The English-Speaking Union, Houston Branch presented a donation on Tuesday on behalf of former School of Theatre Director Sidney Berger.
The $1,000 donation will be used to improve the school, Berger said.
"We’re going to use the money to support the Shakespeare Festival," Berger said.
The annual summer Shakespeare Festival, begun in 1975, features high school students performing Shakespearean sonnets and monologues. Students participate in local, state and national qualifying stages, according to the ESU Web site.
ESU volunteer member Terry St. John said Berger deserved the donation because he helped set up the competition.
"Of course he was just a natural to go to," St. John said.
Berger has directed plays, but said he admires Shakespeare and would like high school students to appreciate it.
"When Shakespeare is taught properly, kids love him," Berger said.
Berger said he began to read Shakespeare in high school at the request of one of his teachers.
"It was like someone opened the gates of Oz," Berger said.
High school students can enter for an opportunity to perform in a competition in New York City hosted by the ESU, according to a release. The winner of the national competition receives a scholarship to the British American Drama Academy’s Midsummer Conservatory Program in England, according to the ESU Web site.
Friendswood high school student Julia Bynum said the festival means a lot to young actors.
"(The competition is) my own journey that I can learn and blossom from," Bynum said.
Felicia Miller, a former student who teaches drama at St. Agnes Academy, said Berger taught her a lot.
"I learned everything I know from his department," Miller said.
Berger also said that during his 32-year term as director, which ended in 2007, he worked to improve the school.
He also said he has plans to bring more Shakespeare into student life by introducing aspects of Elizabethan England theater culture and architecture.
"I want to build a replica of the Rose Theatre," Berger said.
