Four New Jersey High School Students Share Prestigious Young Playwrights Award From The Theater Project

Brennan Columbia-Walsh, a 16-year-old junior from Montclair Kimberley Academy in Montclair and Alejandro Espinal, a 17-year-old senior at the Academy for Performing Arts in Scotch Plains, have been selected to share first prize in The Theater Project's prestigious 19th Annual Young Playwrights Competition.

Ryan Rosenthal, a 16-year-old junior at Cranford High School, and Julian Martin, a 17-year-old senior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, captured second and third, respectively.

Ava Chickering (Montclair Kimberley Academy), Christiana Gabor (Holmdel High School), Lucille O'Donnell (Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy), Emily Hammond (The Lawrenceville School), Maddie Pritchet (OCVTS Performing Arts Academy), Tierney Maurer (Holmdel High School), and Veronica Vogelman (Princeton Day School) won honorable mention.

A production of The Theater Project (TheTheaterProject.org), a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists, the competition featured high school students from throughout New Jersey.

"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 of Directors 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 top four finishers share The Theater Project's Joseph Curka Award for Young Playwrights. The competition is made possible in part by a grant from Investors Bank Foundation and the event itself is supported by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2021 Stages Festival.

In addition to cash awards, certificates and recognition, the four playwrights will get the opportunity to see their one-act plays recorded and performed virtually by professional actors on March 22. The two-hour performance will include a live award presentation and interaction with the winners. Registration for the free ZOOM performance/ceremony is open to the public via: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_A0qur7SgSyyOyVl88Jmy2A.

All the high school students who entered the Young Playwrights Competition will also have the opportunity to have a one-on-one session with a professional, adult playwright, a valuable learning tool.

Columbia-Walsh, author of the winning play The Opossum, a story of three gunslingers set in the old West, has written several plays while taking part in introductory and advanced independent studies in playwriting at the Montclair Kimberley Academy. His radio play Schadenfreude was produced in New York City by professional actors under the direction of playwright Rob Gelberg.

"I am thrilled to even be considered for this opportunity, let alone to have my play considered worthy of first place," said Columbia-Walsh, who plans to continue to pursue playwriting in college. "The opportunities that accompany this award are extremely compelling. I am very excited to have my work performed at the awards ceremony."

Espinal, an aspiring actor and writer whose winning entry, Proscenium Delirium, is a quick-moving comedy centered on a quirky cast of characters attending a performance of a community theater play was equally enthusiastic.

"Thank you very much for this tremendous opportunity," the young playwright said. "I'm excited for what's ahead."

The event is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2021 Stages Festival, 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; the George A. Ohl, Jr. Trust; New Jersey Historical Commission; and Fund for the New Jersey Blind. www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages.

For further information on The Theater Project, a Union Township-based 501(c)3 non-profit, professional theater producing off-Broadway quality shows for New Jersey audiences, visit TheTheaterProject.org.

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