Dear Theatregoer,Welcome to the 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival!! I find it astonishing that this year’s selection of plays bring our grand total of produced works by young authors to 272. I am equally amazed to stand at the threshold of our 26th season. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been fun. This was an especially challenging year for The Blank and small theatre in Los Angeles. And like many, facing an uncertain future, we revisited our mission statement, gut checked ourselves and asked, “Have we remained true to the core tenets of our founding? Do we still perform a valuable service? Are we committed to the continuance of the fight, knowing all too well what challenges lay ahead? After 26 years, is it still worth it? “ I’m proud to say that The Blank answers YES. YES we are fulfilling our promise to create and support new works for the American Stage. YES, by giving opportunities to actors, writers, directors, and stage technicians to learn their craft and display their talent, we provide a service. YES, we are committed to the fight ahead. My deepest gratitude to all who have supported the The Blank in our efforts over the years. To those of you new to The Young Playwright Festival, sit back, relax, and see why YES, it is still worth it. Enjoy the show!

Noah Wyle Artistic Producer

Greetings,The future of the Theatre is here! That sounds like a marketing line, but in our case, it’s actually true! The Blank Theatre’s Annual Young Playwrights Festival has fostered 272 plays by writers aged 9 to 19.I have seen our winning writers become Pulitzer Prize Finalists, Broadway Librettists, network television Creator/Show Runners, and even a rock star! And this year one of our alumni, Stephen Karam, was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play, and the talk is that he is going to actually win! Is that even possible? Can this little Festival have inspired generations of young people to pursue their creativity and encouraged some of them enough to have them go on to win Tony Awards? My mind reels.And we are the future of the Theatre in another way this year as well. There is a major discussion going on about the small percentage of plays by women produced in the US (16%.) Here at YPF, we have always achieved parity. But this year, ELEVEN of the twelve winning plays are by females! We are so proud of these playwrights and their work; and even more proud to be supporting these young ladies who will be the future crop of produced female American playwrights!We need your help to get to our future: the 25th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. Please join us in bringing inspiration, enjoyment and creative energy to the future of the Theatre and support The Blank Experience with the donation envelope provided in your program. The future doesn’t exist without you! Daniel Henning Founding Artistic Director

Welcome to the Young Playwrights Festival!

PRESENTS

The 24th Annual Nationwide

The Blank TheatreDANIEL HENNING Founding Artistic Director NOAH WYLE Artistic Producer

PRESS REPRESENTATIVEKen Werther Publicity

SOUND DESIGNRebecca Kessin

ARTISTIC DIRECTORDaniel Henning

DIRECTOR OF MENTOR PROGRAMMark Arnold

COSTUME DESIGN Lynn Thonet Gross

ASST. FESTIVAL PRODUCER Laura Savage

Bloomberg PhilanthropiesHollywood Fringe FestivalLos Angeles County Arts CommissionLos Angeles Dept of Cultural A�airsPlum FoundationRosenthal Family Foundation

MADE POSSIBLE IN PART WITH GRANTS FROM

SUBMISSIONS COORDINATORElena L. Perez

MARKETING DIRECTORKatherine Hunter-Blyden

Young Playwrights FestivalFeaturing Plays By:

Ariella Carmell, Alexa Derman, Sarah Holland, Cassandra Hsiao, Lani Kording, Charlotte Leavengood, Honor Levy,

Rachel Linton, Gabrielle Poisson, Dylan Schifrin, Sarah Steuer, Johanna Stone

HEATHER PROVOST Producing Director

FESTIVAL PRODUCERSHeather Provost and Noelle Berry

LIGHTING DESIGN Donny Jackson

CASTING DIRECTORS Erica S. Bream & Cara Chute Rosenbaum

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGEREstey DeMerchant

HOUSE MANAGER Lupe Mejia

PHOTOGRAPHER Anne McGrath

ASSISTANT TO THE PRODUCERSKatie Woerner

SCENIC DESIGN Sydney Russell

The Playwrights(in alphabetical order)

ARIELLA CARMELL (Age 19): LOVELY MADNESSAriella Carmell is thrilled (and surprised!) to be back at the Blank for the second year in a row. She had her �rst play, Here We Are Again, staged as a part of the 2015 YPF, and it was one of the most validating and rewarding experiences of her creative life. When not moonlighting as a playwright, Ariella is a student at the University of Chicago, double majoring in English Literature and Fundamentals: Issues and Texts. There, she edits a journal of philosophical essays called the Midway Review, writes for the South Side Weekly, and helps

make short movies with Fire Escape Films. Much love and thanks to the most important people in her life who keep her at the right balance of functional and dysfunctional: her family, her therapist, and her boyfriend.

ALEXA DERMAN (Age 19): ABOUT ARTAlexa Derman is a Jersey-based playwright. Production and developmental history includes Fresh Ink Theatre, EST/LA, Semicolon Theatre, Runaways Lab Theatre, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, The Blank Theatre (2-time national winner), Young Playwrights Inc. (3-time national winner), International Thespian Society, Theatre Project. BA Yale. Thanks to Mom, Dad, Sa and the sibs.

SARAH HOLLAND (Age 18): MIND GAMESSarah Holland is an eighteen year old �lm major at the University of Central Florida. She wrote and directed Mind Games during her senior year of high school and hopes to have it published someday. In addition to writing, Sarah spends her time acting, �lmmaking, and posting weekly videos on her YouTube channel. She is also a mental health advocate and enjoys volunteering with the Active Minds program at her university. Sarah would like to thank her

friends and family for supporting her throughout the playwriting process. She would also like to thank the Blank Theatre for this incredible opportunity to grow as an artist and spread mental health awareness.

CASSANDRA HSIAO (Age 16) :THE SUPERMARKET OF LOSTCassandra is a junior in the Creative Writing conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts. She is the co-president for her high school’s Spoken Word and Poetry Club and an editor of her school’s award-winning art and literary magazine, Inkblot. She has been nationally recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards as well as the National Student Poets Program. Cassandra conducts print and on-camera interviews as a teen reporter and �lm critic for online outlets including Fanlala.com, BYOU Magazine, and the Los

Angeles Times’ High School Insider. Recently she won her �rst national Gracie Award in the Online Video Host-Student category by the Alliance for Women In Media Foundation (AWMF).

LANI KORDING (Age 18): OVEREXPOSURE Lani Kording is a graduate from the Orange County School of the Arts, where she studied playwriting, television and screenwriting in the Creative Writing Conservatory. She is thrilled to be a part of The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival and looks forward to seeing her words come to life on the stage. Her recent theatrical productions include The Playwrights Project’s Plays by Young Writers, where her play

Quarter Cup was performed at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego over 10 days in January, 2016, and OCSA’s One Act Festivals where her play, Absolution was performed over three days this past March. Her play Supporting Character was performed at OCSA’s One Act Festival in 2015. In addition, her ten minute plays, 50 Ways and Greatest Hits were read at the 2014 and 2015 48-Hour Scarefests at OCSA. She will be attending The New School for Drama this upcoming fall. She would like to thank God, her parents, her teachers and friends at OCSA and everyone at the The Blank Theatre for helping her grow as a writer and theatre lover.

CHARLOTTE LEAVENGOOD (Age 16): LAZY BOYCharlotte Leavengood is a second generation playwright and a junior at Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg, FL. This year she has won multiple awards with Lazy Boy including Critic’s Choice Honorable Mention at District and State Thespians; a Silver Key Award from Scholastic Art & Writing; and was selected as one of �ve high school plays nationally to for the Neil Labute Festival of New Plays in St. Louis this July. Her other short plays, Cadence and The Dark,

were semi-�nalists this year at the Blank! Charlotte has been studying playwriting for two years with her incredibly talented and encouraging father. As an actress, Charlotte has performed in many shows including Lizzie Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Madam Giry in Phantom of the Opera. She thanks her father, mother, big sister, rabbit, and six cats for being the most supportive and loving family a young artist could ask for.

HONOR LEVY (Age 18): AGE-SEX-LOCATIONHonor is an eighteen year old actor and playwright from Los Angeles. She studies theater and playwriting at The Young Actor’s Studio and will begin her freshman year at Bennington College this fall. She is honored (and nervous about people thinking this is a pun) to be part of The Blank’s Young Playwright Festival for the second year in a row and is excited to work with Beth Bigler and April Webster.

RACHEL LINTON (Age 18): VICTIMOLOGYRachel Linton is a Southern California native and rising sophomore at Georgetown University, where she is majoring in international economics and minoring in Japanese. Victimology is her �rst one-act play. At Georgetown, she is a Carroll Fellow and a 2015-2016 Lannan Fellow, and has been involved in scriptwriting for Nomadic Theater and stage managing for Mask &

Bauble Dramatic Society and Black Theater Ensemble. She is also a member of student-run consulting �rm Hilltop Consultants, social media chair for Quiz Bowl, a line editor for the Undergraduate Law Review, and co-founder of the Archery Club. This summer, she will be working as a research assistant at the Library of Congress’s Kluge Center. She’d like to thank her twin sister Sarah for her continual encouragement and excellent editing services.

GABRIELLE POISSON (Age 16): DOESN’T THAT SOUND LOVELY?Gabrielle Poisson is a rising senior at Newark Academy in Livingston New Jersey. She loves writing plays, poems, and short stories. Her play, “Worn Thin,” won the 2015 New Jersey Playwrights Theatre 32nd annual Young Playwrights Contest and was performed at the Playwrights Theatre Festival last June. Her short story, “Shadow Friends,” won �rst place in the Writing Conference 2015 annual writing contest and was published in Writers Slate magazine. She has won Scholastic awards, including a gold key for

playwriting, over the past few years. Along with writing, Gabrielle is passionate about singing and acting, participating in honor choirs such as the ACDA All Eastern Ensemble, NJ All-State HS Mixed Chorus, and Newark Academy’s award-winning select chamber group, Academy Voices. Gabrielle has performed in numerous musicals, performing as Little Sally in Urinetown and Frenchy in Grease this past year. Gabrielle is excited and honored to be involved in this festival.

DYLAN SCHIFRIN, Age 17, GwendolynDylan can’t believe it, but he somehow has �nagled his way into the Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival for the second year in a row! Dylan Schifrin is a playwright, singer, pianist, composer, and graduate of Harvard-Westlake School. He will be attending Yale University in the fall. In 2015, Dylan’s play The Exceptional Childhood Center was a �nalist in the Blank Theater’s 23RD Annual YPF and was published by YouthPLAYS. Because of this play, Dylan was selected as a YoungArts �nalist in creative writing. Dylan

has written music for his jazz combos, the Harvard-Westlake Jazz Singers, and classical ensembles. This year, he won an ASCAP/Dreamworks scholarship for collaborating on a short musical at the Wallis Annenberg Theater. Gwendolyn is based on a comedic short story Dylan wrote in 2015 that won second place in BJ Novak’s High School Humor Challenge, a nationwide competition through the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

SARAH STEUER, Age 19, Biting ElephantsSarah Steuer is entering her third year at UCLA. She is currently studying psychology and theater and hopes to someday become licensed in drama therapy, as well as write and direct her own pieces professionally. Sarah would like to say “thank you” to her family for always supporting and inspiring her creatively, to Mark Wheatley and Scott Barnhardt for helping her bring Biting Elephants to life, and especially to The Blank Theatre Company for making this

lifelong dream come true.

JOHANNA STONE, Age 17, Stick and PokeJohanna Stone is a 17-year-old writer and actor from Los Angeles. She currently studies acting and writing at the NoHo Actor’s Studio and is a student at The Waverly School. This is her �rst full-length play and �rst professionally produced work. Johanna would like to thank her wonderful teachers and mentors, her parents, and her friends for their tremendous encouragement, and most especially The Blank for this amazing opportunity.

YPF Production Team

APPRENTICE TEAMKenley Duke, Kelsi Parsons, Elena L. Perez, Natasha

Preston, Alexa Radson, Lara Repko, Nicole (Nick) Rice, Jacob Sikorski, Eliana Sternin, Rena Wang, Aiyana White

DIRECTORSBarbara Bain,June Carryl, Guillermo Cienfuegos,Warren

Davis, Bjorn Johnson, Doug Oliphant, Loni Peristere, Christopher J. Raymond, Michael A. Sheppard, Laura Stribling,Richard Tatum, April Webster

MENTORSAdam Belanoff, Beth Bigler, Ellen Byron, Scott Damian,

Robert L. Freedman, Dave Holdstein,Adam Lapidus, David Rambo, Bert V. Royal,

Kit Steinkellner, Gary Tieche, Austin Winsberg

FESTIVAL SELECTION COMMITTEEMark Arnold, Paulo Andrés, Beth Bigler, Elena Campbell-Martinez, June Carryl, Aliza Goldstein, Daniel Henning,

Michelle Lander, Jack Laufer, Scott Lowell, Shelagh McFadden, Anne McGrath, Jonathan Messer, Gabriel

Neustadt, Alex Nunnelly, Khary Payton, Heather Provost, Irene Roseen, Kit Steinkellner, Chelsea Sutton,

Richard Tatum, Jeff Torres

WEEKLY PRODUCERSGabby Bruno, Scott Damian, Victoria Esquer, Shah Granville, Jennifer Kim, Andrea Ramos,

Christopher Reiling, Isabel Smith

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Paulo AndrésRick BaumgartnerLaura BousmanDaniel HenningPekka KauranenSusie Landau FinchBarbara LigetiAngela OhAngel ParkerPriscilla PesciMarcia SeligsonTroy ThompsenKen WertherNoah Wyle

BOARD OF ADVISORS John BowabJohn HollyVirginia MadsenPriscilla PesciDebbie ReynoldsDB SweeneyTi�ani ThiessenApril WebsterVanessa WilliamsMartin Wiviott

THE BLANK THEATREO�ce: P.O. Box 1094, Hollywood, CA 90078Mainstage: 2nd Stage Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90038Ticket Line: 323.661.9827 Admin: 323.871.8018Email: info@theblank.com www.theblank.com

StaffFounding Artistic DirectorArtistic ProducerProducing DirectorTechnical DirectorO�ce ManagerPress RepresentativeMarketing DirectorLRS Artistic Committee

GraphicsLRS Technical DirectorLRS Submissions CoordinatorProducing Assistants

Mascot

Daniel HenningNoah WyleHeather ProvostAaron LyonsKatie WoernerKen Werther PublicityKatherine Hunter-BlydenBeth Bigler, Elena Campbell-Martinez (Chair), Lainnie Felán, Josh Levine, Shelagh McFadden, Christopher J.Raymond, Jennie Webb, Jason WeissRick BaumgartnerMegan FrancesLainnie FelánCasey Leach,Sarah Jo Provost, Je�ery Rodriquez, Sydney Russell

Betty The Wonder Puppy

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE ($5,000 and above)The Plum Foundation, Sara and Noah Wyle, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Dept. of Cultural A�airs, City of Los Angeles, Rosenthal Family Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Nicholas Caprio, Mandy Blumenthal, Kiki and David Gindler, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

PRODUCER’S CIRCLE ($1,000 - $4,999) Kristina Sanborn and Ron Luebbert, Troy Thompsen, Hargrove Pierce Foundation, Curtis Wallace, David Rambo and Ted Heyck, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, April Webster, Paulo Andres, Benton Brown, Marcia Seligson and Tom Drucker, Wells Fargo, Willliam Goodell

WRITER’S CLUB ($500 - $999)Bobby Cheng, Ken Wayne, Bert V. Royal, Todd Milliner, Christine Andrew, James Musante, Jack Laufer, Craig Rogers, Scott Wilson, Ben Stillwell, Lucas Reiner, Loni Peristere or Zoic, Inc., Randi Norman, Je�ery and Susan Neustadt, Traute Gleeson, Stephen Davids, Lisa Cerone, Gary and Roneet Carmell, The Carabasi Family, Laura Bousman, Darren and Laura Bousman, Harry Abrams

ACTOR’S CLUB ($100 - $499)Michael Nguyen, Jim McClintock, Sharon Wheaton, Barbara Ligeti, Christopher Shields, Ellice Papp, Angel Parker and Eric Nenninger, John Krueger, Lisa Field, Kristy Edmunds, Eric Eichorn, Lee Thompson, Michael Terry, Stephen Smith, Sydney Shapiro, Ellery Sprayberry, Susie Finch, Charles Hapgood, A.B. Fischer, Robert Dixon, Brianna Brown, Joni and Miles Benickes, Marjorie Beale, Michael Herzlin, Lisa Siegel, John and Teresa Mayer, Robert Foster, Susana Epstein, Rita De Matteis, Pat and Helen Bauer, Cheri Steinkellner, Deborah & Stephen Wyle, Roland and Debbie Woerner, Khary & Stacy Payton, Richard Mendoza, Sharon Hallett, Donna Brunasso, Ellen Crawford and Mike Genovese, Debra Frank, Edward Fitz, David Fertik, April and Ron Dammann, Gratitude Collaborative, Jay Bevan, Christopher and Anadel Baughn Barbour, Amy Pietz, Kroger Grocery, Gedde Watanabe, Christine Wasserman, Lapidus Family, Miguel Valdes-Sueiras, Lee Thompson, David Sweeney/ Sweeney Entertainment, Troy Sattler, Robin Russin, Robert Rush, Irene Roseen, Michael Napoli/Performing Arts Live, Gilda Liardet, Robert and Kathleen Lesko, Roberta Keuter, Gregory Jbara, J Greenstein, Holly Harold, Julie Hebert, Je�rey and Doris Goldstein, Gabrielle Elyse, Lee Draper, Marc Dube, Christopher Fain, Frances Fisher, Ferne Cassel, Zach Callison, Markia Cahn, Deborah and Craig Bruenell, Erica Bream, John Bowab, Polly Borland, Maura C. Berkelhamer, Travis Baker, John Bauman, Jean Adelsman, William and Julia Anderson, Doris Mollin

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FAN CLUB ($25 - $99)Je�rey Wise, Lourdes Castillo, Bagrad Cholakian, Joel Laski, Stephen Mendillo, Ammon Noland, Richard Parks, David Posner, Ruth Simon, Je� Tabnick, Alyssa Weisberg, Arnon and Shoshana Kimeldorf, Denise Kautter, Karen Hyman, Doris Haines, Richard Green�eld, Irene Castaldo, Sean Chandler, James Freed, Mary Grant, Kristine Hurst, Kathryn Jackson, James Patrick Kelly, Sharon Lawrence, Sean Love, April McCa�ery, Mason Rourman, Gary Ruhlen, David Serby, Nanci Simari, Linda Stein, Melissa Strauss, Vicki Vodrey, Lenny Wolpe, Jaisey Bates, Sara Pratter, Mark Hensley, Carolyn Ammon, Barbara Bain, Jennifer Bosserman, Daniel Henning, Stephanie Arapian, Jamie Ashley, Diane Baker, Adam Belano�, Kathy Bosco, Leigh Buck, Geraldine Chambliss, Johnny Clark, Kurt Ela, Jeanne Garland, Anel Gorham, Jason Graae, Susan Grossman, Ira and Jo Ann Heiman, Claudia Retzl, David La Cava

SCAN HERE TO MAKE AN ONLINE DONATION RIGHT NOW! :)

... is named in honor of one of the world’s foremost acting teachers. After a long and successful career in films and on Broadway, including ten years with the

famous “Group Theatre”, Adler began teaching her acting technique, which is based on her personal work with Konstantin Stanislavski- a technique that nurtures the

imagination of the actor.

Stella’s teachings have been embraced by many of the world’s most notable actors, writers and directors, including Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Benicio Del Toro, Melanie Griffith, Susan Clark, Harvey Keitel, Richard Dreyfuss, Cybill Shepherd,

John Ritter, Peter Bogdanovich, Gary Ross, Mark Ruffalo, Holland Taylor, and Ken Martin, just to name a few.

The Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre Los Angeles was founded in 1985 by Stella Adler, Joanne Linville and Irene Gilbert. Call us or visit us online at

www.StellaAdler-LA.com.

BOARD OF DIRECTORSBrad FischerNicki FowlerKen Martin

Wendy OverendJohn Jack Rodgers

Mark RuffaloHillary Weaver

STAFFTheatre Manager: Ray Taylor-SmithTechnical Director: David Carreno

In-house Producer: Rochelle RossmanDirector of Student Affairs: Alex Aves

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