Shakespeare and teenagers have a lot in common. They are both immersed in everyday dramas about love, jealousy, sibling rivalry and family feuds. They both coin new sayings and words. Shakespeare thought life was a stage, and teenagers act like they're on one.

With this in mind Optus and Bell Shakespeare are once again holding the Make A Scene competition, challenging students across Australia to show the Shakespeare in their everyday lives. Students are invited to select a Shakespeare quote and express it their own way.

Make A Scene is run online, and students can submit their interpretation in any medium they choose - be it a drawing, photograph, illustration, animation, or movie - as long as it is submitted electronically as a still image or movie file.

The competition encourages students to approach Shakespeare in a language they understand while giving teachers the opportunity to utilise technology within the prescribed curriculum.

This year students can choose to interpret one of the following quotes:

Graze where you will, you shall not house with me! - Romeo And Juliet 3:5:188
This is the very painting of your fear - Macbeth 3:4:60
Men should be what they seem - Othello 3:3:129
Neither a borrower nor a lender be - Hamlet 1:3:75
Love look not with the eyes, but with the mind - A Midsummer Night?s Dream 1:1:234

The National Prize winner will be awarded $5,000, the new 250GB MacBook worth $1,299 and an Apple iPhone. If the winning student?s entry has been supported by their teacher or school, the school will win $5,000 and a semi-pro DV camera worth $5,799.

“This is the fourth Make A Scene competition that Bell Shakespeare and Optus are hosting online to connect students with Shakespeare,” Jann Kohlman, Optus Group Manager, Sponsorship and Community Programs said.

“Every year entries become more interactive as students from right around the country embrace technology to find creative ways to express Shakespeare.”

Bell Shakespeare founder and Artistic Director John Bell will join with best-selling children’s author Andy Griffiths, Channel 9 TODAY show weatherman Steve Jacobs, M&C Saatchi Senior Copywriter Genevieve Hoey and Optus Sponsorship Manager Geoffrey Nevill to decide who will win.

"Judging the Make A Scene competition is something I look forward to each year, and the entries continue to surpass my expectations," said Bell.

"With technology 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, helping them to access Shakespearian language on their own terms."

Entries must be uploaded on the Make A Scene website by Friday, October 1, 2010.

Full details on how to enter, entry categories, prizes, judges and terms and conditions can be found on the Make A Scene website- www.optus.com.au/makeascene