NEWS RELEASE — THE BLANK THEATRE’S 24th ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL CHOOSES WINNERS

THE BLANK THEATRE’S 24TH ANNUAL
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
CHOOSES WINNERS
12 PLAYS BY THE NATION’S BRIGHTEST YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS
WILL BE PERFORMED AT
THE STELLA ADLER THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD
JUNE 2 — 26, 2016

Now celebrating its 24th Anniversary, The Blank Theatre’s Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival has chosen 12 plays by playwrights aged 16—19 from seven different states. These plays will be presented by professional actors and directors in this year’s Festival at The Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, June 2—26.

Said Noah Wyle (star of television’s ER and Falling Skies), Artistic Producer at The Blank, “Each Spring for the past 23 years, The Blank has found the freshest, most original voices in the American theatre, invited them to Los Angeles, and promoted their work during a month-long festival in June. This thought provoking work, performed and directed by seasoned professionals, has entertained thousands of audience members over the years. While these authors are often as different as the states from which they come and the subjects with which they deal, they share something truly improbable. They’re teenagers.” Wyle continued, “These are not only the voices of today’s theatre — they are the voices of tomorrow’s as well.”

Producing Director Heather Provost added, “I am especially pleased that 11 out of 12 Festival winners this year are female. Gender parity in our industry is so important and I’m happy that we are contributing to the balance.”

This year’s winning plays are: VICTIMOLOGY by Rachel Linton, Washington, DC, Age 18; AGE-SEX-LOCATION by Honor Levy, Los Angeles, CA, Age 18; MIND GAMES by Sarah Holland, Austin, TX, Age 18; SUPERMARKET OF LOST by Casandra Hsiao, Walnut, CA, Age 16; ABOUT ART by Alexa Derman, Westfield, NJ, Age 19; BITING ELEPHANTS by Sarah Steuer, Memphis, TN, Age 19; LAZY BOY by Charlotte Leavengood, St. Petersburg, FL, Age 16; GWENDOLYN by Dylan Schifrin, Sherman Oaks, CA, Age 17; LOVELY MADNESS by Ariella Carmell, Chicago, Age 16; DOESN’T THAT SOUND LOVELY? by Gabrielle Poisson, Boonton Township, NJ, Age 17; OVEREXPOSURE by Lani Kording, Costa Mesa, CA, Age 18; and STICK AND POKE by Johanna Stone, Altadena, CA, Age 17.

A panel of theatre professionals chose from 200 plays submitted by young writers across the nation. Winning playwrights are next assigned a mentor, and then a professional director who will help them hone their scripts for four public performances with professional actors. This year’s mentors include David Rambo (Revolution, Empire, CSI), Dave Holstein (Weeds, Raising Hope), Ellen Byron (Just Shoot Me, Wings), Gary Tieche (Medium), Kit Steinkellner (four-time YPF winner), Beth Bigler (The Real Housewives of Atlanta and three-time YPF winner), Bert V. Royal (Dog Sees God), Austin Winsberg (five-time YPF winner), Adam Lapidus, Robert L. Freedman, Scott Damian, and Adam Belanoff. This year’s directors are (in alphabetical order) Barbara Bain, June Carryl, Guillermo Cienfuegos, Warren Davis, Bjørn Johnson, Doug Oliphant, Loni Peristere, Christopher J. Raymond, Michael A. Shepperd, Laura Stribling, Richard Tatum, and April Webster.

Over the past 23 years, The Blank has produced 272 plays by young playwrights. Eleven of those plays or playwrights have gone on to be presented on The Blank’s mainstage. Additionally, many of the plays have been nominated for LA theatre awards, including an Ovation Award for Best Writing—World Premiere, and an LA Weekly Award for Best One-Act Playwriting. Other alumni playwrights are populating the nation’s theatres and sound stages with their work. Many YPF winners have gone on to successful writing careers on Broadway, are filling regional stages, and have created network TV shows. Alumnus winner Stephen Karam has been a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and is currently Tony Award-nominated for Best Play for The Humans, a hit on Broadway this season.

This year’s YPF is made possible in part by The Bloomberg Philanthropies, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Rosenthal Family Foundation, The Plum Foundation, and the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

The Blank Theatre’s 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival runs June 2—26 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard, in Hollywood. The performance schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. Each week’s program includes three plays, and admission is $20 for adults and $14 for students. Festival passes, which are good for one ticket each week of the festival, are $68 for adults and $48 for students. Tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.TheBlank.com, or via phone by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-03-16

NEWS RELEASE — 2015 LA STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARD WINNERS

2015 LA STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARDS
PRESENTED MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9
AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE

The 2015 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement during the past 12 months, were presented on Monday, November 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center.

Thirty-five awards were bestowed upon 18 different Southern California theatre companies. The most honored companies of the year were The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts/Deaf West Theatre/Cody Lassen (Spring Awakening); Center Theatre Group (Chavez Ravine: An L.A. Revival, The Price, Luna Gale); Circle X Theatre Company (Trevor); Ebony Repertory Company (The Gospel at Colonus); Sacred Fools Theater Company (The Behavior of Broadus, a co-production with Burglars of Hamm and Center Theatre Group); Four Larks (The Temptation of St Antony); and Loft Ensemble (She Kills Monsters).

Other companies honored were 3-D Theatricals, Actors Co-op, Cabrillo Music Theatre, Coeurage Theatre Company, Los Angeles Performance Practice, The Pasadena Playhouse, Rogue Machine, Unbound Productions, and VS. Theatre Company. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts received the Best Season Award (Enter Laughing, Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward, Spring Awakening).

For a complete list of winners, go to @ This Stage Magazine (ThisStage.LA).

LA STAGE Alliance Board Chair Brian Kite said, “What a night! It is always a thrill to gather the Los Angeles theatre community together to honor excellence. The work on our stages this year was invigorating, riveting, thought provoking, and daring. Congratulations to all the artists that keep LA theatre among the best in the world. Bravo!”

Sarah Lyding, Senior Program Officer for The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, presented the BEST Awards, including checks totaling $105,000 to the following LA theatre companies: Casa 0101 (also won in 2012), Center Theatre Group, East West Players (also won in 2013 and 2014), The Pasadena Playhouse, and Watts Village Theater Company.

Additionally, Center Theatre Group presented the 2015 Sherwood Award for innovative and adventurous artists to Miwa Matreyek. This award is endowed by the Sherwood family and is accompanied by $10,000 to further Matreyek’s artistic work.

The ceremony was hosted by French and Vanessa Claire Stewart, and this year’s presenters included LA theatre luminaries (in alphabetical order) Keith Allan, Bekah Brunsetter, Lap Chi Chu, Guillermo Cienfuegos, Tim Dang, Abigail Deser, Robert Egan, Christina Elmore, Ann Closs Farley, Shirley Jo Finney, Brighid Fleming, David and Kiki Gindler, Harry Groener, Sofia Klatzker, Michael Kricfalusi, Deborah Lawler, Alan Mandell, Terence McFarland, Stephen Sachs, Oz Scott, Madhuri Shekar, Trent Steelman, Seema Sueko, Jose Luis Valenzuela, and Kirsten Vangsness.

Founded in 1989, the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are Los Angeles theatre professionals who are chosen each year, through an application process, by the Ovation Rules Committee. The list of nominees is determined by a tabulation of scores conducted by Green Hasson Janks. This year’s Ovation Award eligibility period ran from September 1, 2014 through August 31, 2015.

Since 1975, LA STAGE Alliance has dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles. All of its initiatives aim to serve and strengthen the sector — both at an individual and community level — providing resources that facilitate audience engagement, collaborative marketing, community building, and professional development.

Sponsors for this year’s Ovation Awards ceremony were The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation, TheaterMania, Goldstar, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, USC School of Dramatic Arts, UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, Green Hasson Janks, Bakers Man Productions, Performances Magazine, City Tavern, Peter Konerko Photography, and Ken Werther Publicity. Variety was the media sponsor.

For more information, visit lastagealliance.com.

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11-09-15

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS