Announcing: Listing Info & Play Descriptions – The Blank Theatre’s 21st Annual Young Playwrights Festival

THE BLANK THEATRE
21ST ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

Professional actors and directors present 12 winning plays by young playwrights from across the nation during this prestigious four-week
festival. Three different plays are presented each week. For complete list of plays and performance dates, see schedule below. For complete list of play descriptions, mentors, and directors, visit www.TheBlank.com or www.youngplaywrights.com.

DATES: June 6 – 30

TIMES: Thurs/Fri/Sat at 8pm; Sun at 2pm

ADMISSION: Adults $20 Students $14. Festival Pass (one seat each week) $64

TICKET INFO: Available online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

LOCATION: The Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood.

WEEK ONE June 6 – 9

THE GATES
By Margaret Abigail Flowers (age 17), Interlochen, MI

MOM, PUT YOUR FLASK AWAY
By Eliana Pipes (age 16), Altadena, CA

DOWNSIZING
By Nick Mecikalski (age 19), Madison, AL

WEEK TWO June 13 – 16

SOX
By Spencer Emerson Opal-Levine (age 10), Sarasota, FL

EVE
By Patric Verrone (age 17), Pacific Palisades, CA

SURVIVAL STRATEGY
By Nicole Acton (age 19), Galesburg, IL

WEEK THREE June 20 – 23

SAM’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
By Tanner Laguatan (age 17), Coto de Caza, CA

REVE D’AMOUR
By May Treuhaft-Ali (age 17), Jackson Heights, NY

BLACK ICE
By Max Friedlich (age 18), New York, NY

WEEK FOUR June 27 – 30

NOT A GOOD TIME
By Hanel Baveja (age 16), Ann Arbor, MI

GAY MEANS HAPPY
By Rachel Kaly (age 17), Forest Hills, NY

THE EMPTY MAN
By Danny Rothschild (age 19), Interlochen, MI

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05-10-13

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

Announcing: The Blank Theatre Presents ‘Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers’ – Opening April 27

THE BLANK THEATRE PRESENTS
PETER PAN: THE BOY WHO HATED MOTHERS
BY MICHAEL LLUBERES
BASED ON PETER AND WENDY BY JM BARRIE
DIRECTED BY 2012 OVATION AWARD-WINNER MICHAEL MATTHEWS

WEST COAST PREMIERE
AT THE BLANK’S 2nd STAGE THEATRE
OPENS APRIL 27
EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 16
NOW EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 30
EXTENDED THROUGH SUNDAY, JULY 28
FINAL EXTENSION THROUGH AUGUST 18

The Blank Theatre (Daniel Henning, Founding Artistic Director; Noah Wyle, Artistic Producer) has announced that casting is complete and rehearsals are underway for Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers by Michael Lluberes, directed by 2012 Ovation Award-winner Michael Matthews. Previews begin April 20, and opening is Saturday, April 27 at 8pm. The engagement will run through June 2 is extended through June 16 June 30 July 28 August 18.

This radically fresh retelling of the JM Barrie classic explores the original ideas and inspirations behind the iconic fantasy of Peter Pan. Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers is a dark new retelling of the story of the boy who wouldn’t grow up. This is ‘Peter Pan’ as you have never seen it before, but how it was always meant to be told. “This dark, disturbing, yet magical adaptation based on JM Barrie’s original ideas behind Peter Pan is one of the most thrilling scripts I have read in years,” said The Blank Artistic Director Henning. “Michael Lluberes’ adaptation and Michael Matthews’ visionary direction are a perfect match. I am excited for our audiences to experience Peter Pan as they have never experienced it before.”

Playwright Michael Lluberes’ other plays include The Boy in the Bathroom and The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died. He has directed productions of Twelfth Night, Nighttime Traffic, and 1,000 Cats. Lluberes is also an actor, having appeared in the National Tour of Dirty Dancing, and Off Broadway in American Dreams: Lost and Found, Pudd’nhead Wilson, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, and Heaven Knows. He is the recipient of The American Harmony Prize, an NEA New Artist Initiative Award, and Hambidge and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowships. He is a graduate of The North Carolina School of the Arts, a member of The Acting Company, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and The Dramatists Guild. www.MichaelLluberes.com.

Michael Matthews directed the 2012 intimate theatre premiere of The Color Purple, The Musical, which won six Ovation Awards, including Best Director of a Musical. Also in 2012, his production of What’s Wrong With Angry? was Ovation Award-nominated, including Best Director of a Play. Matthews is the winner of two 2011 NAACP Image Awards for his direction of The Women of Brewster Place and Take Me Out, both at Celebration Theatre. He has directed The Blank’s productions of The Santaland Diaries, The Jazz Age and The Temperamentals. His most recent production, Wolves by Steve Yockey, is now running at Celebration Theatre. www.MichaelMatthewsDirector.com.

The cast of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers will feature (in alphabetical order) Liza Burns, Benjamin Campbell, Jackson Evans, David Hemphill, Trisha LaFache, Amy Lawhorn, and Daniel Shawn Miller. Set design is by Mary Hamrick, lighting design is by Zack Lapinski and Tim Swiss, costume design is by Kellsy MacKilligan, and sound design is by Rebecca Kessin. The stage manager is Rebecca Eisenberg; Sarah Bauer and Stephen Moffatt serve as producers.

Preview performances of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers begin on Saturday, April 20 at 8pm, and continue Sunday, April 21 at 2pm, and Tuesday through Friday, April 23 — 26, at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, April 27 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule will continue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm, through June 2 now through June 16 June 30 July 28 August 18. All seats are $30, and may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com, or via phone by calling (323) 661-9827.

The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox), in Hollywood.

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03-13-13

^{Cast of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers at The Blank Theatre, with director Michael Matthews. PHOTO BY MATT GRABER.
L to R (front): David Hemphill, Amy Lawhorn, Trisha LaFache, Liza Burns, Daniel Shawn Miller, Michael Matthews.
L to R (back): Jackson Evans, Benjamin Campbell.}