Premiere Stages Unveils 2026 Bauer Boucher Playwriting Award Winners At Kean University

Premiere Stages has announced the recipients of its 2026 Bauer Boucher Playwriting Awards. This year’s honors recognize four current Kean University students and one alum for original playwriting.

The 2026 student award recipients are Goodness Kehinde (Class of 2026), Samantha Pugliese (Class of 2026), Layla Welsh (Class of 2028), and Alexandra Wuethrich (Class of 2026). Alumna Sahirah Z. Johnson (Class of 2017) received the Alumni Playwriting Award. The awards are named in honor of longtime Premiere Stages supporters W. John Bauer and Nancy Boucher.

Each recipient received a cash prize and a one-day developmental staged reading of their work with a professional cast and director. The winning students each received $500, and the alumni award recipient received $1,000.

A reading of A Different Kind of Arrival by Goodness Kehinde, The Three of Us, Always by Samantha Pugliese, and Seven Years by Layla Welsh was held January 15 at Kean University. Kehinde completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre in December 2025 and has worked on stage and in production roles including assistant director and audio technician. Pugliese has appeared in Theatre Department mainstage productions and currently serves as a student scene shop assistant. Welsh has performed on stage and worked as an assistant stage manager and light and sound board operator. Both Pugliese and Welsh are currently pursuing Bachelor of Arts degrees in Theatre.

A second reading, featuring Baba Knows Best by Alexandra Wuethrich and The Window Seat by Sahirah Z. Johnson, took place January 20 at Lantern Hill Senior Living. Wuethrich is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a minor in Theatre and began writing plays inspired by coursework and family history. Johnson, a Newark-born performer, educator, writer, and vocalist, previously won the Bauer Boucher student award in 2015. She holds degrees from Howard University, Kean University, and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Established in 2014, the Bauer Boucher Playwriting Award supports Kean University students and alumni through increased visibility, dramaturgical feedback, professional staged readings, and financial support. The readings are directed by John J. Wooten, Producing Artistic Director of Premiere Stages, and presented under Actors’ Equity Association Staged Reading Guidelines.