PRESS RELEASE — MORE THAN 35 ACTORS SET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLANK THEATRE’S YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

SARA GILBERT, SCOTT LOWELL,
MICHAEL GRANT TERRY, ANGEL PARKER,
ELLEN D. WILLIAMS, CURT HANSEN,
JESSY SCHRAM, AND MORE
SET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLANK THEATRE’S
22ND ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
JUNE 5—29

More than 35 actors are set to participate in The Blank Theatre’s 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival, including Sara Gilbert (Roseanne, The Talk, The Big Bang Theory), Curt Hansen (A Snow White Christmas, Wicked), Scott Lowell (Queer As Folk), Michael Grant Terry (Bones), Angel Parker (Lab Rats), Ellen D. Williams (How I Met Your Mother), and Jessy Schram (Falling Skies, Mad Men). Twelve winning plays by young playwrights aged 16 -19 from seven different states will be presented during this year’s festival at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, running from June 5—29.

Other notable performers appearing in the Festival are (in alphabetical order) Sarah Allyn Bauer, Tim Cummings, Shaan Dasani, Aaron Fors, Alberto Frezza, Frank Gingerich, Zena Grey, Arjun Gupta, Paul Hodge, Juanita Jennings, Sophie Kargman, Caroline Lindy, Kayla Madison, Minni Jo Mazzola, Tyler Merna, Matthew Scott Montgomery, Larry Poindexter, John Posey, Romy Rosemont, Maite Schwartz, Patrick Stafford, David Starzyk, Liam Starzyk, Ben Stillwell, Jennifer Stone, Mandy Turpin, Mat Vairo, Tessa Williams, and Ellen Wong.

The Blank Theatre’s 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival plays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, beginning June 5 and running through June 29 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 $68 for adults and $48 for students. Tickets may be purchased at www.theblank.com.

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05-27-14

Announcing: Sheena Metal will Interview ‘Queer as Folk’ Cast Members April 5 at 5pm PDT; Metal Also Set to Host 2013 ‘Queer as Folk’ LA Convention June 7-9

LATalkRadio Host SHEENA METAL
Interviews QUEER AS FOLK Cast Members
MICHELLE CLUNIE, ROBERT GANT, GALE HAROLD,
RANDY HARRISON, SCOTT LOWELL, and PETER PAIGE
on THE SHEENA METAL EXPERIENCE
FRIDAY, APRIL 5 from 5-7pm PDT

METAL ALSO SET TO HOST
QUEER AS FOLK RISE ‘N SHINE CONVENTION
IN LOS ANGELES, JUNE 7 — 9

On Friday, April 5, from 5-7pm, popular LATalkRadio host Sheena Metal will interview Queer As Folk cast members Michelle Clunie, Robert Gant, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Scott Lowell, and Peter Paige on The Sheena Metal Experience at LATalkRadio.com.

Metal will also host the second annual Queer As Folk Rise ‘n Shine Convention in Los Angeles, June 7-9. The premiere Rise ‘n Shine event took place in Cologne in 2012, and this will be the first such gathering in the United States. Friends and fans of the now legendary Showtime series, which aired for five seasons from 2000­-2005, will gather at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel, 9750 Airport Boulevard, in Los Angeles, 90045.

Brash humor and genuine emotion made up this original series revolving around the lives, loves, ambitions, careers and friendships of a group of gay men and women living on Liberty Avenue in contemporary Pittsburgh, PA. The show offered an unapologetic look at modern, urban gay and lesbian lives while addressing the most critical health and political issues affecting the community. Sometimes racy, sometimes sensitive, and always straight to the heart, Queer As Folk was groundbreaking television at its best.

For more information on the Rise ‘n Shine Convention, visit http://www.risenshineusa.com/ or www.SheenaMetalExperience.com.

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04-03-13

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