On March 5, Jamesville-DeWitt High School junior Anka Chiorini performed in the regional Shakespeare Competition. This was her third year competing in this competition, and certainly not her last. She ended up winning the regional competition, meaning she will move on to the national finals hosted in New York City. This is an amazing accomplishment that she should be very proud of. She is immensely talented and has taken on an incredibly inspirational route of performing. Many would be incredibly intimidated to compete in this type of competition, but Chiorini has proven time and time again that she is up to the challenge.
Chiorini had this to say about her experience with the competition: “The first two rounds of the competition were both live, which was really cool because, in the past, I’ve mostly just had to send in videos. I also really love both of my pieces this year. They’re probably my favorites that I’ve ever done.”
She performed the Jailer’s Daughter from Act 2 Scene 4 of “The Two Noble Kinsmen” and also performed “Sonnet 147.” These are very challenging scenes to take on, so it is a great accomplishment that she was able to perform them with such power and precision. Chiorini did lots of preparation in order to impress the judges of this tough competition. She has been preparing since around December and has been focusing on memorizing these monologues. She also states that since she has been preparing for so long, she felt very confident going into the competition. Overall, Chiroini put lots of effort into this experience and should be commended for that.
Now what she has to focus on is the national competition in New York City, which will most definitely be her toughest competition yet. She states, “My preparation is really just going to be filming my monologue and sonnet for the next round.” She says that the competition will be virtual this year, but still is being hosted in New York City. Chiorini states that there isn’t much else to do other than wait, so that is exactly what she plans to do. Chiroini has taken on a difficult task, so her preparation is crucial to success in this type of competition.
Chiorini expresses her excitement about continuing through the competition. She states, “It feels so amazing. I don’t even have the words to describe it. I went in unsure of what to expect from the school level and then the branch level, so to have made it this far for the second year in a row is unreal. I am so excited to see what happens next!”
J-DHS students all are excited for Chiorini and her accomplishments, so like herself, we are so interested to see what happens next. Since Chiorini has been in this place before, we are confident that she will represent the J-D community well. Congratulations to Anka Chiorini and all of her hard work to get her to this point!
