Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 10/14/2024
(UNION, NJ) -- The Theater Project, a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists, is accepting submissions for its 23rd annual Young Playwrights Competition. All high-school aged students in the state are eligible.
To jumpstart this year’s entrants, The Theater Project offers virtual site visits to NJ classrooms by adult playwrights (request early -- first come, first served). Also, interviews with previous honorees and audio recordings of their plays are available on the company’s website in the podcast series, THE THEATER PROJECT THINKS ABOUT ….
Guidelines and formatting rules are available online. The deadline to submit plays is January 24, 2025.
The winners will receive cash prizes and see their work performed by professional actors at the virtual awards ceremony in spring 2025. Contestants awarded an honorable mention will receive gift certificates.
“Young playwrights need us to listen,” said Mark Spina, artistic director for The Theater Project. “Every year at least one of our winners tells us, ‘I would never have tried to do this if I hadn’t heard about the competition.’ With the Young Playwrights Competition, we hope to inspire more young people to write and develop the verbal skills, critical-thinking skills, and creativity they will need to success in any field.”
Past winners of the Young Playwrights Competition have gone on to pursue degrees in theater and playwrighting, Spina noted. They often return to The Theater Project’s awards event to present prizes and share their journeys with the new honorees.
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.
This program is made possible in part by a grant from Citizens Bank.
IMAGE: Honorees of last year’s Young Playwrights Competition
First Prize: August Sullivan, Communications High School, Wall Township
Second Prize (a tie): Karma Beech-Wilson, Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, Elizabeth, and Merinrose Cheriyan, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack
Third Prize: Jaylen Mingo, Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, Elizabeth
Honorable Mentions: Everett Bologna, West Morris Mendham High School; Elena Gergis, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack; Jack LaRocca, Communications High School, Wall Township; Allison Lee, East Brunswick High School; Kirsten Marcelin, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack; Katrina Migliore, Communications High School, Wall Township; Allison Quinn, Communications High School, Wall Township; and Mia Ulrich, Governor Livingston High School, Berkeley Heights
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