The English-Speaking Union
Charlottesville Branch
P.O.Box 4816
Charlottesville, VA 22905 |
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| Orange County high school drama teacher, Sandi Terry, recipient of the Branch's 2010 Lilly Dabney, British Universities Summer School Fellowship, with Andrew Brennan, Education Committee Chair. |
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FURTHERING MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
In the summer of 1918, journalist Evelyn Wrench asked fifteen of his friends to join him at a London club to discuss ways in which closer ties and mutual understanding between English-speaking peoples could be fostered. The group's vision became The English-Speaking Union, today's worldwide, influential organization, which in the United States can count among its chairmen the distinguished World War Two general and former United States president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and, in Britain, the famous statesman, Winston S. Churchill. | OUR BRANCH'S ROLE
Since its establishment over fifty years ago, our Branch has performed a significant role by funding numerous scholarships, now fellowships, worth $6,000 to successful recipients. These awards have permitted many an outstanding college student or deserving local high school teacher in Charlottesville and its surrounding eight counties to attend summer school study at prestigious British universities, including Oxford. New to the program is Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance, a three week course for teachers at The Globe, the replica of Shakespeare's playhouse constructed on the site of the original on the south bank of London's Thames River.
Among other ESU programs are those designed to promote the exchange of ideas between educators and administrators in the United States and those in similar career fields in the U.K. and the Southern Hemisphere. Our Branch members open their homes to these scholars, make appointments for them with local counterparts and provide transport during their visits.
The newest undertaking is the return of the Shakespeare Competition for high school students, the hallmark program of the ESU world-wide. Winners will gather in April at Lincoln Center in New York City. The top prize for the winner is an all expense paid trip to England to study Shakespeare at Oxford University during the summer.
Situated in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley in historic Staunton, Virginia, the 300-seat Blackfriars Playhouse is the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's original indoor theater. This unique, historically accurate performance space provides the perfect backdrop for our Shakespeare competition. |
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