The words Jackson Davis used to describe the English-Speaking Union of the United States’ Shakespeare competition were, “Really high stakes, really awesome.” The contest is performance-based and it highlights the importance of reading and analyzing Shakespeare’s works. He just won the community competition which moves him forward to the New York City section this weekend. 

Previously, in 2023, Davis won second place in the community level competition and just barely missed the New York trip. Following this, he made the goal to push himself to win so that he could reach the height of success in this acting challenge. This year, Davis achieved his goal and won the community competition, so he is thrilled to be heading to New York.

The program began in the fall with a school competition in which students performed a monologue. During the winter, the winners of the school competition moved on to the community section in which they performed a sonnet in addition to the same monologue. The winner of this competition moves on to nationals held in New York City.

Davis finds it anxious to get to nationals in New York. “It’s the best and the worst part because you are surrounded by so many talented people.” He notes how strong the community of actors is even as the competition gets more intense.

As he approaches the finals Davis is looking forward to making new friends, meeting people from all around the country, and a potential trip to Oxford in England that is awarded to the winner of the national competition.