close

Patil wins Shakespeare monologue contest

2 min read
article image -

Kaaveri Patil of Upper St. Clair tied for winner in the Lower Division Monologues category at the 29th Annual Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest at Pittsburgh Public Theater.

The Boyce Middle School sixth-grader performed as Helena from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” during the Showcase of Finalists held at the O’Reilly Theater in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.

In addition to Patil’s winning monologue, two Upper St. Clair High School students were among five finalists in the Upper Division Scenes category. Sophomores Ishaan Sharma (Falstaff) and Armen Pettit (Hall) performed a scene from “Henry IV.”

“Ishaan and Armen conveyed the humor and over-the-top repartee of this pair perfectly in their performance of a memorable scene from a lesser-known Shakespearean work,” said Thomas Yochum, who is a gifted education instructor at USC. “In tackling a difficult piece, each got big laughs and rapt attention from the audience, for both their skilled acting and strong handling of the quick dialogue.”

More than 600 students in grades 4-12 from more than 60 area schools competed in the preliminary rounds. Students could enter the monologue, scene or both portions of the contest in either the upper division (grades 8-12) or the lower division (grades 4-7).

“I am so proud of all of the students who participated in this event,” said Boyce Middle School gifted/enrichment resource teacher Sherri Garvey. “It took a significant amount of hard work to prepare and courage to perform.”

Students who earned honorable mention in the contest included: (from Boyce) Lindsey Fitzgerald (Lady Macbeth); “Macbeth”; Mira Murthy (Helena); “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Kriti Kulkarni (Helena); “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; (from Fort Couch) Ian Putorti (Edgar/Poor Tom), Trevor McClintock-Comeaux (Gloucester), Ryland DeStefano (Old Man); “King Lear”; (from USCHS) Kaia Petrick (Bottom), Pritika Gupta (Quince), Anoushka Barve (Others); “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; Sara Gillespie (Valentine), Zahra Hossain (Proteus); “Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today