PRESS RELEASE — THE BLANK THEATRE PRESENTS LA PREMIERE OF “SONS OF THE PROPHET” BY STEPHEN KARAM

THE BLANK THEATRE
PRESENTS
A LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
SONS OF THE PROPHET
BY STEPHEN KARAM
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MATTHEWS

PERFORMANCES BEGIN JANUARY 31, 2015
★ NOW EXTENDED THROUGH APRIL 26 ★
AT THE BLANK’S 2nd STAGE THEATRE

The Blank Theatre (Daniel Henning, Founding Artistic Director; Noah Wyle, Artistic Producer) has announced that rehearsals begin on December 1 for the Los Angeles premiere of Sons of the Prophet by Stephen Karam, directed by Ovation Award-winner Michael Matthews. Performances begin January 31, 2015 with opening set for February 7.

Winner of the 2012 NY Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Play and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Sons of the Prophet by Stephen Karam (Speech & Debate) is a refreshingly honest take on how we cope with wounds that just won’t heal. If to live is to suffer, then Joseph Douaihy is more alive than most. With unexplained chronic pain and the fate of his reeling family on his shoulders, Joseph’s health, sanity, and insurance premium are on the line. In an age when modern medicine has a cure for just about everything, Sons of the Prophet is the funniest play about human suffering you’re likely to see.

The performance schedule will be Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through March 15 Extended Through March 29 Now Extended Through April 26. Tickets may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com or via phone at (323) 661-9827. The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox), in Hollywood.

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11-21-14

Announcing: 2013 Ovation Award Nominees Will Be Announced Monday 9/16 at 7pm

2013 OVATION AWARD NOMINEES
TO BE ANNOUNCED MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
AT THE BARNSDALL GALLERY THEATRE

AWARDS CEREMONY SET FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3
AT THE HISTORIC SAN GABRIEL MISSION PLAYHOUSE

The announcement of the 2013 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Award nominees has been set for Monday, September 16 at 7pm. The event will be hosted by the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, located at 4800 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, 90027. Free onsite parking is available. The Barnsdall Gallery Theatre (BGT) is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs Community Arts Division.

This year’s Ovation Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, November 3 at 7:30pm at the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, located at 320 S. Mission Drive in San Gabriel.

On September 16, various 2012 Ovation Award recipients will announce the names of this year’s nominees. Scheduled to participate are Michael Matthews (Director of a Musical for The Color Purple at Celebration Theatre), Antaeus Company member John Sloan (representing Peace In Our Time, winner of Best Play, Intimate Theatre), Ryan Johnson (Composition for a Play, Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton at Sacred Fools), Zainab Jah (Featured Actress in a Play for The Convert at CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theatre), and Janet Roston (Choreography, The Color Purple). These winners from last year will be joined by Terence McFarland, Chief Executive Officer of LA STAGE Alliance.

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 Awards Rules Committee. The list of nominees is determined by a tabulation of scores conducted by Green Hasson Janks.

The nominee announcement event is free and open to the public. A light reception will be included, and RSVP is required at www.OvationAwards.com. Information on how to attend the Awards Ceremony on November 3 will be available at www.OvationAwards.com in late September.

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09-09-13

Announcing: The Blank Theatre’s 21st Annual Young Playwrights Festival Announces Winners

THE BLANK THEATRE’S 21ST 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 6 — 30, 2013

Now celebrating its 21st Anniversary, The Blank Theatre’s Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival has chosen 12 plays by young playwrights aged 10 — 19, from six 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 6 — 30.

“Ever since I acted in the first Young Playwrights Festival, I have always had a special place in my heart for these extremely talented young writers,“ said Blank Artistic Producer Noah Wyle. “The issues tackled, and the depth of emotion and understanding these kids have is remarkable. I wish I knew as much as they do when I was their age!”

This year’s winning plays are: THE GATES by Margaret Abigail Flowers, Interlochen, MI, Age 17; MOM, PUT YOUR FLASK AWAY by Eliana Pipes, Altadena, CA, Age 16; DOWNSIZING by Nick Mecikalski, Madison, AL, Age 19; SOX by Spencer Emerson Opal-Levine, Sarasota, FL, Age 10; EVE by Patric Verrone, Pacific Palisades, CA, Age 17; SURVIVAL STRATEGY by Nicole Acton, Galesburg, IL, Age 19; SAM’S BIRTHDAY PARTY by Tanner Laguatan, Coto de Caza, CA, Age 17; REVE D’AMOUR by May Treuhaft-Ali, Jackson Heights, NY, Age 17; BLACK ICE by Max Friedlich, New York, NY, Age 18; NOT A GOOD TIME by Hanel Baveja, Ann Arbor, MI Age 16; GAY MEANS HAPPY by Rachel Kaly, Forest Hills, NY, Age 17; and THE EMPTY MAN by Danny Rothschild, Interlochen, MI, Age 19.

This year’s winners join a prestigious club of alumni which includes 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam, who was a three-time festival winner, and Adam Cochran (a two-time winner in YPF), who was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in NYC for Outstanding Music in a Play in 2011.

A panel of theatre professionals chose from over 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, V, CSI), John Cariani (Almost Maine), Dave Holstein (Weeds), and Ellen Byron (Just Shoot Me, Wings) as well as Bob Lowry, Brighde Mullins, Oahn Ly, Patrick Burleigh, Gary Tieche, and Robert Freedman. This year’s directors are (in alphabetical order) Barbara Bain, Kevin Chamberlin, Warren Davis, Nicole Dominguez, Jane Lanier, Michael Matthews, Richey Nash, Michael Shepperd, David Shine, Richard Tatum, and Jason Weiss.

Over the past 20 years, The Blank has produced more than 230 plays by young playwrights. Eleven of those plays or playwrights have gone on to be presented on The Blank’s mainstage, including Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam. 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 creating TV shows, filling regional stages, teaching writing to others, and founding regional Young Playwrights Festivals.

This year’s festival is made possible by Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, The Plum Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Blank Theatre’s 21st Annual Young Playwrights Festival runs June 6 — 30 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 $64. Tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.TheBlank.com, or via phone by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-02-13