(UNION, NJ) -- Four students from New Jersey high schools wrote the winning plays in The Theater Project's Young Playwrights Competition 2025. They will see their works performed by professional actors at the virtual awards ceremony on Monday, March 31, at 7:30pm. Eight students whose work received Honorable Mentions will also speak at the event.

The winners are as follows:

* First prize. Buried Treasure by Abigail Drake, Delaware Valley Regional High School, Frenchtown

* Second prize (tie). Dear Margaret by Karma Beech-Wilson, Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, Elizabeth, and Adams Apple by Grace Zanghi, Hightstown High School

* Third prize. College by Lucas Luchsinger, Academy for Performing Arts, Union County Vocational-Technical School District, Scotch Plains

The eight students being recognized with honorable mentions are Somni Baboulis, Kirsten Marcelin, students at Bergen County Academies, Hackensack; Ryann McArthur, Katrina Migliore, Shawn Ribeiro, at Communications High School, Wall Township; Journey Beech-Wilson, Egypt James, Sasha Silva, at Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, Elizabeth.

All four playwrights will receive cash prizes and the Joseph Curka Award, named after her late husband by Marion Curka, one of the earliest supports of The Theater Project. The eight honorable mentions receive gift certificates.

“The Theater Project takes special pride in the Young Playwrights Competition, now in its twenty-fourth year,” said Kevin Carver, program coordinator. “Part of The Theater Project’s mission is to encourage, nurture, and develop young aspiring playwrights.”

Carver noted that past winners of the Young Playwrights Competition have earned degrees in theater and playwrighting and are finding success in the field.

The Young Playwrights Competition is open to students enrolled in a New Jersey high school and home-schooled New Jersey residents aged 13 – 18. The competition is made possible in part by grants from the Lillian Schenck Foundation and the Citizens Bank Foundation.

Founded in 1994 and based in Union, The Theater Project introduces New Jersey audiences to new plays and supports rising playwrights and theater artists. It develops new audiences for theater by service to the community, providing programs for children, and using theater as a forum to address current issues.