Isabel Tongson
Playwright
she/her/hers
Isabel Beatriz Tongson is a playwright and actor based in New York City. She has received many accolades for acting such as an Applause Award Nomination for Outstanding Actor by the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and Best in Show for Duet Acting at the Florida District 3 Thespian Competition. Combining her love of writing and performance, Isabel wrote her first play at age fourteen and has gone on to receive international recognition as a playwright. Most notably she is a two-time winner of the Blank Theatre Young Playwright’s Festival, a two-time Gold Key winner for Dramatic Script from the Scholastic Art and Writing Association, and a finalist for the #ENOUGH Plays Project for which she was inducted into the Dramatists Guild of America at age seventeen. In the spring of 2022, Isabel directed, produced, and starred in a staged workshop presentation of her original play Morningside Song which successfully raised funds for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition. She is a firm believer that fine arts can bring about major social justice and change and wants to have a part in spearheading a more diverse and inclusive arts industry.
Isabel is a part of the class of 2026 at Barnard College of Columbia University.
Highlights
STAGED PLAYS
Droplets Pellets Bullets
- Staged Reading - Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, 2023
- Production* - 30th Annual Blank Theatre Young Playwrights Festival, 2022
Morningside Song
- Staged Workshop - Trinity Theatre Company, 2022
- Staged Reading - NOMADS WordPlay Festival Columbia University, 2022
A House With a Broken Swing
- Production* - Blank Theatre Young Playwrights Festival, 2021
- Production* - The Playground Festival MD Virtual Ensemble, 2022
- Scene Analysis - Harmony High School Advanced Acting Class, 2022
The Green Room Effect
- Production** - Penguin Point Productions, 2021
The Confession Tapes
- Production* - Valencia College BIPOC Playwrights Festival, 2021
Stage Parents Additional Scenes
- Production - Trinity Theatre Company, 2021
*production online due to COVID-19 | **production canceled due to COVID-19
AWARDS/HONORS
- Regional Semi-Finalist for the Gary Garrison National Ten-Minute Play Award by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Droplets Pellets Bullets), 2023
- Selected for the Fall NOMADS WordPlay Festival of Columbia University (Morningside Song), 2022
- Winner of the Blank Theatre 30th Annual Young Playwrights Festival (Droplets Pellets Bullets), 2022
- Gold Key Winner for Dramatic Script — Scholastic Art & Writing Association (Droplets Pellets Bullets), 2022
- Finalist of the #ENOUGH Plays Project (Droplets Pellets Bullets), 2022
- Silver Key Winner for Dramatic Script Writing Portfolio — Scholastic Art & Writing Association, 2022
- Winner of the Blank Theatre 29th Annual Young Playwrights Festival (A House With a Broken Swing), 2021
- Gold Key Winner for Dramatic Script — Scholastic Art & Writing Association (A House With a Broken Swing), 2021
- Best in Show for Playwriting — Central Florida Theatre Festival (The Green Room Effect), 2021
- Winner of District 3 Thespian Senior Scholarship for Playwriting (Time Waisted), 2021
- Winner of the Valencia College BIPOC Playwrights Festival (The Confession Tapes), 2021