Stars from 'Twilight,' 'Glee,' et al. Announced for BTC Young Playwrights Festival, 6/3-27

'Twilight' Saga star Michael Welch, 'Glee' star Heather Morris, Jennifer Stone ('Wizards of Waverly Place', 'Harriet the Spy'), Constance Zimmer ('Entourage'), Lenny Jacobson & Mackenzie Aladjem from Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie,' Michael J. Willett from 'United States of Tara,' Scott Lowell ('Queer as Folk'), Jenna Leigh Green (Broadway's WICKED, 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch') and Larry Poindexter from MTV's upcoming series 'The Hard Times of RJ Berger' will all be starring in The Blank Theatre Company's Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival. Twelve winning plays by teenaged playwrights, aged 14 -19 from six different states, will be presented by professional actors and directors in the month-long Festival at The Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood beginning June 3, 2010.

Among the 75 actors who will appear in this year's Festival, week one (June 3-6) will feature: Larry Poindexter, along with Tony Todd ('Transformers 2,' '24') and Jessy Schram (TNT's new Spielberg series). Week two (June 10-13) will feature: Jennifer Stone, Constance Zimmer, Lenny Jacobson, Michael J. Willett, Scott Lowell, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh. Week three (June 17-20) will feature: Heather Morris, Michael Welch, Jenna Leigh Green. Week four (June 24-27) will feature: Elaine Hendrix ('The Parent Trap'), Mackenzie Aladjem, and Todd Grinnell ('Desperate Housewives', 'Parks and Recreation').

Directors and mentors for this year's Fest include: Three-time Emmy Award winner Barbara Bain, Tony Award nominee Jane Lanier, writer David Rambo ('CSI,' 'The Lady with All the Answers'), Adam Belanoff (TNT's 'The Closer'), 2010 Outer Critics Circle Award nominee Mark Saltzman (TIN PAN ALLEY RAG, SETUP & PUNCH), Daniel Henning (Blank's Founding Artistic Director), Barry Primus, Jon Shear, Jonathan Tolins and Austin Winsberg.

Winning plays were chosen by a panel of theatre professionals from plays submitted by teenagers from across the nation. Winning playwrights are next assigned a mentor and then a professional director who will help them hone their scripts for four public performances with professional Hollywood actors. In the past seventeen years, The Blank has produced 196 plays by teenaged playwrights. Eleven of those plays or playwrights have gone on to be presented on The Blank's Mainstage including SPEECH AND DEBATE by Stephen Karam, a three-time winner in The Blank's YPF. Additionally, many of the plays have been nominated for LA theatre awards including: an Ovation Award for "Best Writing-World Premiere," LA Weekly Award "Best One Act Playwrighting."

The Blank Theatre Company's 18th Annual Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival plays Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm, June 3 through June 27, 2010 at The Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood 90028. Program includes 3 plays each week. Tickets are $15. Festival Passes-1 ticket each week- are $50. Both may be purchased in advance by calling (323) 661-9827. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, please visit TheBlank.com.

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