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 Maynard, 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.

2025 Contest Winners

Picture
Left to right - Riley Negubeni (Mason HS), Gailee Maynard (Mason HS), Malia Reitz (Holt HS), AJ Triantaflos (Ovid-Elsie HS) Not pictured- Natalie Rowan (Charlotte HS)

Emerging Playwrights 2025-26 Competition

The 2025-26 Emerging Playwrights Competition begins in September! All High School students in Ingham, Clinton and Eaton counties are eligible for the competition. Applications and rules will be mailed to all high schools in these counties in September. They may also be downloaded below. 
emerging_playwrights_application_25-26.pdf
File Size: 187 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
emerging_playwrights_rules_2026.pdf
File Size: 337 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Questions? Send us an email! emergingplaywrig[email protected]
Emerging Playwrights is generously supported by Gordon Masters.
Emerging Playwrights is not affiliated with the MSU Wharton Center's Young Playwrights Competition.