The Theater Project Now Accepting Submissions For 24th Annual Young Playwrights Competition

The Theater Project, a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists, is accepting submissions for its 24th 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 at TheTheaterProject.org/young-playwrights-competition. The deadline to submit plays is January 21, 2026.

The winners will receive cash prizes and see their work performed by professional actors at the awards ceremony in March 2026. Contestants awarded an honorable mention will receive gift certificates.

“With the Young Playwrights Competition, we hope to inspire more young people to write and develop the verbal abilities, critical-thinking skills, and creativity they will need to succeed in any field,” 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.’"

Some past winners of the Young Playwrights Competition have gone on to pursue degrees in theater and playwriting, Spina noted. They often return to The Theater Project’s awards event to present prizes and share their journeys with the new honorees.

The Theater Project is an award-winning professional company headquartered in Union, NJ. 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.