Announcing: Listing Info & Play Descriptions – The Blank Theatre’s 21st Annual Young Playwrights Festival

THE BLANK THEATRE
21ST ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

Professional actors and directors present 12 winning plays by young playwrights from across the nation during this prestigious four-week
festival. Three different plays are presented each week. For complete list of plays and performance dates, see schedule below. For complete list of play descriptions, mentors, and directors, visit www.TheBlank.com or www.youngplaywrights.com.

DATES: June 6 – 30

TIMES: Thurs/Fri/Sat at 8pm; Sun at 2pm

ADMISSION: Adults $20 Students $14. Festival Pass (one seat each week) $64

TICKET INFO: Available online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

LOCATION: The Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood.

WEEK ONE June 6 – 9

THE GATES
By Margaret Abigail Flowers (age 17), Interlochen, MI

MOM, PUT YOUR FLASK AWAY
By Eliana Pipes (age 16), Altadena, CA

DOWNSIZING
By Nick Mecikalski (age 19), Madison, AL

WEEK TWO June 13 – 16

SOX
By Spencer Emerson Opal-Levine (age 10), Sarasota, FL

EVE
By Patric Verrone (age 17), Pacific Palisades, CA

SURVIVAL STRATEGY
By Nicole Acton (age 19), Galesburg, IL

WEEK THREE June 20 – 23

SAM’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
By Tanner Laguatan (age 17), Coto de Caza, CA

REVE D’AMOUR
By May Treuhaft-Ali (age 17), Jackson Heights, NY

BLACK ICE
By Max Friedlich (age 18), New York, NY

WEEK FOUR June 27 – 30

NOT A GOOD TIME
By Hanel Baveja (age 16), Ann Arbor, MI

GAY MEANS HAPPY
By Rachel Kaly (age 17), Forest Hills, NY

THE EMPTY MAN
By Danny Rothschild (age 19), Interlochen, MI

# # #

05-10-13

Announcing: 2Cents Theatre Group Presents ‘RENT’ and ‘Private Eyes’ at Hudson Theatre, Opening on May 24

2CENTS THEATRE GROUP PRESENTS
JONATHAN LARSON’S
TONY AWARD AND PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
RENT, the musical
IN REPERTORY WITH
PRIVATE EYES BY STEVEN DIETZ

MAY 24 – JUNE 30
AT THE HUDSON THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD

2Cents Theatre Group has announced its production of Rent, Jonathan Larson’s legendary Broadway smash hit, which is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. Directed by Kristen Boulé, with musical direction by Morgan Fitch, Rent is set to open on Friday, May 24. Private Eyes by Steven Dietz, directed by Shaunessy Quinn, opens on Thursday, May 30, and it will run in repertory with Rent, through June 30 at the Hudson Theatre Mainstage in Hollywood.

Based on Puccini’s La Boheme, Rent is a rock opera that tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in East Village New York during the 1990s. The story centers around Mark and Roger, two roommates. While a former tragedy has made Roger numb to life, Mark tries to capture it through his attempts to make a film. In the year that follows, the group deals with love, loss, AIDS, and modern day life, all wrapped up in one powerful story.

Private Eyes is a play about deception and broken trust, labeled by the author as a “comedy of suspicion,” as the story is told in multiple layers and the audience is repeatedly tricked to believe that the current situation is real. It is sometimes considered an homage to The Real Thing (by Tom Stoppard, 1982), a play with the same theme and techniques. Although each layer by itself is deceptively plausible, the play takes several turns that make events in previous layers and sometimes even the overall story impossible.

Rent director Kristen Boulé is the founding artistic director of 2Cents Theatre Group currently in residence at the Hudson Theatres. She directs their 2nd Sundays Cabaret which appears monthly in the Hudson Café. Rent marks Boulé’s third show at the Hudson, following The Last Five Years in 2012, and her own Dreams in Variation in 2011. Boulé, a filmmaker from Baltimore, has worked on films including Eagle Eye, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Body of Lies, Live Free or Die Hard, State of Play, and The Green Hornet, as well as several network television series. Private Eyes director Shaunessy Quinn has directed readings and full productions in Illinois and Los Angeles, among them Toll, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, The Pilo Family Circus, Hassle Free Delivery, Parlour Games, and Feeling Up. He has also served as assistant director on Deathtrap, The Sonneteer, Lemon Durang Pie, and Equus in and around LA.

The cast of Rent will feature (in alphabetical order) Dedrick Bonner, Kate Bowman, Amber Bracken, Ariel Brooker, Cole Chapman, Brian Gamble, Lauren Joy Goss, Jonathon Grant, Michael Levine, Juan Lozano, Alli Miller, Tyler Olshansky, Reagan Osborne, Deondray Randolph, and Jessika Rowe. The cast of Private Eyes is (in alphabetical order) Philip Asta, Deigo Garcia, Mikayla Park, Tiffany Roberts, and Theresa Tilly. Both productions will feature set design by Anderson William, lighting design by Donny Jackson, and costume design by Abbey Hocker. Stage manager is Nick Acciani, and producers for 2Cents Theatre Group are Kristen Boulé, Cody Lyman, Kate Bowman, Tiffany Roberts, and Mike Abramson (producer of DOMA Theatre Company’s recent productions of Avenue Q and Dreamgirls, both which were designated as Ovation Recommended and LA Times Critics Choice).

Rent opens on Friday, May 24 at 8pm, with a red carpet gala beginning at 6:30, and will run Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm through June 30. General admission tickets for Rent are $34, with student and senior tickets available for $25 with valid ID. Private Eyes opens on Thursday, May 30 at 8pm, and will play Thursday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, also through June 30. General admission tickets for Private Eyes are $20, with student and senior tickets available for $15 with valid ID. To purchase tickets for Rent online, go to www.plays411.com/rent, and to purchase online for Private Eyes, go to www.plays411.com/eyes. To purchase by phone, the number to call for both shows is (323) 960-4410.

The Hudson Theatre is located at 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard, on Theatre Row in Hollywood, 90038. Parking is available across from the theatre on Hudson Avenue ($5).

# # #

05-09-13

Announcing: Coeurage Theatre Company Presents “Translations” by Brian Friel, Opening May 25

COEURAGE THEATRE COMPANY
LA’S ‘PAY WHAT YOU WANT’ COMPANY
PRESENTS
TRANSLATIONS
BY BRIAN FRIEL
DIRECTED BY RYAN WAGNER

OPENS SATURDAY, MAY 25
AT THE LOST STUDIO ON LA BREA
FOR FIVE WEEKS ONLY THRU JUNE 23

Coeurage Theatre Company (Jeremy Lelliott, Artistic Director), LA’s ‘Pay What You Want’ Company, has announced their production of Translations by Brian Friel, directed by Coeurage Associate Artistic Director Ryan Wagner. There will be one preview performance on Friday, May 24 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, May 25 at 8pm. Translations will play through June 23 only at The Lost Studio on S. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.

In the early 19th century, thousands of British soldiers marched into Ireland to execute the first geographic survey of the region. Their orders were to translate every Gaelic location name into English, effectively erasing centuries of Irish history and culture. Translations tells the story of a small community of impoverished, Irish farmers and the British soldiers who set up camp in their village. As the two cultures collide, the severe language barrier between them prompts humor, strife, and ultimately tragedy.

Brian Friel has written more than 30 plays in a six-decade spanning career. He is considered to be one of the greatest living English language dramatists, hailed by the English-speaking world as an “Irish Chekhov” and “the universally accented voice of Ireland.” In 1990, his play Dancing At Lughnasa brought Friel great international acclaim, winning him several Tony Awards including Best Play, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. Some other plays for which Friel is well known include Philadelphia Here I Come! (1964), Faith Healer (1979), Aristocrats (1979), and Molly Sweeney (1994).

The cast of Translations will feature (in alphabetical order) Ted Barton, Michael Faulkner, Mark Jacobson, TJ Marchbank, Rebecca Mason-Wygal, Kurt Quinn, John Henry Richardson, Sammi Smith, Erin Way, and Peter Weidman. The set design is by Ryan Wagner, production and lighting design is by Tito Ladd, costume design is by Karen Fix Curry, and sound design is by Joe Calarco. The stage manager is Brooke Baldwin.

There will be one preview performance on Friday, May 24 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, May 25 at 8pm. The running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm, through June 23 only. All seats are available on a Pay What You Want basis, and may be reserved online at https://coeurage.secure.force.com/ticket, or by calling (323) 944-2165.

The Lost Studio is located at 130 S. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, 90036. Street parking is available.

# # #

05-06-13

**The Coeurage PAY WHAT YOU WANT Policy**
Pay What You Can is based on a person’s ability to pay.
Pay What You Want is based on a patron’s desire.
It is a value placement as well as an economic decision, designed to eliminate cost as a factor
in attending theatre. Each patron decides what a theatre experience is worth to him or her,
and some decide it is worth more than they initially paid.
For that reason, the box office is kept open during intermission and after performances.