Emerging Playwrights

Five Area High School Students Win $1000 Playwriting Prizes

Five high school students have been named 2025 Emerging Playwrights winning $1000 prizes for writing short
plays. This is the third year that Riverwalk Theatre has invited high school students in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton
Counties to compete in this contest. Students throughout the tri-county area submitted scripts vying for one of the
five $1000 prizes. A panel of judges reviewed the scripts and selected the following students as winners of the
competition:

• Gailee Maynerd, 10th grade, Mason HS with the script Duncan’s Dragontail
• Riley Ngubeni, 12th grade, Mason HS with the script Like Lightning From Heaven
• Malia Reitz, 11th grade, Holt HS with the script The Chicanerous Murder of a Sunscreen Saleswoman
• Natalie Rowan, 12th grade, Charlotte HS with the script A Lone Woman’s Voice
• Abigail Triantaflos, 12th grade, Ovid-Elsie HS with the script Melanie
(Abigail Triantaflos was also named an Emerging Playwright in 2024.)

In addition to the $1000 prizes, the playwrights will have their scripts produced as full productions or staged
readings at Riverwalk Theatre’s Emerging Playwrights Festival in August. The playwrights will have an active role in
bringing their scripts to life on stage.

2024 Contest Winners

Abigail Triantaflos, 11th grade, Ovid-Elsie HS with the script Women at Housework
Paulina Rivet, 12th grade, Dewitt HS with the script Roses are Red
Evan Bywater, 12th grade, Lansing Eastern HS with the script Buddy’s Pizza
Ella Reid, 12th grade, Dewitt HS with the script Strangers Like Us
Olivia Quiroga, 12th grade, Holt HS with the script Butterfly Grief (Olivia Quiroga was also named an Emerging Playwright in 2023.)