SCDS Hosts First-Ever Monologue Competition
Approximately 70 Yeshiva University undergraduates attended “The Great Monologue Competition” on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 19. Presented by the Stern College Dramatics Society (SCDS) and coordinated by YU’s Office of Student Life (OSL), the competition, which was the first of its kind at YU, was received well by a captivated and entertained audience that laughed and cheered for their peers’ performances.
The Great Monologue Competition took place in classroom 218 in Belfer Hall from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 16 undergraduate performers — 13 women and three men — each delivered monologues from famous plays, TV shows and films. The rules of the competition dictated that the monologues last fewer than three minutes. Participants made varied use of props, with some utilizing some combination of a chair, lectern or sheets of paper, and other participants utilizing only their own body language.
“I was thrilled with the turnout,” expressed Racheli Moskowitz (SCW ‘19), the Vice President of SCDS. “The energy in the room was unbelievable; the performers were excited, the audience was excited and you really felt a sense of community — of people who just love performing coming together to enjoy and support each other. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
The monologues were judged by a panel of three judges who determined the winners at the end of the evening. These judges were Reuven Russell, who is the artistic director of SCDS, Lin Snider, who has directed 23 productions for the Yeshiva College Dramatics Society (YCDS) and Danny Hoffman (YC ‘10), a writer and actor for the “Soon By You” YouTube series. The performances were judged based on energy and physical presentation, vocal presentation and projection, characterization and emotional connectedness/stage presence and rigor. SCDS board member Rocky Pincus (SCW ‘20) checked each monologue for accuracy.
“The monologue competition was a lot of fun to watch,” said Avi Lekowsky (SSSB ‘20). “Kudos to all the participants who put the time and effort in to make it an enjoyable evening for everyone.”
Chana Weiss (SCW ‘20), who presented the monologue “Cruising Close to Crazy” by Laura Shaine Cunningham, took the gold medal. Second place was awarded to Eli Azizollahoff (SCW ‘20) for her rendition of “Mr. Keating’s Monologue” from “Dead Poets Society,” and Sarit Perl (SCW ‘21) won third place for performing “Juliet’s Monologue” from “Romeo and Juliet.” Elka Weisenberg (SCW ‘20) and Chana Weinberg (SCW ‘20) both received honorable mention nods, for their presentations of the monologues “Speaking of Witch” by Janet Stevens and “Charlie Brown’s Monologue” from the musical comedy “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” respectively.
Other monologues included “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” from “Julius Caesar,” “BoJack’s Eulogy” from “BoJack Horseman,” “Captain Hook’s Monologue” from “Peter Pan” and “Jessup’s Monologue” from “A Few Good Men.”
Photo Caption: The participants from “The Great Monologue Competition”
Photo Credit: The Commentator
