The scholarship seeks to instill a lifelong appreciation for the arts by providing students with opportunities to produce original works of all genres.
Students were challenged to two different competitions.They could either write a 15-minute, one act play, or perform a monologue from a play.
The five playwright finalists presented their works June 2 at the Student New Play Festival at The Palace Theatre. Previously, on March 31, they were honored at the Theatre's annual gala.
Kristin Huffman who appeared in the Tony award winning Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim, "Company" and Founder and Producing Artistic director of The New Paradigm Theatre directed he performances of each finalist’s play by a cast of New York actors Upstage at the Palace.
The emerging playwrights are:
Jaylen Walls, of Bronxville, N.Y. He was awarded honorable mention for his play, “Odalisque,” along with Eddie Godino of Newtown for his play “Pronunciation.”
Meghan Townsend, of Chappaqua, N.Y. She was tied third runner up for her play, “Make A Wish,” along with Yona Dervishi, of Stamford, for her play “That Was Then, This Is Now.”
Michael Busani, of Greenwich was named second runner up for his play, “Faux Pas.”
Isabelle Pierce was first runner up for first runner up for her play, "The Bedroom."
Ariel Abergel, of Westchester County, N.Y., was awarded the Grand Prize for his play, “When They Dimmed the Lights."
This year, over 50 students across the tri-state area applied for the scholarship.
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