Four New Jersey High School Students Receive Prestigious Young Playwrights Awards From The Theater Project

Eleven very talented New Jersey high school students will be honored at THE THEATER PROJECT'S 20th annual Young Playwrights Competition Performance and Awards Ceremony at 7:30pm, Monday, March 28. At the virtual event, the four prize winners will see their work performed by the professional actors of The Theater Project; honorable mentions will be presented with citations and gift certificates. The event is free and open to the public, thanks to support from Investors Foundation and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance's 25th Annual Stages Festival, which offers free and low-cost events throughout the state.

The four winners receive the Joseph Curka Award for Young Playwrights. These eleven young writers represent nine different high schools and ten different New Jersey towns:

First prize: Lina Olazabal, The Lawrenceville School

Second prize: Izaiah Solano, Thomas Jefferson Academy, Elizabeth

Third Prize (a tie): Mia Longenecker, Madison High School, and Isabel Lindsay, Communications High School of Monmouth County, Wall Township.

Honorable mentions: Brennan Columbia-Walsh, Montclair Kimberly Academy; Ben Glickman, Newark Academy, Livingston; Simone Graziano, Absegami High School, Galloway; Angel Jacob, Thomas Jefferson Academy, Elizabeth; Allison Lee, Churchill Junior High School; Jacqueline Litowinsky, Communications High School of Monmouth County, Wall Township; Sofia Sepulveda Pizarro, East Brunswick High School.

All the high school students who entered the Young Playwrights Competition are offered a one-on-one session with an adult playwright to discuss their scripts.

"We invited 800 public and private high schools in New Jersey to participate and despite the challenges COVID presented, we still got terrific, qualified entries," said Board Director President Kevin Carver who coordinates the state-wide competition. "It just shows that these talented, young playwrights want to create and are willing to overcome the hurdles the pandemic presented." Since its inception, students from 74 New Jersey high schools have been honored in the popular Young Playwrights Competition.

The program is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival, the state's largest annual theatre festival, which provides free and discounted theatre events for all ages throughout the months of March, April, and May.

"The New Jersey Theatre Alliance is grateful that The Theater Project is participating in the 2022 Stages Festival," said John McEwen, Executive Director of the Alliance. "For 25 years, The Stages Festival has provided theatrical experiences for more than 200,000 residents across New Jersey. We are thrilled that we can bring communities together through the power of theatre."

The NJTA 2022 Stages Festival is made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Bank of America; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; New Jersey Historical Commission. A full calendar of events is available at www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages.

The Theater Project is a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists. For further information, please visit TheTheaterProject.org or call 908-809-8865.

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