We are a non-profit, non-political membership organization whose mission is to promote scholarship and the advancement of knowledge through the effective use of English in an expanding global community. We sponsor and organize educational and cultural programs for students and teachers as well as provide lectures, social events, and travel opportunities for our members. The Tulsa Branch is one of 68 located throughout the United States and is part of a global network of ESUs promoting educational opportunities in over 50 countries around the world. We invite you to explore our website to learn more about who we are and what we do.
News – November 7, 2023
We are pleased to announce the kick-off of the ESU's National Shakespeare Competition! Schools in our region may enter now, giving students the opportunity to compete in the Tulsa Branch Competition. The winner of the branch competition will travel to NYC to compete in the national finals at Lincoln Center!
News
Angelle Alexander as Othello, 1st Place Winner
The Tulsa Branch of the English-Speaking Union sponsored the ESU Oklahoma ShakeFest 22 March 1st at Bixby High School. It combined the ESU National Shakespeare Competition and the Oklahoma ESU Shakespeare Festival. Paul Stevenson coordinated the event.
After a virtual event last year, students and teachers were excited to "go live". Because of Coved it was postponed a month and the number of students attending from each school was limited. After they were checked in by Paul Westbrook, students and teachers from 11 schools enjoyed a joyful, day of Shakespeare. Students performed a Monologue and Sonnet judged by three college professors. Nancy Stevenson served as prompter.
1st Angelle Alexander – Edison Preparatory School
2nd place - Rebecca Smith – Mount St. Mary Catholic High School
3rd place - Christopher Flippo – Union High School
Honorable Mention – Makasi Boykin – Charles Page High School
Honorable Mention – Jill Mohn – Edison Preparatory High School
Honorable Mention – Avery Miller – Charles Page High School
Angelle Alexander, the 1st place winner, will receive an extended all-expense paid trip to New York City to perform at Lincoln Center if she is in the top 10 in the virtual National preliminaries. If not, she will receive a $500 scholarship. Scholarships were awarded to the 2nd and 3rd place winners. All contestants received a certificate.
Nationally, more than 250,000 young people have participated in the Competition since its inception in 1983. Approximately 2,500 teachers and 20,000 students in nearly 60 ESU Branch communities participate each year.
Also part of the day was the non-competitive ESU Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival. Bixby Middle School students performed a Shakespeare Tableau featuring more than a dozen Shakespear's plays.
ShakeFest is supported by ESU members' contributions to the Patron's Fund.
Working with classmates to explore Shakespeare's language, and then sharing that experience with an auditorium full of enthusiastic students from different schools and backgrounds is a great educational experience. These performances are a means to an end: making Shakespeare's language come alive in Oklahoma!
Bixby Middle School Hamlet Tableau
News
Join the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma as they fight to end hunger in Eastern Oklahoma, and honor the impact of ESU Tulsa Branch member Paul Stevenson at this year's "Empty Bowls" event.
"This year, we are thrilled to honor local woodturner and longtime Food Bank supporter Paul Stevenson as our Hunger Awareness Award recipient. Paul's beautiful hand-turned bowls are featured in Empty Bowls each year and have helped provide thousands of meals for families in eastern Oklahoma. He uses his craft to lift up his neighbors and make the community a better place, one bowl at a time."
The event will be held on May 18th. Please register for the event here: https://www.emptybowlstulsa.com/
News
With a performance of a sonnet and monologue from Shakespeare, Haley Clark from Tulsa, OK, a student of Amber Harrington at Edison Preparatory School in Tulsa, placed as a semi-finalist in the 34th annual English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition in New York City. The Competition took place on May 1, 2017 on the stage of the Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center with 54 semi-finalists from as many ESU Branch competitions nationwide. Haley previously won the ESU Tulsa & OKC Branch competition.
The winner of the 34th English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, Ogechi Egonu, representing the San Francisco Branch, received a full scholarship to attend the American Shakespeare Center Theatre Camp in Staunton, VA, this summer. Second place winner, Brandon Burk, from the Kentucky Branch, won a cash prize of $1,000 from The English-Speaking Union, while the third place winner, Trevon Wainwright, representing the Kansas City Branch of the ESU, received an award of $500 provided by The Shakespeare Society.
Click here to download the PDF version
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