The 24 Hour Plays' 2020 Virtual Nationals Company Kicks Off Their Intensive With An All-New Evening Of Viral Monologues

Tonight, the 2020 company of The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals will begin their weeklong intensive with their very own edition of the Viral Monologues, available on IGTV @24hourplays, on The 24 Hour Plays' Facebook and YouTube channels, and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. Together, the young artists chosen for this rigorous professional experience will write, rehearse, perform and produce new pieces in just 24 hours, all to fundraise so that other deserving creatives will get to experience Nationals in the future. Beginning at 6 PM ET, the new monologues will be published, one every 15 minutes.

As previously announced, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals 2020 company includes actors Sammy Bluth, Kevin Brown, Jr., Malik Childs, Nicole Delsack, Ekemini Ekpo, Sarina Freda, Angela LaRose, Bailey Lee, Nicholas Leung, Amber Li, Sami Ma, Ariana Mahallati, Julian Mazzola, Abby Melick, Alex Michell, Melody Munitz, Lisa Naso, Benny Salerno, Zoë Sher, Maya Shoham, Jessica Natalie Smith, Portland Thomas, Keith Weiss and Ema Zivkovic; directors Britt Berke, James Bruenger, Miranda Cornell, Elizabeth Couser, Ryan Dobrin and Margaret Lee; playwrights Mildred Bodden, Kiana English, Claire Herzog, Marissa Joyce Stamps, Isabella Waldron and Anna Zabel; and producers Narissa Agustin, Ryan Duncan-Ayala, Olivia Facini, Kelsi Parsons, Chloe Brevik Rich and Dylan Tashjian, and composer Austin Pogrob. A who's who of Nationals alumni will serve as guest writers for this special project, including Natyna Bean, Bekah Brunstetter, Juli del Prete, Maxine Dillon, Shara Feit, Laura Jacqmin, Jane Lindstrom, Charlie O'Leary, A.K. Payne, Natalie Rich, Marley Smith, and Piper Werle.

The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, in partnership with the New School for Drama, is a rigorous professional experience for artists 25 and under. Over the course of a week, the company will engage in intensive workshops, panel discussions with industry game-changers, and finally, their own production of The 24 Hour Plays on Tuesday, August 11th that will be written, rehearsed and performed online in 24 hours! This week's edition of the monologues will help financially support the Nationals program, providing more opportunities for young artists to meet their peers and build relationships that will serve them throughout their careers.

"Through our programs, The 24 Hour Plays bring together creative communities around the world for a transformative experience," said Mark Armstrong, artistic director for The 24 Hour Plays, "and today marks the first time that two of those programs join forces. This month, we've gathered 43 exciting theatermakers for The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, our free professional intensive for young artists and we're kicking off our time together by featuring them in The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues tonight. The Nationals have been a meaningful experience for young artists who've launched important careers and tonight some of those writer alums have rejoined us as guests to create pieces for our Nationals actors. The Nationals are my favorite thing we do all year - because there's nothing like hearing a new voice for the first time."

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.

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