LOS ANGELES -- The Blank Theatre Company, which recently purchased the 2nd Stage Theatre in Hollywood, has announced its sixth annual Young Playwrights Festival.
Playwrights must be age 19 or under to qualify by the Apr. 6 closing date.
Original plays can be any length and can cover any subject.
Winning plays will be performed over two nights in public workshop productions by theatre professionals in June. Past festivals have featured such actors as Noah Wyle, Edward Asner and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Each winning playwright will be assigned a professional writer as mentor to help prepare the work for performance; some past winning plays have also ended up as full-scale, mainstage productions. Applicants should include a cover sheet with play title, playwright's name and date of birth, school (if applicable), home address and phone number.
The Blank Theatre Company has been in residence at the 2nd Stage since April, 1996. The theatre was the former home of the Actor's Gang before it moved from Theatre Row on Santa Monica Blvd. to another location.
The first show BTC is producing as owners of 2nd Stage is the West Coast premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's musical Hello Again, based on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde.
BTC's head office is at 1301 Lucille Ave., L.A., CA. 90026. For more information, call (213) 662-7734.
-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent
