Andy Karl, Orfeh, Jessica Hecht, Rachel Dratch and More Join THE 24 HOUR PLAYS: VIRAL MONOLOGUES

The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues will bring the humor tonight with a special series of comedic monologues to benefit Gilda's Club New York City! A top-notch team of writers and actors will collaborate from afar to write, rehearse, perform and produce 18 all-new pieces in just 24 hours. Beginning at 6 PM ET, the monologues will be published, one every 15 minutes; they will be available on IGTV @24hourplays, on The 24 Hour Plays' Facebook and YouTube channels, and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/.

This week's all star cast includes Frankie J. Alvarez, Reed Birney, Tracee Chimo Pallero, Rachel Dratch, Jo Firestone, Tim Guinee, Jessica Hecht, Andy Karl & Orfeh, Eve Lindley, Elizabeth Marvel, Larry Owens, Artemis Pebdani, Emma Ramos, Noah Robbins, Jon Rudnitsky, Anna Suzuki, Jordan Temple, and Corin Wells. They will perform pieces written by Rachel Axler & Matt Schatz, Jaclyn Backhaus, Douglas Carter Beane, Mario Correa, Emmylou Diaz, Kristoffer Diaz, Alex Edelman, Jennifer Kim, Riane Konc, David Lindsay-Abaire, Wendy MacLeod, Talene Monahon, Monique Moses, Dan O'Brien, Erica Saleh, Alexis Scheer, Kate Willett, and Steve Yockey.

This week's monologues will support Gilda's Club of New York City, a welcoming community of support for cancer patients and their families. Founded in memory of original Saturday Night Live cast member Gilda Radner, who passed away from ovarian cancer, Gilda's Club ensures that no one has to face cancer alone through support groups, educational lectures, healthy lifestyle workshops and social activities.

"We are grateful for this partnership with The 24 Hour Plays to bring comedy and laughter in the spirit of Gilda Radner to benefit our cancer patients and their families through our free cancer support program," said Lily Safani, CEO of Gilda's Club.

Last night at 6 PM, actors shared brief orientation-style videos to allow the writers to get to know them better. By 7 PM, writers and actors were paired, and writers got to work on crafting new monologues especially for their assigned actors. Actors received their monologues this morning at 10 AM, are filming their performances throughout the day, and at 6 PM their videos begin to be released to the world, completing the 24-hour cycle. The monologues will be available to view on IGTV and online for four days after their initial airing courtesy of an agreement with Theatre Authority, a nonprofit organization managed by Actors' Equity.

The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues are produced by Coleman Ray Clark and Madelyn Paquette. The artistic director of The 24 Hour Plays is Mark Armstrong.

The 24 Hour Plays are known for their work on Broadway, off-Broadway and around the world. Since 1995, their events have brought together extraordinary artists to create time-limited theater. Past participants include Jennifer Aniston, Laverne Cox, Billy Crudup, David Cross, Rosario Dawson, Daveed Diggs, Peter Dinklage, Rachel Dratch, Jesse Eisenberg, Edie Falco, America Ferrera, Greta Gerwig, Oscar Isaac, John Krasinski, Anthony Mackie, Julianne Moore, Tracy Morgan, Cynthia Nixon, Anna Paquin, Rosie Perez, Phylicia Rashad, Chris Rock, Sam Rockwell, Liev Schreiber, Amanda Seyfried, Michael Shannon, Gabourey Sidibe, Sarah Silverman, Marisa Tomei, Naomi Watts and more!

More information for those who would like to support The 24 Hour Plays or attend a live performance in the future is available at https://24hourplays.com.