NEWS RELEASE — THE BLANK THEATRE ANNOUNCES NEW SUBMISSION PERIOD FOR LIVING ROOM SERIES

THE BLANK THEATRE
ANNOUNCES NEW SUBMISSION PERIOD
FOR LIVING ROOM SERIES

The Blank Theatre in Hollywood is now accepting scripts for its 2015—2016 Living Room Series. Submissions will be accepted between June 1 and August 31, 2015.

Now in its 24th year, Living Room Series is a New Play Development program which embodies The Blank’s commitment to developing new work by both established and emerging writers. Living Room Series takes place on Monday evenings between Labor Day and Memorial Day at The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre. This program offers a week-long rehearsal process for the playwright, director, and actors to explore and refine the play before presenting it to an audience. The performances are minimally staged with actors carrying scripts and are a wonderful opportunity for the playwright to get a sense of the play’s full potential.

Living Room Series develops and produces approximately 30 new plays each year. Many of these plays have later received productions at venues including Manhattan Theatre Club, Transport Group, Laguna Playhouse, Malibu Playhouse, The Colony Theatre, Primary Stages, Vineyard Theatre, LaMaMa ETC, and Brideswell Theatre in London. In 2014 The Explorer’s Club by Nell Benjamin (twice developed in the LRS) was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club where it won the NY Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off Broadway Play.

Fourteen plays from the Living Room Series have received mainstage productions at The Blank, including Heads by EM Lewis which won the 2008 Francesca Primus Prize and has had subsequent productions at Theater For A New City and other regional venues. In addition, two of the three 2015 Ebell Prize winners, Aliza Goldstein (1st place) and Val Stulman, (3rd place) are LRS alums.

For submission guidelines and further instructions, visit www.theblank.com and click on The Living Room Series.

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06-01-15

NEWS RELEASE — WINNERS NAMED FOR THE BLANK THEATRE’S 23rd ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

THE BLANK THEATRE’S 23RD 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 4 — 28, 2015

Now celebrating its 23rd Anniversary, The Blank Theatre’s Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival has chosen 12 plays by young playwrights aged 12—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 4—28.

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.”

This year’s winning plays are: SUSPENDED by India Kotis, Brooklyn, NY, Age 17; INHERENTLY AMBIGUOUS by Dan Devine, La Grange Park, IL, Age 18; THREE STORIES by Alexa Derman, Westfield, NJ, Age 18; HERE WE ARE AGAIN by Ariella Carmell, Los Angeles, CA, Age 18; THE EXCEPTIONAL CHILDHOOD CENTER by Dylan Schifrin, Sherman Oaks, CA, Age 16; SPLOOSH by Frank Garland, Seattle, WA, Age 17; THE PARTING by Spencer Emerson Opal-Levine, Sarasota, FL, Age 12; BROMEO AND JULIUS by Sabrina Batchler, Sherman Oaks, CA, Age 18; THE COCKTAIL PARTY EFFECT by Aiyana White, Van Nuys, CA, Age 19; TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN by Jonah Rawitz, Buffalo Grove, IL, Age 17; THE ELEPHANT by Ruth Geye, Shaker Heights, OH, Age 16; and TEENAGE ANGELS by Honor Levy, Los Angeles, CA, Age 17.

A panel of theatre professionals chose from over 220 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), Kelly Miller (Director of Development, New Neighborhood), Dave Holstein (Weeds, Raising Hope), Todd Milliner (executive producer, Grimm), Ellen Byron (Just Shoot Me, Wings), Gary Tieche (Medium), Michael Jung (Disney), Kit Steinkellner (four-time YPF winner), Austin Winsberg (five-time YPF winner), Beth Bigler (The Real Housewives of Atlanta and three-time YPF winner), Patrick Burleigh, and Brighde Mullins. This year’s directors are (in alphabetical order) Barbara Bain, June Carryl, Bjørn Johnson, Michael Matthews, Loni Peristere, Alina Phelan, Christopher J. Raymond, Michael A. Shepperd, Richard Tatum, April Webster, Jason Weiss, and Constance Zimmer.

Over the past 22 years, The Blank has produced 260 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, created network TV shows, are filling regional stages, and one has even been a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

This year’s festival is made possible by the Walt Disney Company, Rosenthal Family Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles City Department of Cultural Affairs, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, William C. Bannerman Foundation, The Plum Foundation, The Hollywood Fringe Festival, and Biller Family Foundation.

The Blank Theatre’s 23rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival runs June 4—28 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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04-27-15

NEWS RELEASE — CAST & DESIGNERS SET FOR “SONS OF THE PROPHET” AT THE BLANK THEATRE — OPENS FEBRUARY 7, 2015

CAST & DESIGNERS SET
FOR THE BLANK THEATRE’S
LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF
SONS OF THE PROPHET
BY STEPHEN KARAM
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MATTHEWS

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

The cast and designers have been set for The Blank Theatre’s Los Angeles premiere of Sons of the Prophet by Stephen Karam, directed by Ovation Award-winner Michael Matthews. Performances begin January 31 with opening night set for Saturday, February 7.

In alphabetical order, the cast will feature Ellen Karsten, Jack Laufer, Braxton Molinaro, Erik Odom, Irene Roseen, Adam Silver, Mychal Thompson and Tamara Zook. Set design is by Rachel Watson, lighting design is by Luke Moyer, costume design is by Allison Dillard, and sound design is by Cricket S. Myers. The stage manager is Marcedes L. Clanton, and Sons of the Prophet is produced for The Blank Theatre by Daniel Henning, Noah Wyle, and Sarah A. Bauer.

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.

Preview performances begin on Saturday, January 31 at 8pm and continue on Sunday, February 1 at 2pm, and Wednesday through Friday, February 4—6 at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, February 7 at 8pm. The regular 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 are $25 for previews and $30 for regular performances and 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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01-05-15