Katie Holmes, AnnaSophia Robb, Hugh Dancy and More Join Latest Round Of THE 24 HOUR PLAYS: VIRAL MONOLOGUES

Tonight, The 24 Hour Plays brings together one of its brightest groups of stars yet for a new edition of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues, available on IGTV @24hourplays, on The 24 Hour Plays' Facebook and YouTube channels, and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. Together, this top-notch group of writers and actors will write, rehearse, perform and produce fourteen new pieces in just 24 hours, all in support of The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals. Beginning at 6 PM ET, the new monologues will be published, one every 15 minutes.

This week's incredible cast includes Ashlie Atkinson, Sarayu Blue, Juliana Canfield, Hugh Dancy, Joel Marsh Garland, Josh Hamilton, Amy Hargreaves, Katie Holmes, Princess Jacob, christopher oscar peña, Michael Potts, AnnaSophia Robb, John Clarence Stewart II, and Michael Patrick Thornton. They will be joined by a stellar group of writers, including Mario Correa, Alex Edelman, Jesse Eisenberg, Shara Feit, Amina Henry, Gethsemane Herron, Joy Kecken, Jon Kern, Lisa Lewis, Kenneth Lonergan, Grace McLeod, Carlos Murillo, Jonathan Payne, and Sharyn Rothstein.

Proceeds from this round support The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, a rigorous professional experience for artists 25 and under in partnership with the New School for Drama. Over the course of a week, the 2020 Nationals 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 extraordinary group of young artists will also produce their own special edition of the Viral Monologues on August 4th.

"The 24 Hour Plays have raised money for partner charities around the world," said Mark Armstrong,

artistic director of The 24 Hour Plays. "Now, as we face an uncertain future, we need to raise significant funds to support our own programs, including our flagship intensive for young artists The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, which has been reconceived for the virtual space next month. We're hoping audiences who've enjoyed the Viral Monologues for 16 weeks now will come together to support this free opportunity for 43 dynamic young artists."

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.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos