THE 24 HOUR PLAYS: VIRAL MONOLOGUES Returns With Ana Villafaňe, Ato Blankson-Wood, and More!

The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues returns in 2021 for another weekly series on IGTV @24hourplays and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/.

Thirteen actors have been paired with thirteen writers, who have crafted unique pieces especially for their actors. From 6 PM until 10 PM, new monologues will be published every 15 minutes.

Performers joining the fold this week include Ato Blankson-Wood, Juliana Canfield, Gabriel Ebert, Marcia Gay Harden, Princess Jacob, Sakina Jaffrey, VonDexter Montegut II, Jason O'Connell, David Hull, Sarah Steele, Ana Villafañe, Kate Willett and Alison Wright.

Alex Edelman, Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Kate Hamill, J. Holtham, Jesse Jae Hoon, Laura Jacqmin, David Lindsay-Abaire, Monique Moses, Brett Neveu, Ife Olujobi, Anya Richkind, Harrison David Rivers, and Sheri Wilner will write the monologues.

"Nearly a year ago, we took a leap into the then-new world of socially distanced entertainment, with The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues. Since then, over 350 new theater pieces have been viewed over a million times around the world," said artistic director Mark Armstrong. "Now, we have an opportunity -as our founding generation did with The 24 Hour Plays itself in 1995 - to turn a singular moment of artists coming together into an enduring institution. Through this year, we'll be continuing to bring artists from theater, film and TV together through the Viral Monologues, while growing our flagship programs and planning our return to live theater when it's safe to do so."

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.

To post a comment, you must register and login.