A new installment of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues debuts May 18, featuring AAPI Broadway alums Deborah S. Craig, Raymond Lee, Manu Narayan, and more. The evening supports Asian Americans Advancing Justice with pieces curated by Victor Malana Maog and Sung Rno.
The videos air beginning at 6 PM ET on IGTV, Facebook, YouTube, and 24HourPlays.org, with new performances released every 15 minutes.
In addition to the trio above, the lineup features Eugene Young, Francesca McKenzie, Jackie Chung, Ken Leung, Louis Ozawa, Maureen Sebastian, Pun Bandhu, Sarah Lo, Stephen Park, Aaron Yoo, and Hudson Yang.
Alvin Eng, Anna Ouyang Moench, A. Rey Pamatmat, Carla Ching, Dipika Guha, Dustin H. Chinn, Ins Choi, Keiko Green, Madhuri Shekar, Melisa Tien, Stefani Kuo 郭佳怡, Vichet Chum and Sung Rno serve as writers for the latest edition.
“We jumped at the opportunity to spotlight and support AAJC with the help of some very talented and generous artists,” said Maog and Rno. “This is only a small sampling of what communities, organizations, and allies can do when the going gets—well—rough. Pull together, roll up our collective sleeves, and try to build a better, safer, more equitable world for all of us. At this critical time, it’s important that the Asian American community is not just seen, but heard, on our own terms. We’ve learned that words do matter; but as much as they can tear down, words can also lift up, change minds and hearts. We are thrilled to be working with The 24 Hours Plays to celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and send the AAJC some much deserved love, attention, and resources. Like AAJC’s mission, we want to give voice to the strength, resilience and beautiful, even messy, diversity of our community.”
AAJC’s mission focuses on advancing civil and human rights for Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Click here to learn more and donate.
The Viral Monologues process began May 17 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.
Since March 2020, The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues have generated over 400 new free-to-view theatre pieces. Actors and writers from across the American arts and entertainment industry have come together to write, rehearse, perform and produce new works in just 24 hours. The lineup of stars who have written and performed works includes Wayne Brady, Matthew Broderick, Hugh Dancy, André De Shields, Daveed Diggs, Jesse Eisenberg, Raúl Esparza, Marcia Gay Harden, Santino Fontana, Tavi Gevinson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Kenneth Lonergan, Cynthia Nixon, Lynn Nottage, Larry Owens, Ashley Park, David Hyde Pierce, Tony Shalhoub, Michael Shannon, Cobie Smulders, and Patrick Wilson.
