Playwrights Theatre Announces The 2011 NJYP Contest Winners

Playwrights Theatre is pleased to announce the winners of the 28th Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest. From the 331 plays submitted by young writers throughout the state, a panel of theatre professionals has selected four High School plays, three Junior High School plays and three Elementary Schools plays. In each category, plays were selected without knowledge of playwrights' schools or grade. Judges were not provided with any of the playwrights' information. The 28th Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest Festival will be held on May 23 and May 24 as part of a partnership between Playwrights Theatre and Premiere Stages at Kean University.

The plays will be presented at the University Center's Little Theatre at Kean University on Monday, May 23 at 10am for the Elementary and Junior High Division winners and on Tuesday, May 24 at 10 am for the High School Division winners' plays. The readings will feature professional actors and directors and reservations can be made by calling Jim DeVivo at 973-514-1787 X14 or via email njypf@ptnj.org. Admission to the readings is free, but reservations are required, as seating is limited.

"Each year I am thrilled by the strong voices and vivid imaginations that emerge from the submissions received for the Festival," said Jim DeVivo, Director of Education. "The fourteen plays that will be performed at this year's Festival represent a strong critical look at the world and a sense of wonderment that was evident in so many of the plays received. I cannot wait to begin rehearsals and to see the audience's interaction with the plays during performance."

In the High School Division (grades 10-12), the winners are Sam Gelman, an 11th grade student from The Pingry School in Martinsville for his play For the Sake of America: A Story of Patriotism. Michelle Cheripka, an 11th grade student from Bergen County Academies in Hackensack for her play Yesterday. Jenna Postiglion, a 10th grade student from The Peddie School in Hightstown for her play The Prologue to After. Justine DeSilva, an 11th grade student from Bergen County Academies in Hackensack for her play Wacky Wednesday. Ms. DeSilva was also a winner in last year's contest for her play Why You.

The aforementioned winners will receive a New Jersey Governor's Award in Arts Education, which is co-sponsored by New Jersey Arts Education Partnership and the New Jersey Department of Education, at the Governor's Awards Ceremony on May 5, 2011, at 4:30pm at the State Museum auditorium in Trenton. The Governor's Award is the highest honor in arts education in New Jersey.

"We are very proud of these writers, and of the schools, parents, and friends who support them," said John Pietrowski, Artistic Director. "We are looking forward to seeing how these works change and grow in the development and rehearsal process, and how, in the hands of our professional actors and directors, they will be brought to life."

The three winners of the Junior High School Division (grades 7-9) are Ryan Kelly, a 9th grade student from Union County Academy for Performing Arts in Scotch Plains for her play Cellar Door. Joy Ho, an 8th grade student from Columbia Middle School in Berkeley Heights for her play Mozart's Silhouette. Rachel Skerker, an 8th grade student from Columbia Middle School in Berkeley Heights for her play Winter Sun.

"Premiere Stages is proud to collaborate with Playwrights Theatre in supporting young playwrights. As a theatre that champions new work we find it especially important to nurture the next generation of New Jersey writers," said Clare Drobot, Producing Associate at Premiere Stages. "I was so impressed by the caliber of works submitted and here at Premiere we are thrilled to help foster the students' work."

The Elementary School Division winners (grades 4-6) are Finn Gannon, a 4th grade student from St. Vincent Martyr School in Madison for his play There's Nothing to Do! Elizabeth Kilgore, a 4th grade student from St. Vincent Martyr School in Madison for her play The Easy World. Caroline Hoerner, a 6th grade student from Chatham Middle School in Chatham for her play The Wizard's Candy.

Honorable Mention went to Emma Q. Baxter, a 6th grader student from Randolph Middle School in Randolph for her play Race. Casey Murphy, a 9th grade student from Union County Academy for Performing Arts in Scotch Plains for her play Time is Fleeting. Lacey Davies, an 11th grade student from Bergen County Academies in Hackensack for her play Happy Days. Molly Kirschner, an 11th grade student from Bergen County Academies in Hackensack for her play Writer's Iris.

About the High School Playwrights:

Michelle Cheripka is currently a junior at the Bergen County Academies (Academy for Business and Finance). Apart from her interests in playing volleyball and piano, she has always had a passion for writing, and recently developed an interest in playwriting. Additionally, she is involved in video production and recently co-directed the short film Chroma (2011). Previously, she won a Golden Key for her play The Detachment (2011) and Honorable Mention in the New Jersey State Bar Law Day video competition (2010). Yesterday is her first play production.

Justine DeSilva is a 17-year-old junior from Ridgewood, NJ who attends Bergen County Academies in the Academy for Visual and Performing Arts. She is a dedicated and well-rounded student but her true passion is for her English and Theatre classes. Justine is ecstatic to be receiving the New Jersey Governor's Award via the New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival for her one-act play Wacky Wednesday. She is especially grateful to be able to claim this honor for the second year in a row, the first time being for her 2010 play Why You.

Sam Gelman, age 16, currently resides in Randolph, NJ. He attended the Hebrew Academy of Morris County through eighth grade and is currently a junior at the Pingry School in Martinsville. Sam has been dedicated to the performing arts for many years. He has been involved in all of his school's productions, both on stage and behind the scenes. He is a member of Pingry's Creative Writing Club. Last year, Sam won the Pingry Justin Society Creative Writing Award for Playwriting.

Jenna Postiglione has been writing forever and was first published at the age of six in a Guest Young Author Contest by Lisa Funari Willever and Franklin Mason Press, Trenton. She lives in Millstone Township and attended Millstone Township Middle School where she won the Student Voices Contest in the Asbury Park Press in 2009 under the tutelage of English teacher and mentor, Mrs. Arlene Agulnick. In addition to her love of writing, she plays piano and clarinet and enjoys acting in the Peddie Theater program. She is also working on her first young adult novel.

For more information about Playwrights Theatre, visit www.ptnj.org or call (973) 514-1787.

For more information about Premiere Stages, visit www.kean.edu/premierestages or call 908-737-SHOW (7469).

Playwrights Theatre's New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest receives generous funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; and Travelers Foundation, Bank of America, Investors Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, PSE&G, The Bay and Paul Foundation and the Provident Bank Foundation. The New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival and New Jersey Young Playwrights Program are registered to the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission.

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