NEWS RELEASE — THE BLANK THEATRE ANNOUNCES NEW SUBMISSION PERIOD FOR LIVING ROOM SERIES

THE BLANK THEATRE
ANNOUNCES NEW SUBMISSION PERIOD
FOR LIVING ROOM SERIES

The Blank Theatre in Hollywood is now accepting scripts for its 2015—2016 Living Room Series. Submissions will be accepted between June 1 and August 31, 2015.

Now in its 24th year, Living Room Series is a New Play Development program which embodies The Blank’s commitment to developing new work by both established and emerging writers. Living Room Series takes place on Monday evenings between Labor Day and Memorial Day at The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre. This program offers a week-long rehearsal process for the playwright, director, and actors to explore and refine the play before presenting it to an audience. The performances are minimally staged with actors carrying scripts and are a wonderful opportunity for the playwright to get a sense of the play’s full potential.

Living Room Series develops and produces approximately 30 new plays each year. Many of these plays have later received productions at venues including Manhattan Theatre Club, Transport Group, Laguna Playhouse, Malibu Playhouse, The Colony Theatre, Primary Stages, Vineyard Theatre, LaMaMa ETC, and Brideswell Theatre in London. In 2014 The Explorer’s Club by Nell Benjamin (twice developed in the LRS) was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club where it won the NY Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off Broadway Play.

Fourteen plays from the Living Room Series have received mainstage productions at The Blank, including Heads by EM Lewis which won the 2008 Francesca Primus Prize and has had subsequent productions at Theater For A New City and other regional venues. In addition, two of the three 2015 Ebell Prize winners, Aliza Goldstein (1st place) and Val Stulman, (3rd place) are LRS alums.

For submission guidelines and further instructions, visit www.theblank.com and click on The Living Room Series.

# # #

06-01-15

Announcing: Brimmer Street Theatre Company Announces Two Public Staged Readings

BRIMMER STREET THEATRE COMPANY
ANNOUNCES PUBLIC STAGED READINGS
OF TWO NEW PLAYS AS PART OF ITS
BREAKING GROUND PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

NOBLE/BIRTH BY BRADEN LuBELL
AND
THE BRIDGE BY RON BURCH

As part of its 2014 Breaking Ground play development program, Brimmer Street Theatre Company has announced public staged readings of two new plays. Noble/Birth by Braden LuBell will be presented on Friday, April 4 at 8pm and Saturday, April 5 at 1pm and The Bridge by Ron Burch will be presented on Saturday, April 12 at 7pm and Sunday, April 13 at 1pm. All presentations will be at 2nd Stage Theatre in Hollywood. Admission is free and no reservations are required. Following each reading, audiences will be invited to engage in brief discussions with the playwrights and participating artists.

Breaking Ground is Brimmer Street Theatre Company’s newest initiative dedicated to collaborative new play development. Over the course of the six-week project, BSTC’s ensemble works with local playwrights to move drafts of original plays to finalized scripts through the discovery and collaboration of an abbreviated rehearsal process, design consultation, and finally a staged reading. Noble/Birth and The Bridge were chosen by the BSTC ensemble from dozens of submissions.

Braden LuBell’s Noble/Birth is a romantic/family drama set in two interweaving eras. Should we hold fast to our vision of the lives we want or allow life to take its own course? The play examines what makes a family, the perils of always doing the honorable thing, and the overwhelming nature of love. Directed by David Jette, the reading will feature (in alphabetical order) Ben Fuller, Amy K. Harmon, Emilia Richeson, Barry Saltzman, Ian Sollenberger, Jaquita Ta’le, and Lisa Temple. Audience members who would like to read Noble/Birth in advance can email jbyrd@brimmerstreet.org for a copy of the play.

Ron Burch’s The Bridge is a comedy/drama about a woman who finds her ex-husband homeless on the street and feels compelled to bring him home where she lives happily with her new husband — or at least she did. Directed by Christina Cigala, the reading will feature (in alphabetical order) Celeste Busa, Dan Gordon, Tyler Jenich, Marie Lively, and Joseph L. Roberts.

Brimmer Street Theatre Company is a non-profit ensemble theatre that creates and produces new works of theatre in order to cultivate artists and engage audiences in Los Angeles. By working from a select core of talented artists, BSTC aims to produce a unique brand of American theatre that is rooted in a common experience and driven by their commitment to building better theatre that is challenging, extraordinary, and inspiring.

The 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox) in Hollywood, 90038.

# # #

03-24-14

Announcing: The Blank Theatre Presents ‘Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers’ – Opening April 27

THE BLANK THEATRE PRESENTS
PETER PAN: THE BOY WHO HATED MOTHERS
BY MICHAEL LLUBERES
BASED ON PETER AND WENDY BY JM BARRIE
DIRECTED BY 2012 OVATION AWARD-WINNER MICHAEL MATTHEWS

WEST COAST PREMIERE
AT THE BLANK’S 2nd STAGE THEATRE
OPENS APRIL 27
EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 16
NOW EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 30
EXTENDED THROUGH SUNDAY, JULY 28
FINAL EXTENSION THROUGH AUGUST 18

The Blank Theatre (Daniel Henning, Founding Artistic Director; Noah Wyle, Artistic Producer) has announced that casting is complete and rehearsals are underway for Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers by Michael Lluberes, directed by 2012 Ovation Award-winner Michael Matthews. Previews begin April 20, and opening is Saturday, April 27 at 8pm. The engagement will run through June 2 is extended through June 16 June 30 July 28 August 18.

This radically fresh retelling of the JM Barrie classic explores the original ideas and inspirations behind the iconic fantasy of Peter Pan. Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers is a dark new retelling of the story of the boy who wouldn’t grow up. This is ‘Peter Pan’ as you have never seen it before, but how it was always meant to be told. “This dark, disturbing, yet magical adaptation based on JM Barrie’s original ideas behind Peter Pan is one of the most thrilling scripts I have read in years,” said The Blank Artistic Director Henning. “Michael Lluberes’ adaptation and Michael Matthews’ visionary direction are a perfect match. I am excited for our audiences to experience Peter Pan as they have never experienced it before.”

Playwright Michael Lluberes’ other plays include The Boy in the Bathroom and The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died. He has directed productions of Twelfth Night, Nighttime Traffic, and 1,000 Cats. Lluberes is also an actor, having appeared in the National Tour of Dirty Dancing, and Off Broadway in American Dreams: Lost and Found, Pudd’nhead Wilson, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, and Heaven Knows. He is the recipient of The American Harmony Prize, an NEA New Artist Initiative Award, and Hambidge and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowships. He is a graduate of The North Carolina School of the Arts, a member of The Acting Company, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and The Dramatists Guild. www.MichaelLluberes.com.

Michael Matthews directed the 2012 intimate theatre premiere of The Color Purple, The Musical, which won six Ovation Awards, including Best Director of a Musical. Also in 2012, his production of What’s Wrong With Angry? was Ovation Award-nominated, including Best Director of a Play. Matthews is the winner of two 2011 NAACP Image Awards for his direction of The Women of Brewster Place and Take Me Out, both at Celebration Theatre. He has directed The Blank’s productions of The Santaland Diaries, The Jazz Age and The Temperamentals. His most recent production, Wolves by Steve Yockey, is now running at Celebration Theatre. www.MichaelMatthewsDirector.com.

The cast of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers will feature (in alphabetical order) Liza Burns, Benjamin Campbell, Jackson Evans, David Hemphill, Trisha LaFache, Amy Lawhorn, and Daniel Shawn Miller. Set design is by Mary Hamrick, lighting design is by Zack Lapinski and Tim Swiss, costume design is by Kellsy MacKilligan, and sound design is by Rebecca Kessin. The stage manager is Rebecca Eisenberg; Sarah Bauer and Stephen Moffatt serve as producers.

Preview performances of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers begin on Saturday, April 20 at 8pm, and continue Sunday, April 21 at 2pm, and Tuesday through Friday, April 23 — 26, at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, April 27 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule will continue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm, through June 2 now through June 16 June 30 July 28 August 18. All seats are $30, and may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com, or via phone by calling (323) 661-9827.

The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox), in Hollywood.

# # #

03-13-13

^{Cast of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers at The Blank Theatre, with director Michael Matthews. PHOTO BY MATT GRABER.
L to R (front): David Hemphill, Amy Lawhorn, Trisha LaFache, Liza Burns, Daniel Shawn Miller, Michael Matthews.
L to R (back): Jackson Evans, Benjamin Campbell.}