- By Ken Werther
Beginning on August 8, The Blank Theatre’s 28th Annual Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) will be presenting 13 plays by playwrights aged 15–19 from nine different states. The plays will be presented as digital shorts on Vimeo by professional actors and directors. Following the premieres, the content will migrate to The Blank’s 3rd Stage on Patreon (where the plays, along with a treasure trove of content from throughout The Blank’s history, are available for a nominal fee).
This year’s YPF plays will be produced under SAG/AFTRA’s Short Project Agreement. All work will be performed and recorded remotely, with all cast and crew working safely from home (these are not Zoom readings). The plays are divided up into four weekly offerings of three plays each, with a first-time additional fifth week offering — a new feature called YPF Plus (YPF+). The play Parent, Legal Guardian, Angel, Other, written by 17-year-old Zander Pryor from Dallas, Texas, is nearly ready for professional production and will bridge The Blank’s YPF and Living Room Series programs.
Producing the festival like this is made possible by the technology available through Zoom, OBS Studio, VB Audio, Skype, and more. These online platforms and downloadable software packages have made theatre from home a viable option (in new ways, of course). Undeterred by the coronavirus pandemic, The Blank is harnessing these new technologies to keep YPF alive and continue to develop the Future of Theatre.
For more details, click here.
