YOUTH JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP

ARE YOU A YOUNG WRITER READY TO CHALLENGE THE NARRATIVE?

The Youth Journalism Fellowship is your chance to step into the world of professional theatre journalism and make your voice heard.

In partnership with Stage Raw, The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company offers a paid, four-month fellowship for writers ages 15–25 who are ready to explore theatre through critique, conversation, and cultural analysis.

As a Youth Journalism Fellow, you will:

Collaborate with professional Stage Raw journalists as your mentors
Write and publish theatre reviews, essays, and interviews
Get paid for every article published on Stage Raw
Build your critical voice and editorial skills
Be considered for publication in DEVISE Magazine
Join a small, selective cohort of emerging writers

Applications for our Fall/Winter 2026 fellowship are CLOSED. Applications for the 2027 cohort will open in May 2027.

2026 COHORT

MAYA ALFARO

Maya Alfaro (she/her) is a writer, actor, and filmmaker from Los Angeles. She’s a rising senior at LACHSA, where she studies theater and film, and is happiest when she gets to turn an idea into a story somehow—on a stage, on a page, or behind a camera. Outside of school, she runs her own zine, writes whenever she can, plays guitar, and tries to watch every movie under the sun!

BLAINE BERHANE

Blaine Berhane (she/her) is an emerging writer and theater lover based in Los Angeles. She recently graduated from USC’s Narrative Medicine program where she explored how storytelling, especially in theater, is used to explore identity, healing, and the systems that shape everyday life. She is excited by stories that invite reflection, build community, and make space for new perspectives. She is looking forward to engaging with Los Angeles’s vibrant theater community through the Youth Journalism fellowship!

LIBERTY CHAO

Liberty Chao (she/her) is an artist based in the San Gabriel Valley. Specifically, she is: an actress in her senior year at LACHSA, a budding photographer, a DIY gel nail enthusiast, and an amateur sketch comedy writer. She is currently drafting her first play, a cautionary tale centering the Asian American experience (of lactose intolerance). Liberty is new to journalistic writing, but she has been a proud ‘theatre kid’ since age 5, and is so grateful for this chance to dive deeper into LA’s vibrant theatre scene.

CAITLIN DURKIN

Caitlin Durkin is an actress, improv comedian, and teaching artist based in Los Angeles. She is a company member at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, trains at The Groundlings School, and co-hosts the improv comedy podcast My Closest Friend. She also works with kiddos of all ages. Caitlin graduated from Princeton University in 2025 with a B.A. in Sociology with minors in Theater and Gender & Sexuality Studies. She is deeply passionate about live theater, especially the unique relationship between performers and audiences.

ABIGAIL EULLOQUI

Abigail Eulloqui has always had a deep love for theater and journalism. She has been a part of her middle and high school theater department for the past five years, and has found a deep appreciation and sense of belonging in it. She adores all things theater-related, having worked both onstage and backstage for several productions. Writing has also always been a lifelong passion for her, allowing her to share her voice with the world around her, and she hopes to pursue journalism in the future. She is absolutely honored for this amazing opportunity!

KAYDEN J. MERRITT

Kayden J. Merritt (They/She) is a transgender director, playwright, producer, and dramaturg whose work spans live performance, music, and visual art. They currently attend CalArts, where some of their directing credits include Tracy Letts’s Bug, Caryl Churchill’s A Number, and Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. Kayden has developed their artistry at NY Philharmonic Young Composers, NYYS, TRW, Mabou Mines, Broadway for All, and NYTW. Kayden is passionate about theater’s role as a disruptive force against societal power structures and is beyond excited to hone their critical voice with Stage Raw/Unusual Suspects.

ZOE O'BRIEN

Zoe O’Brien is a senior in high school who loves everything to do with theater. She is passionate about creating her own work and encouraging the emergence of new voices. Zoe discovered her love for playwriting after attending the Iowa Young Writers Studio where she wrote her own play exploring the intersection between mental health and friendship. Following the closure of her program, she had the opportunity to direct, act in, and produce her play. Zoe believes theater has the ability to generate meaningful conversations and hopes to inspire others to tell the stories they want to see on stage.

ELLE SINIO

Elle Sinio (she/her) is a Los Angeles based writer, stage manager and performer with a deep passion for journalism. As a Senior at Van Nuys High school, she works as the Editor in Chief for her school’s award winning newspaper, “The Mirror.” While she isn’t busy writing articles, she is the Production Stage Manager for A Prima Vista Pros (based in Hollywood). She can’t wait to get started and meet all of her fellow writers!

SKYLAR VULCAN

Skylar Vulcan (she/her) is a Los Angeles-based playwright, librettist, director, and lighting designer currently finishing her M.A. at CSULB. Her research and work come together in her focus on exploration of performance, expression, and ritual through theater. Skylar’s passion has taken her from a lighting designer at Rubicon Theater Company, to international conferences on theater, to working on upcoming productions of Pygmalion and her new musical Too Much. In the meantime, she’s founded Marble Magazine as a project to encompass academia, fashion magazines, and performance reviews, to examine truth, love, beauty, and the makeup of identity.

TEJ WONG

Tej Wong (she/her) is a second year student at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television studying Musical Theater with a minor in Asian American Studies. A lifelong performer, she is
passionate about storytelling through theater, where movement, music, and dialogue come together to illuminate the human experience. As a biracial artist, she believes in the power of performance to challenge conventions, broaden perspectives, and foster empathy. She is excited to explore storytelling through journalism, examining why certain stories resonate so deeply.