Kenneth Lonergan, Saycon Sengbloh, Jon Rua, and More Join THE 24 HOUR PLAYS: VIRAL MONOLOGUES

A star-studded new edition of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues in support of Release Aging People In Prison (RAPP) streams tonight on IGTV @24hourplays and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. Eleven pairs of the theatre's top writers and actors will work together to write, rehearse, perform and produce new pieces in just 24 hours. Beginning at 6 PM ET, the new monologues will be published, one every 15 minutes.

The actors joining the fold this week are Anna Baryshnikov, Jonathan Burke, Mia Ellis, Ato Essandoh, Marcia Gay Harden, Mark Ivanir, Zosia Mamet, Jamie Neumann, Jon Rua, Saycon Sengbloh and Jeorge Bennett Watson. They will perform original pieces by Zakiyyah Alexander, Jessica Goldberg, David Lindsay-Abaire, Kenneth Lonergan, Sam Marks, Cat Miller, Lina Patel, Jonathan Payne, Christopher Oscar Peña, Liza Jessie Peterson, and Steve Yockey.

This week's cohort of artists are coming together for this time-limited theatre experience to benefit Release Aging People In Prison (RAPP), which works to end mass incarceration and promote racial justice via the release from prison of older and aging people and those serving longer and life sentences. About 20% of the prison population in New York State is over the age of 50, reflecting a national crisis in the prison system and the extension of a culture of revenge and punishment into all areas of our society. More information is available at rappcampaign.com.

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 including 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