Mosaic Theater Company Reveals Winners Of The 2025 High School Playwriting Contest

Mosaic Theater Company revealed the winners of its third annual High School Playwriting Contest. The winning plays will be presented at the High School Playwriting Contest Play Reading on Saturday, March 22, at 2 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington, DC.

1st Prize: The Precipice by Destiny Linus - DuVal High School, MD
2nd Prize: SLAP JACK by Amira Miller-Muro - Duke Ellington School of the Arts, DC
3rd Prize: Meetings on Tilted Ground by Michaela Frey - Langley High School, VA

Honorable Mentions went to:

- 2 Black Men by Aaron M. Curtis - Duke Ellington School of the Arts, DC
- Babysitting Gone Wrong by Alaysia Waters - Capital City Public Charter School, DC
- Carried to Shore by Ava Krasner - Marshall High School, VA

“It's been a joy to help grow the Playwriting Contest these past few years,” said Mosaic Education and Engagement Manager Jacob Ettkin. “This year's winning playwrights write in familiar worlds–high school offices, childhood living rooms, cafes–and explode them across space and time, tackling the nuances of class, race, queer identity, religion, cultural ownership, and more, with insight, bravery, and compassion. It's a joy to live out Mosaic's mission through the Contest, supporting new plays and sparking connection across generations. In giving these emerging artists a taste of the new work development process, I hope the contest shows them that their thoughts and their words have value, and that they, alongside young artists throughout the region, can make work and make a life as an artist right here in Washington, DC, at a time where cultivating strong artistic voices feel more vital than ever.”

“This inspiring program lives out Mosaic's mission of using theater to connect DC audiences of all ages and backgrounds. I am so grateful to Jacob for their leadership and want to extend a very special thanks to the many donors and sponsors who have helped grow our education programming," said Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas. “We are especially thankful for our ongoing partnership with the DC Public Library and Adult Services Coordinator David Quick, for continuing to host these young artists and our event. Please join us in March as we celebrate this next generation of DC talent!”

All winners will have their plays directed and performed by professional theater artists: Dylan Arredondo, Mekala Sridhar and Ynika Yuag. For the first time, they'll have the opportunity to receive mentorship from working DC-area directors and workshop multiple drafts of their plays, forming a cohort of emerging artists and growing their writing abilities in the process.

About the Winning Plays and Playwrights

1st Prize: The Precipice 

by Destiny Linus - DuVal High School, MD
Directed by Dylan Arredondo

It's senior year and four close friends are selected to be finalists for a $50,000 scholarship. When it's revealed that only one student will receive the award, they must decide who's the most worthy, exploding issues of race, class, ableism, identity, and more between them. 

Destiny Chinyere Linus is an Igbo Nigerian senior (almost free!) at DuVal High School. She's always known that she wanted to write ever since she was old enough to read, so the real questions were “what” and “'how.” So far, her answers have been “whatever I want” and “however it wants to be told.” As of now, her goal is to major in Journalism, Communications, or Sociology, while continuing to write as much as she can. Destiny is a percussionist, budding X-Men fanatic, life-long reader, and hopefully the writer of your next favorite play/show/book/article. 

2nd Prize: SLAP JACK 

by Amira Miller-Muro - Duke Ellington School of the Arts, DC
Directed by Ynika Yuag

Two adult siblings reconnect over card games in their childhood home. When the brother shares a secret that could threaten his safety within their conservative family, they must navigate their relationships, placing their trust and their lives in each other's hands. 

Amira Miller-Muro is a senior at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where she studies theater and acting every day. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and reading books about astrophysics. Amira started writing only a few months ago and is thrilled that her work is being recognized. She has fallen in love with playwriting due to the power it has to convey a character's emotional truth. She hopes that with every character she writes, the audience will be able to see a part of themselves on stage.

3rd Prize: Meetings on Tilted Ground 

by Michaela Frey - Langley High School, VA
Directed by Mekala Sridhar

A foreign scholar, a collector, and a judge meet at a coffee shop to discuss what to do with a retrieved artifact. Two men meet to discuss a treaty on behalf of their states. Time starts and stops between conversations that may not be conversing at all.

Michaela Ye Hyang Frey is a high school junior at Langley High School. She is a writer, painter, and web designer. She has been a violinist since 2011. She is a Scholastic Gold Key award winner and an American Voices Medal Nominee. She has also published her work in Stone Soup and was on the long list for the Sunspot Literary Journal. She is passionate about history, and founded the Gliese Art Collective, which aims to gather and compile resources to preserve valuable non-Eurocentric history.

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