Optus and Bell Shakespeare are inviting Australian students to select a Shakespearean phrase and reinterpret it for the ‘Make A Scene’ competition.

The best national entry will be awarded an Apple iPhone 3G as well as $5,000 cash for the individual student and $10,000 cash for their school.

Make A Scene is run as an online competition with entries being moderated by a judging panel while students across the country can vote for each other’s work.

The judging panel consists of John Bell, artistic director of Bell Shakespeare, Josh Rowe, digital creative group head of MARK, acclaimed children’s author Andy Griffiths, and Geoff Nevill, arts and community sponsorship manager at Optus.

“To help inspire the students and promote the competition, we have incorporated some fantastic innovative technology in augmented reality… which aims to engage and enhance the students interest in Shakespeare and encourage greater expression in their entries,” explained Maha Krishnapillai, director of government and corporate affairs at Optus.

Linda Lorenza, head of education at Bell Shakespeare, said, “Since Make A Scene moved to an online format in 2007, its popularity just keeps on growing. As technology is a key component of Australian secondary education, Make A Scene provides a unique mechanism through which students can explore their own contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare”.

Entries can be uploaded from 1 October 2009.