Directed by Daniel Henning, the dark comedy will officially open Sept. 18 and run through Oct. 26.

The cast features Mae Whitman ("Arrested Development") as Diwata, Michael Welch ("Joan of Arcadia") as Howie, Aaron Himelstein (Dickie & Babe: The Truth About Leopold & Loeb) as Soloman and Dale Dickey ("My Name Is Earl").

Speech & Debate, press notes state, concerns "three teenage misfits in Salem, Oregon [who] form their school's first speech and debate team after discovering they are all linked by a sex scandal that's rocked their town. Secrets become currency, blogs are belted and 'bathing suit areas' exposed in this dark comedy with music that explores the complex communications of young people caught in the borderland between late adolescence and adulthood."

Speech & Debate premiered last fall at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Roundabout Underground.

Show times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. Tickets, priced $22-$28, may be purchased by visiting www.TheBlank.com or by calling (323) 661-9827. The Blank's 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (on Theatre Row, between Highland and Vine at Wilcox) in Hollywood, CA.