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Q&A with 2025 Student Playwriting Competition Winners, Finalists
Six winners have been selected for the Middle School & High School Playwriting Competition, three in each age group. This year, the DCPA received 175 middle school and 119 high school submissions from 13 counties across the state.
The top three plays by each age group will be included in the 2025 Playwriting Anthology and the three winning high school plays will receive a public staged reading as part of the 2025 Colorado New Play Summit, running March 1 & 2.
After careful review by a panel of artistic, literary and theatre education professionals, DCPA Education and Community Engagement is proud to announce the following winners for the Middle School & High School Playwriting Competition.
Winners & finalists are listed alphabetically by play title
THE THREE HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS
A Day in Black Shoes
by Nicole Siegler, Senior at Denver School of the Arts
Inspired by the novel Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, A Day in Black Shoes centers around a young African American boy named Osiah King, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and awakening to the complexities of race, identity, and the harsh realities of the world around him.
DCPA: What is something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?
Siegler: Through the creative writing process, I allowed myself to do a few things: I acknowledged my very real fear of losing a loved one or having a loved one lose me as a result of police brutality, I found my voice as an activist and playwright, connecting it to my deep love of theatre and storytelling, and I gave myself permission to feel angry or sad or confused about how and why the color of my skin can, in some unfortunate cases, dictate how others treat me in society.
DCPA: What is your favorite line from your play?
Siegler: “But some days if I listen hard enough, I can hear the impact, the sound, my shoes make when I walk. And I know something gotta be goin right if you can hear my shoes amongst all the loud white noise.”
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Siegler: To one day create a Broadway play that is a comedic-drama (or musical) that depicts the highs and lows, the painful beautiful moments of an interracial love story between a kind-hearted Latino immigrant and a vivacious black woman. I’d want it to be called The Culture Collision. (Maybe I’m working on it right now!)
Little Girl, Little Ghost
by Hannah Harr, Senior at Jefferson County Open School
The ghost of Oliver Finley is resigned to an afterlife stuck in the elevator where he died eighty years ago. That is, until Charlie Torres walks through the doors – a woman who bears a near-perfect resemblance to Oliver’s lost love, Evelyn. Oliver throws himself into the task of making Charlie see him, hoping it will be the solution to all his problems.
DCPA: What is something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?
Harr: I learned that trying to force the creative process on myself is not the best way for me to write. When inspiration strikes I can do good work, and a lot of it, but until I have an idea that I can run with, trying to make myself write ends up frustrating me more than anything else.
DCPA: What is your favorite line from your play?
Harr: “For all I know, she spent the rest of her life believing I’d never meant to meet her at all.”
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Harr: A goal of mine is to become a published novelist and playwright!
Waiting For Download or Samuel Beckett’s Revolutionary Playlist
by Penelope Letter, Junior at Peak to Peak Charter School
A sort of revolution in this ever-darkening world awaits just beyond a phone update. Three friends gather in a room with nothing but a phone and a radio, passing time while waiting for change to finally arrive, hoping this download will give them some power in a world that keeps denying it.
DCPA: What is something new you learned about yourself while writing your play?
Letter: Comedy is my favorite genre to write, as I’ve learned. Even if what I’m writing is more about a drama or a serious topic, it will always be first and foremost a comedy. For example, I’m really worried about the current direction of the world, but my way to express this is through comedy.
DCPA: What is your favorite line from your play?
Letter: “Like my grandma used to say back in her day, ask not what you can do for your mobile cell phone, but what your mobile cell phone can do for you.”
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Letter: I would eventually like to put all the strange ideas I have in my head onto a page, and see which ones I want to create more of. I’d like to finish some of the million stories I’ve started but haven’t yet finished!
THE THREE MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS
Fears and Phobias
by Mary Grace Ahern, Saint Thomas More
A teenaged boy with many extreme fears meets a girl who is willing to become his friend in spite of his unusual phobias. Together, they work to solve his many fears.
DCPA: What is something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?
Ahern: I have always had a big imagination and often found myself daydreaming. Writing this play showed me how to direct my imagination and turn my daydreams into characters and roles.
DCPA: What is your favorite line from your play?
Ahern: “Luis, I’m pretty sure that was just thunder.”
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Ahern: I envision myself as a middle school language arts teacher, dedicated to creating a dynamic and engaging classroom environment where learning is both enjoyable and impactful. My goal is to inspire students by fostering creativity, curiosity, and a true passion for language and literature. I want to make education a space where students not only develop their skills, but also discover the joy of exploring stories, ideas, and imagination.
A Godly Problem
by Anita Bosnich & Emery Eun, William “Bill” Roberts K-8
Teenaged Hailey used to love to read until she got a new phone – now all she does is watch cute cat videos. When the goddess Athena appears in Hailey’s bedroom, Athena must convince Hailey to read a book before she can return to Mount Olympus.
DCPA: What is something you discovered about yourself while writing your play?
Bosnich: I very much enjoy writing about mythology. I actually decided to write 4 books, (all mythology based) after I finished!
Eun: It is always fun to write, and I loved doing it. Originally we started separately, but then we decided to work together. I’m glad we did. It was so much fun, and I am very proud of our accomplishment.
DCPA: What is your favorite line from your play?
Bosnich: “Fine. I may have read them once. Or twice. Or 3 times. Or 37 times.”
Eun: “I’m an all powerful goddess, casting spells is a piece of cake for me. Actually, it’s more like eating cake for me.”
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Bosnich: My creative goal is to finish writing the Percy Jackson fanfiction book I am currently writing with my partner who I won this with (one of my best friends), Emery Eun.
Eun: Another creative goal that I have is to write and publish a book, because I really love writing. I have already started writing a book with Anita, and I have many more book ideas in mind.
Is It My Fault?
by Vivian Brady, Morey Middle School
During 13-year-old Dani’s therapy session, she and her therapist tackle abandonment, family drama, and bullying. During Dani’s emotionally exhausting journey, she discovers self-acceptance and the resilience of the human spirit.
DCPA: What was something you discovered about yourself while writing your play?
Brady: I discovered that when I was writing my play, since it was dealing with such sensitive and difficult subjects, it definitely took a toll on my mental health.
DCPA: What is your favorite line in your play?
Brady: “I’m done having ADHD. It’s too hard so I quit it.”
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Brady: Another creative goal I have is to write and finish a novel, exploring the boundaries of mortality.
THE SEVEN HIGH SCHOOL FINALISTS
Chasing Light
by Moriko Griffin, Sophomore at Girls Athletic Leadership School
Harieth, a reincarnation of death itself, is desperate to become one with his past. With a bit of trust from a non-verbal deer, some empathy from the goddess of life, and of course, a whole lot of love from a bubbly young rabbit, he learns what it means to be part of something as beautiful as friendship.
DCPA: What is something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?
Griffin: These characters all resemble parts of myself, moments that shaped me into who I am today. Life, my protective and strong-willed side. Death, my fearful and isolated side. Tomomi, my empathetic and comforting side. Meiwakuna, my playful and upbeat side.
Clouds Forever, Stories Forever
by Sage Ostrander, Junior at Girls Athletic Leadership School
A grieving young women and an elderly Alzheimer’s patient navigate shared fears, uncover treasured memories, and find meaning in fading connections. Though their conversations, they learn to confront regrets and the importance of preserving memories.
DCPA: What is your favorite line from your play?
Ostrander: “She was pretty like the early morning sun.”
The First Summer of Our Lives
by Hazel Deegan, Sophomore at Renaissance Secondary School
Four friends, days away from going to college, find an unfinished bucket list in their long-buried time capsule. In trying to check each item off the list in one night, the friends learn what it means to love, be loved, and grow up.
DCPA: What is your favorite line from your play?
Deegan: “No, friends like us don’t just go away. This isn’t a last night. Yeah, it might be our last summer as kids, but it’s the first summer of our lives.”
The Last Lullaby
by Cherokee Neighbours, Senior at Pueblo County High School
A young girl is killed much earlier than the Fates had planned for her. After the loss of their daughter, her parents also perish in their heartbreak. The Fates offer them a deal: their daughter will be continually reborn if they agree to aid in transitioning souls between life and death.
DCPA: What is something new you learned about yourself while writing your play?
Neighbours: I am very prone to writing more complicated things. So sitting down and writing something simple was actually more fun and refreshing then writing something long and complex.
Regarding Constance Cordelia
by Flannery Andrus-Lundy, Junior at Renaissance Secondary School
Rowan, a young insurance agent, befriends an elderly con artist and is offered a role in her latest scam. Through a series of conversations with his new friend, as well as his pregnant wife Bethany, Rowan is forced to come to his own conclusions about the morality of crime.
DCPA: What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?
Andrus-Lundy: I discovered that some ideas are okay to drop, even if you were attached to them at first. I realized that I much preferred the emotionally-driven conflicts between my main three characters, to the more active sense of drama another character’s involvement would’ve created, and I ended up dropping him. It was sad to see a character go, I typically get sort of attached to the people I write about. But I think that character would’ve understood.
Till Death Do Us Part
by Silver Murphy, Freshman at La Junta Jr/Sr High School
In 1983, a nuclear power plant explodes while Caroline is visiting her husband for lunch. When her husband doesn’t make it, Caroline struggles to recover in the aftermath with support from the other sole survivor.
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Murphy: I have a passion for writing and literature, but I don’t want to pursue anything in that field. I would like to try and become a dancer. Honestly, I would take on any opportunity that comes at me because I’m open to anything.
Under the Bed
by Sunny Wiggins, Senior at Pueblo County School
Sadie’s room is as messy as her mind. Fresh out of a toxic relationship, Sadie is grappling with every part of herself she thought she knew, but her best friend Jenny is there to pick up every physical and mental mess. While cleaning the room together, new feelings, memories, and the floor are slowly uncovered.
DCPA: What is another creative goal you have?
Wiggins: I am currently organizing a student short film festival called The Rising Stars Colorado Film Festival. My goal is to uplift the creative voices of students just like myself.