Hugh Dancy, Steve Guttenberg, Keala Settle and More Star in The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues One-Year Anniversary Event

The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues will mark their one-year anniversary with a series of unforgettable monologues on IGTV @24hourplays and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. Twenty-four actors have been paired with twenty-four writers, who have crafted unique pieces especially for their actors. From 6 PM until 10 PM, new monologues will be published every 15 minutes.

The twenty-four actors performing the series of Viral Monologues will include: Ashlie Atkinson, Anna Baryshnikov, Keith Arthur Bolden, Justin Chu Cary, Raúl Castillo, Charly Clive, Hugh Dancy, Paul Fitzgerald, Steve Guttenberg, Amy Hargreaves, Nina Hellman & Jeremy Shamos, Miles G. Jackson, Terry Kinney, Melia Kreling, Allie Levitan, Freddy Miyares, Joy Osmanski, Larry Owens, Liza Jessie Peterson, Emma Ramos, Keala Settle, Cory Michael Smith and Eunice Wong.

Rachel Axler, Mario Correa, Katie Do, Alex Edelman, Daniel Goldfarb, Jess Honovich, Jesse Jae Hoon, Lily Houghton, Julia Jordan, Hansol Jung, Jon Kern, Anchuli Felicia King, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, David Lindsay-Abaire and Tom Kitt, Kenneth Lonergan, Tony Meneses, Cat Miller, Dan O'Brien, Lina Patel, christopher oscar peña, Monique A. Robinson, Jonathan Marc Sherman and Christiane Swenson will write the monologues.

"In a year of incredible hardship, it's been an honor to have so many artists gather with us to make new things. Artists have always sustained The 24 Hour Plays, but never more than this year. They held us up, week after week, coming together to explore and celebrate the lives we lead together," said artistic director Mark Armstrong. "The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues may have been born out of necessity during this socially-distanced time, but now they've become a flagship event, connecting our mission to thousands of new audience members every round. The most meaningful part for me has been all the notes from artists saying that we helped keep their creativity alive. As long as artists continue to find our unique way of working meaningful, we'll be here to bring them together."

The 24 Hour Plays has always made work about the most difficult moments in our lives, from 9/11 to Hurricane Sandy to the 2016 election, and the coronavirus pandemic is no different. In 2020, when stay-at-home orders were first issued and theatres shut down across the country, The 24 Hour Plays team was determined to find a way to continue their tradition of making time-limited theatre without physically bringing people together - and thus, The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues were born.

The finest actors and writers from the American arts and entertainment industry have come together to create over 350 original pieces for the weekly Viral Monologues series since its debut on March 17, 2020. Each week, pairs of writers and actors collaborate to write, rehearse, perform and produce new works in just 24 hours. In addition to using their mission-based theatermaking approach in a new way, The 24 Hour Plays have used the Viral Monologues to celebrate and support a host of deserving nonprofit organizations, including their own efforts to develop the young artists who will shape the future of the theater.

The incredible lineup of luminaries who have written and performed for the Viral Monologues includes Wayne Brady, Nicholas Braun, Matthew Broderick, David Cross, Hugh Dancy, Andre De Shields, Daveed Diggs, Dagmara Domínczyk, Rachel Dratch, Minnie Driver, Jesse Eisenberg, Raul Esparza, Marcia Gay Harden, Santino Fontana, Tavi Gevinson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, William Jackson Harper, Daniel Dae Kim, Richard Kind, Aja Naomi King, David Lindsay-Abaire, Kenneth Lonergan, Vella Lovell, Zosia Mamet, Alex Moffat, Cynthia Nixon, Lynn Nottage, Brittany O'Grady, Larry Owens, Ashley Park, Pedro Pascal, David Hyde Pierce, Danny Pudi, AnnaSophia Robb, Andre Royo, Tony Shalhoub, Michael Shannon, Cobie Smulders, Patrick Wilson, Rita Wilson and many more.

New editions of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues stream on select Tuesday nights on IGTV @24hourplays, on The 24 Hour Plays' Facebook and YouTube channels, and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. The monologues are 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.