Announcing: Stars Set To Perform In The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival & Benefit Event

CATHERINE HICKS, PARVESH CHEENA,
MACKENZIE PHILLIPS, PERI GILPIN, JOSH RANDALL,
LENNY JACOBSON, ZACH ROERIG, MATTHEW MOY, AND MORE SET TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE BLANK THEATRE’S
20TH ANNIVERSARY YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

More than 50 actors are set to participate in The Blank Theatre’s 20th Anniversary Young Playwrights Festival, including Catherine Hicks (7th Heaven), Laura Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program), Mackenzie Phillips (American Graffiti, One Day At A Time), Peri Gilpin (Frasier), Josh Randall (Greek, Scrubs, Dusk Rings A Bell at The Blank), Lenny Jacobson (Nurse Jackie, Sukie & Sue: Their Story at The Blank), Zach Roerig (The Vampire Diaries), and Matthew Moy (2 Broke Girls). Twelve winning plays by young playwrights aged 9 -19, from nine different states, will be presented during this year’s festival at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, running from May 31- June 24.

Other notable performers appearing in the Festival are Shanna Collins (Swingtown), Jill Larson (All My Children), Daniel Hugh Kelly (Ryan’s Hope), Melissa Claire Egan (The Young and the Restless), Dylan Sprayberry (Man of Steel), Michael Grant (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), Angel Parker (Lab Rats), Parvesh Cheena (Outsourced), Sprague Grayden (Six Feet Under, Jericho), Sean Maher (Party of Five), Larry Poindexter (CSI, JAG), and Jack Laufer (Mad Men).

The Blank Theatre’s 20th Anniversary Young Playwrights Festival plays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, beginning May 31 and running through June 24 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood. Each week’s program includes three plays. Tickets are $20 for adults and $14 for students. Festival Passes, which include one ticket for each week, are $64.

On Sunday, June 3 at 6pm, The Blank Theatre will present 20 Years of Winners: Scenes, Songs, and Speeches from 20 Years of the Young Playwights Festival. Benefitting The Blank, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit arts organization, this one-night-only event will feature many stars of stage, screen, and television, scheduled to include (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, Virginia Madsen, Angel Parker, Jessy Schram, Rex Smith, Jennifer Stone, DB Sweeney, Kirsten Vangsness, Gedde Watanabe, Virginia Williams, Steven Weber, 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 performances in the Young Playwrights Festival at the Stella Adler Theatre (prices above), and for the benefit evening ($50-$250) may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-22-12

Announcing: Mike Farrell, Catherine Hicks, & Megan Ward Added for “Windows on the World” Reading

MIKE FARRELL, CATHERINE HICKS AND MEGAN WARD
WILL JOIN THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
NOAH WYLE, VIRGINIA MADSEN, MARK VALLEY,
JUSTINA MACHADO, GALE HAROLD, PERRY OJEDA
AND NICHOLAS BRENDON

FOR READING OF WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
BY COLETTE KEEN
TO BENEFIT THE BLANK THEATRE’S
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM,
‘THE LIVING ROOM SERIES’

ONE NIGHT ONLY
SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 AT THE STELLA ADLER THEATRE

Mike Farrell, Catherine Hicks, and Megan Ward have signed on for the reading of Windows On The World by Colette Keen, directed by Kirsten Sanderson, on Monday, September 12 at 8pm, at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood. They join the previously announced Noah Wyle, Virginia Madsen, Mark Valley, Justina Machado, Gale Harold, Perry Ojeda, and Nicholas Brendon.

Mike Farrell is perhaps best known for playing Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on television’s M*A*S*H. During his eight years on the show, he also wrote and directed several episodes, earning him nominations for Director’s Guild and Emmy Awards. In the fall of 2010, Farrell appeared at The Blank as James in Terre Haute. Catherine Hicks became known for her three-year stint on Ryan’s Hope. She has made many films, and for eleven years and 240 episodes, she played Annie Camden on 7th Heaven. In early 2010, she appeared in The Blank’s production of Christopher Durang’s Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them. Megan Ward has countless television appearances to her credit, including General Hospital, CSI, Without A Trace, ER, and Boomtown, among others. Ward appeared in this year’s Young Playwright’s Festival at The Blank.

Said Daniel Henning, The Blank’s Founding Artistic Director, “The events of 9/11 had a profound impact on all of us. Many people chose to express their grief through art. We were moved by the depth of this play, and could think of no better way to pay tribute to the memory of those we lost, as well as honor those who survived.”

Added the author, “This verbatim play focuses on the previously unheard perspectives of individuals who were in New York on 9/11. Windows On The World was inspired by two of my friends: Alicia Titus, a flight attendant, who died on the second plane that flew into the towers, and Judy Kaplan, who brought perspective, humor and wisdom to the day’s events with her tales of walking home from downtown to Queens and how her life has changed since. Poets, lawyers, administrators, artists, and fire fighters have shared their experiences and describe how their lives have changed as a result of this day of de-enlightenment. Also, for the first time, you will get to hear the first call to 911 dispatch made by FDNY firefighter (Ret.) John Jermyn, who shares his story of surviving the collapse of the towers.”

Seating is limited, and tickets are now on sale. Admission is $50 for general seating, and $75 for reserved seating and a post-performance reception with the cast. Visit www.TheBlank.com, or call (323) 661-9827. The Stella Adler Theatre is located at 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood.

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09-01-11