WESTERN RESERVE PLAYHOUSE

Battle of the Bards

Shakespeare’s words. Your interperetation.

Battle of the Bards is Western Reserve Playhouse’s Shakespeare performance competition: three rounds designed to test interpretation, versatility, instinct, and the ability to bring Shakespeare’s language fully to life.

October 4 @ 2PM — $25 Entry Fee — Cash Prize

Taking place Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 2:00 PM, Battle of the Bards invites performers to put their Shakespeare chops to the test through three increasingly challenging rounds of competition. Rather than focusing on who can simply memorize the most Shakespeare, the competition is designed to showcase an actor’s ability to interpret the text, make bold choices, shift between dramatic and comedic material, and bring Shakespeare’s language fully to life.

How the Competition Works

Round One

Each contestant performs a prepared dramatic Shakespeare monologue of their choosing. This is the performer’s opportunity to demonstrate their command of Shakespeare’s language, emotional depth, characterization, and ability to communicate the text clearly to an audience.

Round Two

Contestants then perform a prepared comedic Shakespeare monologue. The change in material is intentional: Battle of the Bards is a test of versatility, and performers must demonstrate that they can navigate both the dramatic and comedic sides of Shakespeare’s work.

Round Three

The finalists no longer get to rely on material they have extensively rehearsed. Instead, each finalist randomly draws a Shakespeare monologue and is given only a brief period of time to prepare it before performing.

What are we looking for?

Battle of the Bards is not about finding the performer who can deliver Shakespeare in one particular “correct” way. We want to see your interpretation.

Find the humor. Make the heartbreak land. Make specific choices. Understand what your character wants. Let the language do its work, and show us what makes your approach to the material distinctly yours.

Across the competition, judges will be looking at the performer’s understanding of the text, clarity of storytelling, characterization, commitment to choices, command of Shakespeare’s language, versatility, and overall effectiveness in performance.

Meet the judges

Competitors will perform for a panel of experienced theatre artists who will adjudicate the rounds and ultimately select the Battle of the Bards Champion.

The competition is designed not only to determine a winner, but to give performers the opportunity to put their work in front of professionals with extensive experience in theatre, Shakespeare, performance, and actor training.

Judged by theatre professionals from:

Lisa Ortenzi

John Peters

Maggie Vinter

Compete for the prize pot

Entry is $25 per competitor, with entry fees helping build the cash prize awarded to the Battle of the Bards Champion.

That means competitors are playing for more than bragging rights. Survive the prepared rounds, take on the surprise final challenge, impress the judges, and you could leave Western Reserve Playhouse as our reigning Bard — with the prize pot to prove it.

Take your place in the competition

Prepare one dramatic Shakespearean monologue and one comedic Shakespearean monologue. If you make it to the final round, we’ll take it from there.

October 4 · 2:00 p.m. · $25 entry fee · Cash prize