The Blank Theatre & Concord Theatricals to Publish Selection of 30th Annual Young Playwrights Festival Plays

The Blank Theatre in Hollywood has announced it will partner with Concord Theatricals to produce a printed volume of a selection of winning plays representative of the 30th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. The partnership is a major milestone for The Blank and YPF and a huge part of the festival's growth and expansion. The Blank's Young Playwrights Festival is a nationwide competition that produces the work of 12 young writers each year. Since 1992, the festival has produced 357 plays by playwrights 19 and younger from 39 states.

The plays to be published will be selected and announced after the festival concludes. Also, all winners in the 30th annual festival along with semi-finalists will be awarded a scholarship to The Blank's Young Playwrights Academy, which will include an eight-week session led by Blank Board member and teacher Beth Bigler, set for the fall of 2022 or spring of 2023 (exact dates to be announced). The semi-finalist's submissions are being reviewed to assess appropriate course placement.

"As The Blank Theatre celebrates 30 years of its YPF, Concord Theatricals couldn't be more excited to partner with them," remarked Abbie Van Nostrand, Senior VP of Client Relations and Community Engagement. "Through our Samuel French imprint, we are delighted to publish a collection representative of this year's finalists: young writers with important voices, whom we are proud to elevate."

Concord Theatricals is the world's most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark, and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, plus dozens of new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Ken Ludwig, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder, and August Wilson. We are the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording, and first-class production. concordtheatricals.com 

Through the years, many of the YPF winning plays have been nominated for LA theatre awards, including an Ovation Award for Best Writing - World Premiere, and an LA Weekly Award for Best One-Act Playwriting. Many alumni playwrights are populating the nation's theatres and sound stages with their work. Many YPF winners have gone on to successful writing careers on Broadway, are filling regional stages, and have created network TV shows. Alumnus Stephen Karam has been a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and is a Tony Award-winner for Best Play of the 2016 Broadway season for The Humans. Alumnus Lauren Yee is a 2019 Doris Duke Artist, and she is the second most produced playwright in the 2019-2020 season according to American Theater Magazine (with her plays The Great Leap, King of the Yees, and Cambodian Rock Band).

For more information, visit www.theblank.com and www.concordtheatricals.com.

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