(April 9, 2018)—Willian Vence of North Bergen, a High Tech senior in instructor Kerri Murphy's Playwriting elective, has been selected as a finalist for his one act play, Intersecting Points, by the NJ Young Playwrights Contest, associated with the Thirty-fifth Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, principal of High Tech High School.
Vence’s one act play, Intersecting Points, a comical love story, concerns two young high school students who have a crush on each other. Both can't seem to make a connection because they keep missing “the point.”
Contest winners will be announced later this month. Writers receive a certificate of accomplishment and all high school winners receive a Governor’s Award.
The Young Playwrights Festival celebrates writers (grades 4th-12th) who live in the Garden State. The Young Playwrights Contest, acknowledged as the third oldest contest in the U.S., has recognized over 500 young New Jersey writers since 1983. Professional actors and directors present staged readings of the contest winners at the two-day festival. Elementary and junior school plays receive a rehearsed concert reading, while high School plays receive a rehearsed staged reading.
Following the readings, the audience may converse with writers and directors. Before the final performances, theatre professionals offer help on play revisions. High School winners also work with professional dramaturgs up until the day of the Festival.