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

Announcing: Virginia Madsen and Steven Weber Perform Pulitzer Prize Finalist Stephen Karam’s First Play (Written at Age 17) at The Blank Theatre’s YPF Benefit, Sunday 6/3

VIRGINIA MADSEN AND STEVEN WEBER
WILL PERFORM 2012 PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST
STEPHEN KARAM’S FIRST PLAY (WRITTEN AT AGE 17)
AT THE BLANK THEATRE’S BENEFIT EVENING
20 Years of Winners: Scenes, Songs and Speeches from 20 Years
of the Young Playwrights Festival
SUNDAY, JUNE 3 AT 6PM AT AVALON HOLLYWOOD

Virginia Madsen and Steven Weber have been set to perform A Work Of Art, Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam’s first play (which he wrote at age 17), at 20 Years of Winners: Scenes, Songs, and Speeches from 20 Years of the Young Playwrights Festival on Sunday, June 3 at 6pm. A Work of Art was produced in The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival in 1997.

Karam, a three-time YPF winner, was a 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his critically acclaimed play Sons of the Prophet. His other plays include Speech and Debate (presented on The Blank’s mainstage in 2008), Columbinus (with PJ Paparelli), Emma, and Dark Sisters. In a recent Los Angeles Times story on the history of the YPF, Karam, now 32, said of his experience, “When you see people taking your work seriously at that age, it makes a big impression. For the first time, I thought of myself as a real writer.”

Additionally, Vanessa Williams has joined the cast of stars of stage, screen, and television scheduled to participate, which, along with Madsen and Weber, includes (in alphabetical order) Ed Asner, Barbara Bain, Nicholas Brendon, Brianna Brown, Dale Dickey, Daisy Eagan, Kat Foster, Thea Gill, Peri Gilpin, Lenny Jacobson, Michael E. Knight, Tom Lenk, Scott Lowell, Justina Machado, Allison Mack, Angel Parker, Jessy Schram, Rex Smith, DB Sweeney, Kirsten Vangsness, Gedde Watanabe, Virginia Williams, Noah Wyle, Bellamy Young, and Constance Zimmer.

The 20 Years of Winners event will take place at Avalon Hollywood, 1735 N. Vine Street, in Hollywood. Tickets for the benefit evening, which range in price from $50-$250, may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-30-12