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 on Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m., 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, and “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, 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 and Sean Sharkey, Communications High School, Wall Township; Mariya Antsiferova, Katelyn Driscoll, Kayla Friedmann and Eden Roberts, Middletown High School South; and Lucas Fedzina, Park Ridge High School. These students will receive gift certificates.
“The Theater Project takes special pride in the Young Playwrights Competition, now in its 25th year,” said Kevin Carver, program coordinator. “Part of The Theater Project’s mission is to encourage, nurture and develop young aspiring playwrights. But this activity also builds the critical thinking and communication skills that are needed in every field.”
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 to 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.
Photo Courtesy of Joel Allegretti
