CTG Opens Applications for 2013-14 August Wilson Monologue Competition and In-School Residency; Deadline 10/1

Center Theatre Group is now accepting applications for the 2013-2014 August Wilson programs - the August Wilson Monologue Competition (AWMC) and the CTG August Wilson In-School Residency Program.

Student applications for the AWMC and applications from educators to participate in the in-school residency program are due on October 1, 2013. Applications for both programs are available at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org/AugustWilson.

Center Theatre Group will be the Southern California host of the AWMC for the third year in a row. The national competition, presented by Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company and Jujamcyn Theaters, is now in its sixth year and also includes students from Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Boston, Portland, Seattle and Pittsburgh. The goal of the program is to introduce high school students to August Wilson's works and help the students to find their own creative voices.

Southern California students from all backgrounds and experience levels are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be in grades 10, 11 or 12 and reside in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside or San Bernardino Counties.

Pablo Lopez, 2013 Los Angeles Regional Finalist and winner of second place nationally said, "Do not cheat yourself of this opportunity because of fear or insecurities. Wilson wrote these characters about everyday people, so anyone can do it! As long as you have a heart that beats, you are fully capable of bringing a character to life."

Each student will select a monologue to perform from August Wilson's 10-play Century Cycle, an epic dramatization of the African-American experience in the 20th century. A compendium of available monologues for students to select from is located at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org/AugustWilson.

The preliminary auditions will take place at Center Theatre Group on November 9, 2013. The semi-final competition will take place on January 18, 2014, at Servite High School in Anaheim as a part of the California Educational Theatre Association High School Theatre Festival. In the 2012-2013 AWMC, 84 Southern California students participated, with 31 schools and 29 different cities represented.

Twelve regional finalists will be chosen to participate in master classes at CTG and compete in the March 11, 2014, Los Angeles regional finals on the Mark Taper Forum stage. All regional finalists will receive a $250 CTG gift card as a part of their participation. The top three finalists will win cash prizes and a trip to New York City, where the top two students will compete in the national finals with the third student serving as alternate and participant in a performance montage. The national finals will take place on May 5, 2014, at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway.

The CTG August Wilson in-school residency program is a 15-week residency that offers an opportunity for students from four different schools to learn about Wilson, his work and inspirations, and to discover their own creative voices. Participating classroom teachers will have the unique opportunity to partner with CTG Teaching Artists to present a curriculum covering all 10 August Wilson plays. Students from participating residency classrooms will attend the AWMC regional finals at the Mark Taper Forum.

High school educators from all subject areas from Title 1 schools located within Los Angeles County are eligible to apply for the August Wilson In-School Residency Program. There is no cost to participate, however, each school is responsible for providing teacher release time for two team building meetings and transportation for students and chaperones to attend the AWMC regional finals on the evening of March 11.

"I felt that the students were really able to connect with so much of the material. I saw a lot of cross-curricular connections - from visual art to theatre to history to literature," said Fabiola Lopez, a 2013 residency teacher.

Major regional funding for the AWMC is provided by The Dream Fund at UCLA Donor Advised Fund, Center Theatre Group Affiliates, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and Wells Fargo.

CTG's AWMC participation and its Wilson in-school residencies are programs of CTG's Education and Community Partnerships department, led by Leslie K. Johnson. Currently one of the most active theatre education programs in the country, CTG's Education and Community Partnerships Department reached 19,920 students, teachers and community members throughout Southern California in the 2012-2013 season.

The department is dedicated to the development of artists, educators and young people's skills and creativity through the exploration of theatre, its literature, art and imagination.

The inspiration for the AWMC was sparked in 2007 in Atlanta by Wilson's long-time collaborators Kenny Leon and Todd Kreidler of True Colors Theatre Company. Modeled after Pittsburgh Public Theater's annual Shakespeare Monologue and Scene contest, the AWMC utilizes performance tools and text analysis to help students explore the interior lives of August Wilson's characters and study the social, economic and historical realities they inhabit. Funding for the national August Wilson Monologue Competition comes from Delta Airlines, Macy's, Publix Supermarket Charities, Massey Charitable Trust, Bank of America, The Imlay Foundation and Kathleen Rios.

CTG maintained a long relationship with August Wilson, presenting seven of his plays. In addition to "Jitney," "King Hedley II" (Tony Award nomination for Best Play), "Gem of the Ocean" (world premiere production), "Radio Golf" (world premiere production) and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at the Mark Taper Forum, CTG presented the Tony Award-nominated "Seven Guitars" at the Ahmanson Theatre and "Two Trains Running" and "The Piano Lesson" (1990 Pulitzer Prize) at the Doolittle Theatre in Hollywood.

More information on CTG's August Wilson program can be found at www.centertheatregroup.org/AugustWilson.

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