An annual benefit event produced by the 24 Hour Company and Freestyle Picture Company for Urban Arts Partnership, the 2013 company members included actors Sasha Alexander, Jason Biggs, Jamie Chung, David Cross, Tim Daly, Natalie Dormer, Rachel Dratch, Griffin Dunne, Carmen Ejogo, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Gina Gershon, Karen Gillan, Bryan Greenberg, Hill Harper, Taran Killam, Zachary Levi, Josh Lucas, Anthony Mackie, James McAvoy, Diane Neal, Rosie Perez, Jay Pharoah, Maggie Q, Krysta Rodriguez, Ben Shenkman, Jordin Sparks, Fisher Stevens, Mickey Sumner, Tracie Thoms and Jennifer Westfeldt.
Directors included Ari Edelson, Jessica Bauman, Andy Fickman, Patricia McCregor, Kathy Najimy and Thomas Kail, and writers include Rachel Axler, David Lindsay-Abaire, Lynn Nottage, Theresa Rebeck and Jonathan Marc Sherman.
A sixth participating writer was announced Oct. 21 as the winner of The 4th Annual Montblanc Young Writers Program. The winning playwright, Devin Mojica, created one of the six short pieces for The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway with Craig "muMs" Grant as a mentoring playwright.
Proceeds from the evening's performance support Urban Arts Partnership, NYC's largest arts educational organization, in its efforts to close the achievement gap in the city's underserved public schools. "Urban Arts Partnership is proud our students have the opportunity to work with such incredible talent," said Philip Courtney, CEO of Urban Arts Partnership, in an earlier statement. "Success in The 24 Hour Plays requires persistence, ingenuity, and critical thinking - qualities that are developed when students have arts education in their lives. Young people attending underserved New York City public schools get the short end of the stick when it comes to the arts, and thanks to our supporters we are giving them a fighting chance."
For the 2013 production, hair styling was provided by ECRU New York and New York Streets with makeup provided by Kevin Aucoin. The Roots frontman, Questlove DJ'd at the sponsor and cast after-party.
