Portland observer., March 21, 2018, Page Page 9, Image 9

March 21, 2018
Page 9
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
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East County
Beaverton
Photo by
W ade o Wens
Rising to the top in the annual August Wilson Monologue Competition to promote diversity in the arts (from left) is third place winner Alyssa Marchant, a junior
at Rex Putnam High School; first place winner Noreena McCleave, a senior at Wilson High School; and second place winner Kai Tomizawa, a freshman at Grant
High School.
Thirteen young women representing
10 different Portland-area high schools
gave their all at the recently competed
August Wilson Monologue Competition
at the Newmark Theater, an annual event
to promote diversity in the arts.
The students were cheered on by a
large and exuberant crowd and by each
other. Rising to the top were Alyssa
Marchant, a junior at Rex Putnam High
School, in third place with an emotion-
al rendition of Tonya from “King Hed-
ley II.” Kai Tomizawa, a freshman from
Grant High School, came in second
place with a gender-bending portrayal of
Becker’s changed confrontation with his
son in “Jitney.” And Noreena McCleave,
a senior at Wilson High School, brought
down the house with laughter as Mem-
phis from “Two Trains Running.”
Tomizawa and McCleave will be
continuing on to represent Portland in
the National August Wilson Monologue
Competition in New York in May.
Rising
to the
Top
Finalists named in contest
supporting arts diversity
The local competition was the cul-
mination of a program that began in
October, when teaching artists from
Portland’s nonprofit August Wilson Red
Door Project began visiting high schools
to give a presentation about August Wil-
son, the late black Pulitzer prize winning
playwright for drama, and his legacy.
While Kai and Noreena are getting an
all-expenses-paid trip to New York for
National Finals, all of the participants
went home with fabulous prizes in rec-
ognition of their dedication.
The top two finalists will undergo fur-
ther coaching to hone their performanc-
es. They have big shoes to fill – Port-
land’s first-place winner last year went
on to take third place nationally, and the
second-place winner from 2015 is now
starring as Ti Moune in the Broadway re-
vival of “Once on This Island.”
Portland to Broadway. Just like that.
And these two young women could be
next!