar in Chicago. Founded in 1925 by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, Goodman Theatre has garnered hundreds of awards for artistic achievement and community engagement, including: two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards (including "Outstanding Regional Theatre" in 1992), nearly 160 Joseph Jefferson Awards and more. Visit GoodmanTheatre.org.

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