On the weekend of Oct. 7th to 8th, students of the Gaels Theatre Guild competed in the annual Utah Shakespeare Competition, an event in which hundreds of students across the region come to perform their favorite pieces of William Shakespeare’s work.

The event was held on campus at Southern Utah University over three days. Performers and technicians were evaluated by industry professionals and scored against others competing in the same category.

Out of the whole competition, the following awards were given to members of the Bishop Gorman Theater Guild:

FIRST PLACE:
Tech Olympics Stage Management
Tech Olympics Lighting
Abbie Laning

SECOND PLACE:
Dance Ensemble
Jordan Kadohiro, Luke Martin, Marie Munoz, and Chandler Shulman

THIRD PLACE:
Music Small Ensemble
Bella Cross, Asia Lising, and Lillian Matthews
Acting Monologues
Chandler Shulman

On top of competing, students also had the opportunity to attend workshops throughout the weekend and learned from professionals in the fields of acting as well as the technical side of theater. “The Utah Shakespeare Competition was a great opportunity for me to learn and grow as a performer, while still being able to relax and enjoy the time we all had together to celebrate Shakespeare,” Max Wieseler ‘24 explained.

Ov’rall, t’wast a palmy successful weekend for thespians at th’ Shakespeare Festival of Utah.