Austin Film Festival Playwriting Award-Winner WAKE THE BODY Set For The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series

The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series is set to present recent Austin Film Festival Playwriting Award-winner Wake the Body by Matt Ackels on Monday, December 7, at 8pm. Directed by Christopher James Raymond, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Wes McGee, David Meyers, and Adam J. Smith.

In Wake the Body, three brothers battle over inheritance during their father's funeral vigil. The play's central tension rises between Owen Cowper, who has lived his whole life shackled to this dying Texas town, and his older brother Ford, who left years ago for a rambling existence. To secure his freedom, Owen will have to get through his brothers, who harbor agendas of their own. The ensuing clash unearths a surprising relative, a buried secret, and a loss of faith. As the three siblings battle, they become increasingly aware of a fourth person in the room - the body lying in the corner.

Matt Ackels is a Los Angeles-based television writer and playwright. He is currently writing the first season of his debut drama series for Amazon and recently sold a second series to Skydance Studios. Other screen credits include work on two seasons of Netflix's Trolls and an upcoming feature written for Bobby Goldstein Productions. His stage credits include seven produced plays - four at Tony Award-winning theatres - which have been touring continuously since 2012. His newest play is being developed through a commission from The Alley Theatre in Houston. His work has received awards from the Planet Earth Arts Foundation, the BlueCat Screenplay Competition, PlayGround-LA, and others. His short fiction has appeared in The Athenaeum, The Southern California Review, and Nix Hydra.

Now in its 30th year, the Living Room Series is a new play development program that embodies The Blank's commitment to developing new work by diverse voices from both established and emerging writers. Submissions by women, playwrights of color, and other under-represented voices are strongly encouraged. The Blank is firmly committed to supporting gender parity and diversity. In non-covid times, the Living Room Series (LRS) takes place on Monday evenings at the 2nd Stage Theatre in Hollywood between Labor Day and Memorial Day. LRS offers a week-long rehearsal process for the playwright, director, and actors to explore and refine the play before presenting it to an audience. The performances are minimally staged, with actors carrying scripts, and are a wonderful opportunity for the playwright to get a sense of the play's full potential.

Wake the Body will be presented digitally. Suggested donation is $15 and a watch code will be provided upon registration online at theblank.com/livingroomseries.