The Sandhills Branch of the English-Speaking Union of the United States presents its fourth annual final event of the National Shakespeare Competition Thursday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. at Owens Auditorium, on the campus of Sandhills Community College.

Students from high schools in Hoke and Moore County and home-schooled students (10th, 11th, and 12th grades) have studied, memorized, and performed a monologue from one of Shakespeare's plays.

In addition to that, those winners will also recite one of the Bard's sonnets during the competition.

The Branch competition winner receives a weekend of theater, workshops, and sightseeing in New York City, in addition to the opportunity to enter further competition on stage (late April).

The national competition winner, selected from among the 60 entrants from all over the nation, will receive a four-week acting course at the British American Drama Academy's month-long Midsummer Conservatory Prog-ram at Oxford, the UK's intensive pre-college acting program.

Serving as judges will be Joy Karcher, a drama instructor at Sandhills Community College; Sandra Epperson, artistic director of Sandhills Theatre Company; and John Chappell. a staff writer for The Pilot, who is also an actor.

Participants include Derick Cox, Erik Farrell, Kacin Menendez, Jessica Richard, Jacob Walas and Josh Wolonick.