"The imagination is not our escape.
On the contrary, the imagination is the place we are all trying to get to.”
― playwright John Guare, Six Degrees of Separation
2024 Young Playwrights Awards and Performance
Please join us 7:30pm, Monday, March 25
The event is free -- register here to receive a link.
First Prize:
August Sullivan, Communications High School, Wall Township
Second Prize (a tie):
Karma Beech-Wilson, Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, Elizabeth, and
Merinrose Cheriyan, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack
Third Prize:
Jaylen Mingo, Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, Elizabeth
Honorable Mentions:
Everett Bologna, West Morris Mendham High School
Elena Gergis, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack
Jack LaRocca, Communications High School, Wall Township
Allison Lee, East Brunswick High School
Kirsten Marcelin, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack
Katrina Migliore, Communications High School, Wall Township
Allison Quinn, Communications High School, Wall Township
Mia Ulrich, Governor Livingston High School, Berkeley Heights
The Joseph Curka Award for Young Playwrights is named for her husband by Mrs. Marion Curka, one of the first supporters of The Theater Project.
- First, second, and third prize winners receive a cash gift and see their work performed at the March awards ceremony.
- Honorable Mentions receive certificates and gift cards.
- Post-judging, all entrants are offered an opportunity to meet with an adult playwright via Zoom to review their work.
- Detailed submission guidelines for 2025 are below.
Virtual site visits by playwrights to NJ classrooms are available to help students get started.
QUESTIONS? We're here to help!
Contact Grace Carver, gacarver10@gmail.com,
or Gary Glor at 908 809-8865
Hello!
My name is Grace Carver, and I am a freshman at Hillsborough High School in NJ. I am one of the event coordinators for a playwrighting competition for high schoolers. The Theater Project is a nonprofit theater
organization which has been serving local communities for over 25 years. This is our 22nd annual Young Playwright Competition, and we’d love to have you join us!
The Joseph Curka Award for Young Playwrights
Made possible in part by a grant from Investors Bank Foundation
The New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund
and the generosity of Mrs. Marion Curka
Resources
- Virtual classroom visits by playwrights available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis
- Interviews with selected past honorees and audio performances of their plays are available in our podcast, THE THEATER PROJECT THINKS ABOUT ... PODCASTS/LINK
- All entrants are offered a no-cost script review with an adult playwright or stage director in April.
How to Submit for 2025
Deadline January 21
Submission Instructions
- Entrants must attend a NJ high school or be a home-schooled NJ resident 13-18
- Scripts must be between 10 and 20 pages
- Scripts must be in play format
- Original work only, no adaptations
- One entry per author
To view recordings of last year's four winning plays, click the title/links in the listing below. The links will be active Oct 23-29.
To Enter
- Fill out entry form
- Upload script, author bio and photo
- Pay $10 entry fee by
- by credit card via PayPal LINK
- or check to Box 101, Union, NJ 07083 as prompted when you complete the entry form.
Please contact us if help or waiver for the entry fee is needed: Grace Carver, gacarver10@gmail.com
Cut and paste PayPal Link
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=62GGDSF9K64SE
about
Joseph Curka
Mr. Curka loved the theater, and the prize for the YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS COMPETITION was named in his memory by his wife, Mrs. Marion Curka, a staunch supporter of The Theater Project and young artists.
Mrs. Curka also supported women's shelters, services to women who were substance abusers, victims of domestic violence, and services to children, such as Toys for Tots, Junior Olympics and PAL. Her kind and loving spirit lives on through the many beneficiaries of her generosity.
About the Competition
The goal of the competition is to encourage the next generation of theater practitioners and audience by honoring their work and bringing it to life.
High school students get professional feedback on their work. Winners see their plays staged.
The Theater Project is committed to the concept that participation in the arts builds fundamental skills in reading, writing and critical thinking, crucial at all ages.
The competition was originally inspired by a generous donation from Bill Mesce, Jr. who will address the audience. Linden resident Mesce is an award-winning playwright/screenwriter whose novels have been published by Bantam Books.
Site Visits and Tutorials
Theater Project playwrights are available for virtual classroom site visits to help student writers get started.
After the contest winners have been announced, The Theater Project offers free tutorials to any interested entrant: a half hour script consultation with an adult playwright or director.
Young writers will also have the chance to meet with other contestants and the actors who are performing that day.
The Young Playwrights Competition
is made possible in part
by the support of ...
ALL ARE WELCOME
The arts have brought people together for thousands of years, and The Theater Project is a small part of that proud tradition. We strive to make everyone--audience, artists, and technicians--feel welcome and seen, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or presence of a disability. We aim to provide opportunities for the open exchange of ideas as our contribution towards a more inclusive and compassionate society.
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Connect
These programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation, the Essex County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and by the generosity of our many sponors and donors.
Please visit OUR SUPPORTERS for a complete list of sponsors, donors and funders.
