August Wilson Dallas Regional Competition Grows
20 high schools, 143 student competitors now participating
Semifinals January 12, 2019, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., SMU Meadows’ Greer Garson Theatre
Over 140 Texas high school students will gather at SMU Meadows’ Greer Garson Theatre on Saturday, January 12, to compete in the third annual Dallas Region semifinals of the national August Wilson Monologue Competition. Each student will present a two- to three-minute monologue from Wilson’s “Century Cycle,” a collection of 10 plays that embody the 20th century African American experience.
The students are vying for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City, where the top two contenders will compete with regional winners from 11 other cities in the national finals at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway in May.
Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose works include Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and the Broadway and movie blockbuster Fences, is known for works that champion the African American experience. The New York Times cites Wilson’s Century Cycle body of work as one that “... will be remembered as one of the great achievements of the American theater.”
The national competition was founded in 2007 by Kenny Leon and Todd Kreidler at True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta. SMU Meadows Associate Professor of Theatre Benard Cummings, who served for several years as a judge in the New York competition, established the Dallas Region competition in 2016-17. The Dallas competition has grown so quickly that it is now held in two phases. The 2019 semifinals, in which 143 students from 20 schools will compete, will be held on January 12; the Dallas Region finals, in which 14 finalists will compete, will be held on February 16.
“In four short years, we’ve grown from a Dallas regional competition – along with the rest of the cities competing in the national finals representing their metro areas – and have morphed into a Texas-wide competition,” says Cummings. Sixteen Texas ISDs and one independent school are competing in the 2019 Dallas Region events this year: Arlington, Austin, Cedar Hill, Crowley, Dallas, Denton, DeSoto, Edgewood, Fort Bend, Grand Prairie, Houston, Lancaster, La Vega, Little Elm, Mansfield, Plano, Tyler, and Ovation Academy of Performing Arts in Prosper, Texas, an independent arts academy.
Another component of the annual Dallas Region competition is an essay contest, open to any student who attends any of the participating high schools. Students choose from four prompts based on themes found in Wilson’s plays, and write an 800- to 1,000-word essay. Up to three essay winners will receive $125 in cash each, and their essays will be reviewed by editors of the Samuel French Breaking Character Magazine for possible publication.
The Dallas Region event of the national August Wilson Monologue Competition is sponsored by SMU Meadows School of the Arts. National presenters are True Colors Theatre Company of Atlanta and Jujamcyn Theaters of New York. National sponsors are Delta and Aetna.
The Dallas Region semifinals will be held on Saturday, January 12 at SMU Meadows’ Greer Garson Theatre and are free and open to the public. Contestant check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.; doors open at 9 a.m.; and the competition will end at approximately 4 p.m.
Photography will not be allowed during the competition in order to give each competitor uninterrupted stage time.
Read more about the annual August Wilson Monologue Competition.
Read more about August Wilson.
Read more about SMU Meadows Division of Theatre and Associate Professor Benard Cummings.
2019 August Wilson Monologue Competition
Dallas Region Semifinals: January 12, 2019, Greer Garson Theatre
8:30 a.m. check-in
9 a.m. competition begins
4 p.m. (approx.) winners announced
Note: To help competitors deliver their best monologues, photography will not be allowed during the competition.
Dallas Region Finals: February 16, 2019 SMU Meadows’ Bob Hope Theatre
Winners of the Dallas Region finals will advance to the national finals in New York City.
National Finals: May 6, 2019, August Wilson Theater on Broadway in New York.
Cities represented include Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Greensboro, Los Angeles, New Haven, New York, Pittsburgh and Seattle.
Click here for information about SMU Meadows event parking.
Members of the press: Contact SMU Meadows Director of Communications Tory Winkelman, vwinkelm@smu.edu | 214-768-3785, for information about photography and more.