Jacob Moskovitz has recently been recognized for his playwriting and work on stage
A teacher pushed Jacob Moskovitz to get involved in theater in eighth grade.
Now, the 17-year-old senior at Burlington Township High School is racking up the awards for his work on stage and has enrolled in an elite acting program at a prestigious university.
Last month, Moskovitz was recognized with two awards at the Governor’s Awards for Arts Education, and, more recently, a play he co-wrote received an award from the Writers Theatre of New Jersey.
“What he’s developed into is an amazing theater artist,” said Joe Farina, the high school’s theater teacher and director. “Not only as an actor, as an intellectual and also as a writer.”
Moskovitz has written two plays this year, and both have been receiving attention around the state.
He wrote “New Variables” for a theater festival held at the school in the fall. The story is focused on Ethan, a math and science prodigy who prides himself on predicting outcomes.
Ethan cares about his younger brother Max but struggles to understand why he is interested in simple things like baseball and superheroes. However, Ethan undergoes a transformation after Max dies in a car accident.
“That all happens in the course of like 12 minutes or something like that,” Moskovitz said. “It’s hard, but we try to make it happen. It’s a lot.”
For “New Variables,” Moskovitz received the New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival Playwriting Award May 22 in Trenton.
Moskovitz co-wrote the second play, “Apartment Fourteen,” with his classmate Charlie Nicolini. The piece centers on a father, son and daughter who struggle to get by after Joseph, the father, is injured at work. Alex, the daughter, is forced to give up her dream of becoming a dancer so she can wait tables to support the family.
Meanwhile, Dylan, the son, lashes out at school and at home before eventually gaining a greater understanding of his family members.
“The dynamic is really interesting,” Moskovitz said. “None of them are perfect, and the idea really was a very personal one for Charlie and I because we wanted to start to see our family members as human beings. They have their own struggles, their own ideas and their own passions.”
“Apartment Fourteen” was recently recognized by the Writers Theatre of New Jersey.
In addition to his writing, Moskovitz is a talented actor and singer. Farina said Moskovitz has had the leading male role in the high school’s annual musical since he was a sophomore.
Moskovitz’s performance of “Why God Why?” from the musical Miss Saigon at the NJ Thespians Festival in January garnered him a second Governor’s Award. Farina said the performance received praise from judges at the event.
“He got the highest score in the festival,” Farina said. “The rubric only went up to number four, and he got fives. His rubric actually said ‘please continue to sing.’”
Moskovitz will graduate June 21 from Burlington Township High School and is planning to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in the fall. He will be entering a rigorous four-year acting program along with about 24 other students.
“I’m excited and scared,” he said. “I think a lot of people have that shared anxiety. I think there are a lot of discoveries to be made.”
Moskovitz is interested in writing, directing and acting and could not say which discipline he preferred the most.
“I think, in a perfect world, you’d put all three together,” Farina said.
Farina said Moskovitz is also a straight-A student who finished in the top 10 in his class. He has an insatiable curiosity, Farina said.
“He has a great thirst for knowledge,” he said. “He wants to know more. He wants to know more about everything so it’s not just about the theater. It’s about individuals, human beings, how things work.”
Farina also said that Moskovitz is an “old soul” and his writing style is unlike most other teenagers.
“He doesn’t realize his talent, yet,” Farina said. “He will as time progresses.”
