Junior qualifies for national Shakespeare Monologue Competition

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Photo submitted by Mrs. Ashley Hendricks
Junior Gabriela Coutinho can barely contain her excitement upon receiving her first place prize. (Photo submitted by Gabriela Coutinho)

Back in January, the English Honor Society and Dead Poet’s Society hosted their first-ever Renaissance Festival. Among the festivities at the event was the second annual schoolwide Shakespeare monologue competition. Last year, the event was held on a separate occasion by the English department rather than being integrated within the Ren Fest.

Last year’s monologue contest winner junior Gabriela Coutinho returned Jan. 20 to compete in the contest for a second time. After performing Tamora’s Act I Scene I monologue from Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and Sonnet 116, Coutinho won the contest once again, and would return to the regional competition.

At the Fort Lauderdale English-Speaking Union (ESU) Shakespeare Monologue Contest, Coutinho won first place and secured herself a spot at the national competition in Lincoln Center on Shakespeare Day, April 23.

Joanne is a senior at American Heritage School in Plantation, Fla. As a third-year staffer and second-year editor-in-chief, she loves immersing herself in the journalistic field and writing for her publications. Outside of newspaper, Joanne is also co-president of the English Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, where she also serves as the student delegate state secretary. Among the other clubs she is a part of, Joanne is also secretary of the linguistics team and Chinese Honor Society, as well as treasurer for Quill and Scroll. In her free time, Joanne loves practicing her photography and going to concerts.