NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ ONLY THREE PERFORMANCES REMAIN FOR “THANKSGIVING” IN HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL

SAMOVAR SUBWAY ENSEMBLE PRESENTS
THANKSGIVING
A WORLD PREMIERE COMEDY
BY TIFFANY CASCIO
DIRECTED BY KITTY LINDSAY
THREE PERFORMANCES REMAIN
2017 HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL
AT THE LOUNGE THEATRE

Samovar Subway Ensemble’s Hollywood Fringe Festival production of Thanksgiving, a world premiere comedy by Tiffany Cascio and directed by Kitty Lindsay will play three more performances only on Sunday 6/11 at 3:45pm; Saturday 6/17 at 1:45pm; and Friday 6/23 at 7:45pm. Running time is 90 minutes.

The cast features (in alphabetical order) Trip Langley, Susan Louise O’Connor, Asia Lynn Pitts, Gary Poux, Sharon Spence, and Allison Youngberg. The creative team includes Kit Whitten (set design), Brandon Baruch (lighting design), Sharon Spence (costume design), and James Ferrero (sound design). Fight choreography is by Dane Oliver, the stage manager is Taylor Jackson Ross, and Allison Youngberg is the producer for Samovar Subway Ensemble.

Said Rob Stevens at hainehisway.com, “The cast plays their over-the-top roles with gusto and their big family brawl looks real and spontaneous thanks to Dane Oliver’s adept fight choreography.” Julianne Gabert of girlsonfood.net enthused, “The writing is not only full of belly laughs but full of heart as well.”

Thanksgiving is a not all-the-way true, but sometimes painfully so, dysfunctional family comedy. Chloe Patterson has invited her perfect fiancé to what she will make sure is the perfect Thanksgiving, despite her very imperfect family. She’s got a solid plan in place to combat any and all hints of dysfunction, providing for every possible contingency — except the unexpected dinner guest: a very unfiltered, Las Vegas stripper. Scabs are picked, secrets are revealed, and fights erupt as this group struggles to make it through another holiday unscathed.

Playwright Tiffany Cascio hails from Sacramento and lives in Los Angeles. Her plays have been performed in Los Angeles, Chicago, and on the radio. Her short play Take Your Daughter to Work was just selected for PlayGround LA’s Best of PlayGround Season 5, and her plays Origin Story and About Your Mother have been published in their Best of PlayGround anthologies. She also works as a television producer. For more: tiffanycascio.com.

Tickets for Thanksgiving are $15 and may be obtained online at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4549 or by phone at (323) 455-4585. The Lounge Theatre is located at 6201 Santa Monica Boulevard (just east of Vine at El Centro), in Hollywood, 90038.

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06-10-17

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ MORE THAN 50 ACTORS SET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLNK THEATRE’S 25th ANNIVERSARY YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

MICHAEL GRANT TERRY, JANINA GAVANKAR,
LENNY JACOBSON, JENNIFER STONE
AND MORE SET TO PARTICIPATE IN
THE BLANK THEATRE’S
25TH ANNIVERSARY
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
JUNE 1–25

More than 50 actors have been set to participate in The Blank Theatre’s 25th Anniversary Young Playwrights Festival, including Michael Grant Terry (Bones, NCIS, Grimm, CSI), Janina Gavankar (The Mysteries of Laura, The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy), Lenny Jacobson (Nurse Jackie, Frequency, Big Time in Hollywood, FL), and Jennifer Stone (Wizards of Waverly Place). Twelve winning plays by young playwrights aged 17, 18, and 19 from six different states will be presented during this year’s festival at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, running from June 1–25.

Other notable performers scheduled to appear are (in alphabetical order) Tess Aubert, Paris Benjamin, Luke Benward (Ravenswood, Good Luck Charlie), David Bloom (Wet Hot American Summer), Tor Brown, Elena Campbell-Martinez, Nick Cardiff, A.B. Cassidy, David Castaneda, Kate Connor, Kimberly Crandall, George Baron Dalton, Shannon Dang, Mark Daugherty, Cecile Del Rosario, Ming-Wei Cyprian Fasquelle, Lainnie Felan, Jessie Franks, Tim Gabriel, Evan Holtzman, Alyssa Jirrels, Tim Jo (The Neighbors, Glory Daze), Stephanie Jones, John F. Knight, Elizabeth Knoweleden, Bethany Joy Lenz (Dexter, One Tree Hill, American Gothic), Mallory Nakamura Low, Ross MacKenzie, Jamie McRae, Megan McGown, Madison McLaughlin (Arrow, Chicago PD, Modern Family), Kate McNeil (NCIS: Los Angeles, Mad Men), Jamie McRae, Eve Moon, Marguerite Moreau (Wet Hot American Summer, Parenthood), Toyin Moses, Kaori Neville, Gabriela Ortega, Lizzie Peet, Cait Pool, Hannah Prichard, Cameron Protzman, Laura Seay, Emma Shannon, Hojo Shin, Ben Stillwell, Wyatt Stromer, Debra Sullivan, Jack Terbush, Larry Van Buren, Roxy Wood, Jeff Witzke, and Bridger Zadina.

The Blank Theatre’s 25th Anniversary Young Playwrights Festival runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, beginning June 1 and continuing through June 25 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood. Each week’s program includes three plays. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students. Festival Passes, which include one ticket for each week, are $80 for adults and $50 for students. Tickets may be purchased online at www.theblank.com 0r by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-30-17

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ THE BLANK SOIRÉE CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF THE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL ▪︎ SUNDAY, JUNE 4 at 6pm

HOLLYWOOD’S BLANK THEATRE

CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF THE
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
THE BLANK SOIRÉE
A Benefit Reunion

HONORING CASTING DIRECTOR
APRIL WEBSTER
AND FIVE-TIME YPF WINNER AUSTIN WINSBERG

HOSTED BY BELLAMY YOUNG
Star of ABC-TV’s SCANDAL

SUNDAY, JUNE 4
PROJECT CLUB LA IN HOLLYWOOD

Hollywood’s Blank Theatre has announced The Blank Soirée, A Benefit Reunion celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Young Playwrights Festival, on Sunday, June 4 at 6pm. Hosted by Bellamy Young (star of ABC-TV’s Scandal), the event will honor casting director April Webster and five-time YPF winner Austin Winsberg for their ongoing and tireless efforts on behalf of the Young Playwrights Festival, an LA theatre institution. The event will take place at Project Club LA in Hollywood.

The Blank Soirée will feature a celebration of nearly 300 young playwrights and their amazing work over the last 25 years. Hollywood Councilman Mitch O’Farrell (13th District) will be on hand to present The Blank with a special citation. Past winners, cast members, and creative staff will be joined by special celebrity guests and other surprises. A short documentary on the Festival’s history will be shown and there will be presentations and readings from past Festival works featuring (in alphabetical order) Shawn Ashmore, Deborah S. Craig, Mark Feuerstein, Kat Foster, Nathan Frizzell, Nina Millin, Matthew Scott Montgomery, Eric Nenninger, and Lindsey Rosin. Food, drinks, and music will round out the evening. All celebrity appearances are subject to availability.

Casting director April Webster has worked on an eclectic mix of film, television, and theatre projects including Star Wars, Star Trek, Mission Impossible III, Super 8, Bates Motel, The Strain, Lost, and CSI. She is an Emmy Award-winner and has also received two Media Access Awards, several CSA Artios Awards, and the Hoyt Bowers Award for Excellence in Casting. Austin Winsberg is primarily a writer/producer for film and television. His credits include The Sound of Music Live, Jake in Progress, Gossip Girl, Wedding Album, Standing Still, and Glory Days. He wrote the book for the 2013 Broadway musical First Date which is currently playing around the United States and throughout the world. He is a five-time winner of the Young Playwrights Festival.

Ticket prices for The Blank Soirée are $125 for general admission and $250 for VIP tickets which include a private reception at 5pm, premium reserved seating, and a hosted bar. To purchase tickets online go to www.TheBlank.com or call (323) 871-8018. Project Club LA is located at 6356 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

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05-30-17