Harriton High School sophomore Zoe Palmer and Welsh Valley Middle School sixth grader Isadora (Rut) Pendygraft were recently honored for their exceptional submissions to the 2024 Philadelphia Young Playwrights (PYP) Festival.

Palmer’s play, Void of Answers, and Pendygraft’s piece, Tea Time and Murder, were among the few selected for production in PYP’s New Voices Program at Temple University’s Randall Theater, held from October 28 to November 3.

This year, the honorees were chosen from more than 700 submissions by students from 30 schools across the Greater Philadelphia area. Each year, PYP invites students to submit plays to the Playwriting Festival, where each submission is reviewed by the Literary Committee—a group of nearly 70 alumni, artists, staff, teachers, and others—who provide individualized responses to each play. Outstanding works are then recommended for further consideration by both the Pre-Final and Final committees.

Since 1987, PYP has partnered with educators to bring the transformative power of playwriting into classrooms and community settings across Greater Philadelphia. Placing students at the center of their learning, PYP's intensive writing residencies advance writing-based literacy skills while developing critical 21st century skills like creativity, communication and collaboration.