Casting Announced For Week One Of The Blank Theatre's 29th Annual YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

Casting has been announced for week one of The Blank Theatre's 29th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. Being presented as digital shorts, the first three of 12 winning plays by young playwrights aged 16-19 will be available to stream on Vimeo July 10-16.

The plays are Miss Diva Cup by Anya Jimenez (age 17, from Brooklyn, NY); Quarter by Kea Kamiya (age 18, from Bradenton, FL); and Tasmanian Devils by Zachary Garfinkle (age 17, from Woodbridge, CT).

Miss Diva Cup will feature (in alphabetical order) Ashley De La Rosa (Little Voice, Hamilton, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Voice), Sydney Veronica Lee, and Desiree Ross (Greenleaf, Falling Skies, The Resident). Two friends in the bathroom at school confront diva cups, liquid eye liner, and sexuality in a quick, casual, and honest portrayal of friendship, support, and acceptance. Directed by Laura Stribling.

Quarter will feature (in alphabetical order) Saylor Bell (Mom, The Big Show Show, Sydney to the Max, Station 19, New Girl, Criminal Minds) and Matt Ukena (Turn: Washington's Spies). One quarter Japanese, three quarters white. Which box to check on a college application? A young woman with a visitor has a choice to make. Who gets severed? Who matters less? And when will we stop asking? Directed by Angela Oh.

Tasmanian Devils will feature (in alphabetical order) Lilla Crawford (Into the Woods, The Who Was? Show, Blue Bloods, Sunny Day), Evan Michael (American Crime Story), Sloane Morgan Siegel (Dwight in Shining Armor, The Goldbergs, NCIS, Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street), Shian Tomlinson (New Amsterdam), and Sydney Viengluang (Z-Nation, Criminal Minds). A presentation on Tasmanian devils is interrupted by a school shooting. While students respond as they've been trained to, they continue discussing the parallels between humans and other mammals in a palpable exploration of desensitization or normalized trauma. Directed by Danielle Ozymandias. will be sent out the morning

For a complete schedule and to register for watch codes, go to www.theblank.com.