Theater Project to Honor 12 Young Playwrights in Cranford, NJ

Four students from New Jersey high schools wrote the winning plays in The Theater Project's Young Playwrights Competition 2026. They will see their works performed by professional actors at the awards ceremony at 2pm, Saturday, March 21, at the Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Ave. Eight students whose work received Honorable Mentions will also be recognized.

The winners are:

First prize, TO BE by Emily Ommerborn, Middletown High School South

Second prize, THE AUTHOR by Shawn Ribeiro, Communications High School, Wall Township

Third prize(tie),

THE FOOD FIGHT OF HAPPY TIMES NURSING HOME by Natalie Boyle, Park Ridge High School

DIEGO'S REVENGE by Teni Richard, Park Ridge High School

All four winners will receive cash prizes and the Joseph Curka Award, named after her late husband by Marion Curka, one of the earliest supporters of The Theater Project.

The eight students receiving Honorable Mentions are:

Somni Baboulis, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack;

Angelina Freel-DiPalma, Sean Sharkey, Communications High School, Wall Township; 

Mariya Antsiferova, Katelyn Driscoll, Kayla Friedmann, Eden Roberts, Middletown High School South; Lucas Fedzina, Park Ridge High School.

These students will receive gift certificates.

Carver noted that past winners of the Young Playwrights Competition have earned degrees in theater and playwriting and are finding success in the field.

The Young Playwrights Competition is open to students enrolled in a New Jersey high school and home-schooled New Jersey residents aged 13 – 18. The competition is made possible by funds from the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and The Theater Project's many donors and sponsors.

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.