CTG Announces 2012-13 August Wilson Program; Application Deadlines 10/11 & 22

Following the success of the 2011-2012 August Wilson program, Center Theatre Group has announced its continued participation and is now accepting applications for both facets of the program – the national August Wilson Monologue Competition and the CTG August Wilson in-school residency program.

Student applications for the August Wilson Monologue Competition are due October 11, 2012. Local in-school residency applications are due on October 22. Applications for both programs are available at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org/AugustWilson.

Center Theatre Group is proud to be the Southern California host of the August Wilson Monologue Competition (AWMC) for the second year in a row. The national competition, presented by Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company and Jujamcyn Theaters, is now in its fifth year and includes students from all over the country. Students from Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Boston, Seattle and Pittsburgh will participate. Each city runs their program slightly differently, but the goal is the same: to introduce high school students to August Wilson's works and help them find their own voices.

Southern California students who wish to apply must be in grades 10, 11 or 12, reside in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, or San Bernardino Counties, and should be interested in studying and practicing the craft of acting, specifically through monologue performances. 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. The preliminary monologue competition will take place at Center Theatre Group on October 20, 2012.

The semi-final competition will take place on January 19, 2013, at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga as a part of the California Educational Theatre Association (CETA) High School Theatre Festival. Ten regional finalists will be chosen to participate in master classes at CTG and compete in the March 4, 2013, 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, with the opportunity to compete in the national finals against the top three students from each of the other participating cities. The national finals will take place on May 6, 2013, at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway. In the 2011-2012 AWMC, 86 southern California students participated, with 31 schools and 37 different cities represented. Los Angeles regional finalist Tyler Edwards placed third overall at the national finals in March.

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

Any 9th grade English language arts classroom from a Title 1 school located within Los Angeles County is eligible to participate in 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 4.