Opportunities & Events
Masqueraders
Masqueraders trains midshipmen in the theatre arts and produces top-quality collegiate theatre. In addition to producing a main stage play in the fall, the group sponsors student-produced one-act plays and "Under Covers," a performance of midshipmen-written monologues exploring gender issues at USNA.
In 2008, the Masqueraders will produce Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Performance dates are November 14-16 and 21-22.
Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 8; the Sunday matinee is at 2.
Labyrinth
Labyrinth, the USNA literary magazine, is the longest-standing midshipman-written, -edited, and -produced publication on the Yard. It brings together fiction, poetry, plays, essays, and art by midshipmen from all majors and classes. This year's edition even included a CD with original music written and performed by mids. Recent student editors have brought new flair and professionalism to the magazine.
The Brady Series
Due to the generous contribution of Debbie and Larry Brady (USNA '65) and their family, the Naval Academy is proud to present the Brady Series on Leadership through the Humanities. This program is designed to provide a vital forum for discussing the integration of the humanities in the training of future Naval and Marine Corps Officers at the Academy. Recognizing the implicit value of the humanities in the education of our nation's future leaders, the Bradys have entrusted the Naval Academy's Department of English with the task of offering cultural experiences designed to facilitate the examination of character development issues: among them, mercy versus justice, truth versus loyalty, and other concepts relating to honor, courage and commitment. This series gives the freshman class a foundation to examine character development throughout their time at the Academy, seeking to "imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty."
In October 2008, novelist Tim O'Brien will be speaking to the Class of 2012.
Prizes
- A. Stuart Pitt Memorial Poetry Award
- The Pitt Memorial Poetry competition is conducted under the auspices of the Academy of American Poets, which sponsors individual poetry contests at colleges across the nation. The competition at the Naval Academy was established in memory of Professor A. Stuart Pitt, the first chair of the Academy English Department and a member of the faculty for thirty-seven years before his death in 1978. First prize is $200 granted from the Academy of American Poets.
- Bernard Smith Plebe Essay Prize
- The English Department sponsors an annual contest for the best essay written for fall and spring semester plebe English courses. Each of two awardees receives $100 from an endowment given to the Naval Academy Writing Center in honor of Bernard E. Smith, Class of 1947.
- Ensign Robert Dickie Stannus Award
- This award is named after a USNA class of 1958 graduate who heroically lost his life in 1959 trying to save a shipmate who had been washed overboard from USS Bexar (APA 237). As a midshipman, ENS Stannus had been editor in chief of The Log, a midshipman-run news and information journal. In USS Bexar, he was the roommate of Michael Jasperson, later a professor of English at USNA. The award recognizes excellence in editing of The Labyrinth, the literary magazine sponsored by the USNA English Department. The award is a cash amount up to $200.
- John Wooten Prize
- The English Department sponsors an annual essay contest for HE217 and HE218 courses, named in memory and honor of Professor John Wooten, a longtime member of the faculty and devoted teacher of these two courses. First prize is $200.
- Michael Jasperson Playwriting Award
- The English Department's Masqueraders sponsors an annual playwriting contest named for Professor Michael Jasperson, who directed the Masqueraders for twenty-five years and retired in 1992. Each winter, entries are solicited from the Brigade and judged by a panel of faculty and elected Masqueraders officers. First prize is $200, which comes from the Masqueraders and a generous endowment from Christopher Perrien.
- Nancy Wicker Prize
- The English Department sponsors a prize awarded to the honors English major who writes the best essay in a senior seminar course. The prize is named in honor of Professor Nancy Wicker, a longtime faculty member and is formally awarded at the HUM/SS Division Prizes and Awards Ceremony. The prize is $200 ($100 each from the Bernard Smith Fund and a separate endowment.)
- Van Dyke Prize
- This prize recognizes the graduating English major with the highest academic standing in those courses required to complete the major. The prize consists of a sword valued at $450.
- Wilson L. Heflin Prize
- The Wilson L. Heflin Prize for Leadership in the Humanities was established in 1984 to honor Professor Heflin, a noted Melville scholar and member of the faculty for forty years. The prize is awarded annually to the midshipman of any class and major who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in fostering humane studies at the Naval Academy during the preceding year. The prize consists of a collection of texts valued at $200 and a framed certificate.
