Poetry Out Loud Regional Championships Held Across Pennsylvania in February

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — High school students from across the state will compete for a chance to represent their region at Pennsylvania’s state championship for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) sponsors the competition along with its regional partners and arts organizations.

Regional finalists are selected through classroom, school and the regional contests. Last year, finalists were chosen from 10,000 Pennsylvania high school students. 100 Pennsylvania high schools incorporated Poetry Out Loud as part of their curriculums.

Each student memorizes and performs three poems selected from print and online poetry anthologies. Students are judged on voice and articulation, physical presence, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, overall performance, and accuracy.

Judges for the state and regional finals include performers, poets and cultural and business leaders from across the state.

PCA chair and Pennsylvania First Lady Susan Corbett will welcome the competitors to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg for the state competition on March 11. The State Champion will represent the Commonwealth in the national championship in Washington, D.C. in May.

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition. The state champion will receive $200 from The Poetry Foundation and an expense-paid trip to compete in the national championship, which will award a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends, with at least one $20,000 college scholarship.

For more information, go to www.poetryoutloud.org

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is a state agency under the Governor’s Office that works to foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania and to broaden the availability and appreciation of those arts throughout the state. The council’s regional Poetry Out Loud partners are: Allentown Art Museum; ArtsErie; ArtsPath: Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Blair County Arts Foundation; Cultural Alliance of York County; Galaxy, the Arts in Education Program of Central Intermediate Unit 10; Jump Street; Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19; Northern Tier Partnership for Arts Education/Bradford County Regional Arts Council; Perry County Council of the Arts; Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership; Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts; South Central PaARTners: Millersville University; and Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

Media contact: Heather Doughty, 717-787-1517; PCA

Editors Note: Competition information is listed below:

    Feb. 9 - 10 a.m.                      Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Pittsburgh
                                           Contact: Mary Brenholts
                                           412-606-4723

    Feb. 13 - 2 p.m.                      Landis House, Newport
                                          Contact: Amy Reed, 717-567-7023

    Feb. 13 - 6 p.m.                      WVIA Studios, Pittston
                                           Contact: Stefanie Colarusso,
                                           570-881-6231
    Feb. 14 - 9:30 a.m.                    Webster's Book Store & Café, State
                                           College
                                           Contact: Cynthia Mazant,
                                           814-404-6027
    Feb. 16 - 10 a.m.                      Univ. of the Arts-Levitt Aud.,
                                           Philadelphia
                                           Contact: Megan Lafferty,
                                           856-207-8868
    Feb. 16 - 11 p.m.                      Allegheny College-Vukovich Center,
                                           Meadville
                                          Contact: Holly Nowak, 814-860-4001
    Feb. 16 - 12:30 p.m.                   Mansfield Univ., Allen Hall,
                                           Mansfield
                                          Contact: Cat Badger, 215-205-9475
    Feb. 18 - 6:30 p.m.                   IUP Performing Arts Center, Indiana
                                          Contact: Jeff Wacker, 724-422-1998
    Feb. 20 - 7 p.m.                      Majestic Theatre, Gettysburg
                                          Dana Sauers, 717-515-2236
    Feb. 21 - 6 p.m.                      Allentown Art Museum, Allentown
                                           Contact: Kathy Odorizzi,
                                           570-449-8147
    Feb. 21 - 7 p.m.                       Millersville University, Ware
                                           Center, Lancaster
                                          Contact: Ty Clever, 717-468-8368
    Feb. 21 - 7 p.m.                      Mishler Theatre, Altoona
                                          Contact: Kate Shaffer, 814-207-4945
    Feb. 21 - 7 p.m.                       Midtown Scholar Bookstore,
                                           Harrisburg
                                           Contact: Rebekah Wilcox,
                                           717-514-5200
    Feb. 23 - 11 a.m.                      Westmoreland Museum of American
                                           Art,
                                           Greensburg -Contact: Joan McGarry,
                                           412-334-7336

SOURCE Pennsylvania Council on the Arts