Stanwich Sophomore Scores Winning Monologue

“I always thought Hamlet was an interesting character,” said Stanwich sophomore Matt Shindel when talking about why he chose to portray the character during the school’s National Shakespeare Competition of the English Speaking Union. “He’s fallen apart and into himself,” said Matt who walked away as the winner of Stanwich’s monologue contest. Under the guidance of Upper School English teacher Bruce Mandia, the school’s sophomores each memorized a 20-line monologue from one of Shakespeare’s works and performed in front of a three judge panel, fellow upper classmates, faculty and parents.

Chosen to represent The Stanwich School at the next level of competition, Matt will perform his monologue from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, as well as a sonnet of his choosing, at the ESU Greenwich Branch Competition at the Cole Auditorium of the Greenwich Public Library at 3:00pm on February 25. Finishing second in Stanwich’s match was Aiden Sebold for his portrayal of Prince Hal from Henry IV Part I, and taking third place was Yona Dervishi as Marc Anthony from Julius Caesar.

“I’m going to spend some time getting more comfortable and looking into the character more, then I’ll see which sonnet will resonate best with (Hamlet),” said Matt.