A Strange Loop star Larry Owens, Tony-nominated Broadway couple Andy Karl and Orfeh, Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch, and more stage and screen favorites appear in a comedy edition of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues October 20. Jaclyn Backhaus and Douglas Carter Beane are among the writers tapped to create new works.
The videos air beginning at 6 PM ET on IGTV and YouTube, with new ones released every 15 minutes. The monologues will be available to view on IGTV and online through October 24. While free to watch, donations are encouraged to benefit Gilda’s Club of New York City, a support community for cancer patients and their families that was founded in memory of original SNL cast member Gilda Radner.
Also set to perform are Frankie J. Alvarez, Reed Birney, Tracee Chimo Pallero, Jo Firestone, Tim Guinee, Jessica Hecht, Eve Lindley, Elizabeth Marvel, Artemis Pebdani, Emma Ramos, Noah Robbins, Jon Rudnitsky, Anna Suzuki, Jordan Temple, and Corin Wells.
Rounding out the team of writers are Rachel Axler and Matt Schatz, Mario Correa, Emmylou Diaz, Kristoffer Diaz, Alex Edelman, Jennifer Kim, Riane Konc, David Lindsay-Abaire, Wendy MacLeod, Talene Monahon, Monique Moses, Dan O’Brien, Erica Saleh, Alexis Scheer, Kate Willett, and Steve Yockey.
The process began October 19 at 6 PM, when actors shared orientation-style videos to allow the writers to get to know them better. By 7 PM, writers and actors were paired, and writers went to work crafting original pieces. Actors received their monologues this morning and will continue to film their performances throughout the day. The 24-hour cycle is completed with the launch of the first video at 6 PM.
Past editions of Viral Monologues have included “Fists Up/Underlying Conditions,” which raised money for Communities United For Police Reform. A collaboration on the intersection of COVID-19 and incarceration featured Rebecca Naomi Jones and André De Shields, while another challenged performers to present a musical monologue, with Kate Rockwell, Noah Galvin, L Morgan Lee, and more joining in.
The series is produced by Coleman Ray Clark and Madelyn Paquette with Mark Armstrong as The 24 Hour Plays' artistic director.
