Clayton High School Sophomore to Perform Shakespeare on Lincoln Center Stage

Clayton High School sophomore Katie Warnusz-Steckel’s father was a Shakespearean actor when she was young. That was her first exposure to Shakespeare, now she’ll travel to New York City to perform The Bard's work on the Lincoln Center stage this spring.

Warnusz-Steckel qualified for the all-expenses-paid trip by taking first place in  The English-Speaking Union’s regional Shakespeare competition hosted by the St. Louis branch of the organization.

“I think the first Shakespeare play I was exposed to was Julius Caesar,” she said. “My dream is to play Portia, because she’s such an amazing character. I love the histories, and the tragedies pretty great, too.”

As the St. Louis representative at the National Shakespeare Competition held April 21-23, Warnusz-Steckel will compete against 60 students from across the country. Annually, 15,000 students participate in the competition at the regional level. The first-place winner in the national contest will receive the English-Speaking Union's Amanda Steele Scholarship for summer study in the U.K.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity, that I get to do what I love, for free, in a place that’s so amazing,” she said.

To qualify for the St. Louis Regional Shakespeare Competition, Warnusz-Steckel memorized and prepared a Shakespearean monologue and sonnet with the help of Clayton High School theater teacher Kelley Weber and instructors with the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ Shakespeare Squadron.

She then performed her monologue and sonnet for a panel of English teachers at CHS, who selected her to advance to the regional competition.

Clayton High School supplied information for this article.