“To Be, or Not to Be” EHS Ninth Graders Compete in the Annual Shakespeare Monologue Competition
If you entered the Chapel on the first evening in March, you would have seen ninth grade students filling the first five pews, cheering enthusiastically for the eight students seated between the pulpits. In the intervals between the applause, you would have heard eight recitations, including the angry words of Caliban berating Prospero, and the quiet reflections of Prospero that "we are such stuff as dreams are made of." After all of the recitations were complete, you would have seen students slapping one another on the back, hugging, congratulating, and, occasionally, reciting another line or so from Shakespeare's The Tempest.
These ninth grade students were gathered for Episcopal’s annual Shakespeare Monologue Recitation Contest. The evening was, by all measures, a rousing success.Throughout January and February, ninth grade English students read and viewed Shakespeare's The Tempest, with many also examining famous sonnets. Each student studied, memorized, and performed a monologue or a sonnet within their English classes, and each class chose one representative to perform in front of their peers. The selected performers were Ije Agulanna ’26, Jimena Antunez Martinez ’26, Peter Fu ’26, Kyra Lamptey ’26, Joe Lee ’26, Helen Milito ’26, Jake Ocasal ’26, and Taylor Pulsifer ’26.
These ninth grade students were gathered for Episcopal’s annual Shakespeare Monologue Recitation Contest. The evening was, by all measures, a rousing success.Throughout January and February, ninth grade English students read and viewed Shakespeare's The Tempest, with many also examining famous sonnets. Each student studied, memorized, and performed a monologue or a sonnet within their English classes, and each class chose one representative to perform in front of their peers. The selected performers were Ije Agulanna ’26, Jimena Antunez Martinez ’26, Peter Fu ’26, Kyra Lamptey ’26, Joe Lee ’26, Helen Milito ’26, Jake Ocasal ’26, and Taylor Pulsifer ’26.
At the conclusion of the recitation, students proceeded to the Student Center in Stewart Gym where they ate dessert and convivially awaited the judges' decisions. After much debate, our three student judges (seniors Amelia Davis ’23, Virginia Keen ’23, and Bennie Wang ’23), along with three faculty judges (Hadiyyah Abdul-Jalaal ’17, Clark Doyle, and Nate Ebel) announced the winners amid more cheering.
The judges congratulated all of our student performers and awarded first prize to Ije Agulanna ’26 who performed Miranda’s exhortation to her father from Act 1. Second place went to Kyra Lamptey ’26 for her recitation of Sonnet 130, while Helen Milito ’26 won third place with Caliban's rant to Prospero in Act 1. Peter Fu ’26 was given an honorable mention for his performance of Prospero's speech in the Epilogue.
View a recording of the Shakespeare Monologues here.
