A Strange Loop co-stars Larry Owens and L Morgan Lee and stage favorite Lea DeLaria performed at the June 30 Pride edition of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues. In addition, nearly all of the playwrights selected for Pride Plays developmental readings this month penned the original pieces.
Monologues aired beginning at 6 PM ET on IGTV and YouTube, with new ones released every 15 minutes. All videos are available to view through July 4, including Owens showing off his pipes in Holding Out by Preston Max Allen above.
Proceeds from this round support Pride Plays, whose aim is to expand representation of the entire LGBTQIA+ theatrical community. "During the month of June, our Pride Plays LGBTQIA+ playwrights developed plays via virtual workshops and readings," said Pride Plays festival producer Michael Urie. "All of those plays were written before the world changed, however, so I cannot wait to see what their brilliant minds are up to tonight."
Writers for this week's monologues were Pride Plays' Allen, Ted Malawer, Omar Hantash, Sophie Sagan-Gutherz, Azure Osborne-Lee, Hayley St. James, Rodney Hicks, Audrey Lang, Carmen Lobue, and Garrett David Kim, along with Lovell Holder and Roger Q Mason.
Joining the trio of performers were Philippe Bowgen, Yin Chang, Travis Coles, Drew Droege, Lola Kelly, Jordan Kisner, Josh Rivas, and Ianne Fields Stewart.
The process began June 29 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 the next morning and filmed their performances throughout the day. The 24-hour cycle was complete with the launch of the first video at 6 PM ET.
Another recent edition of Viral Monologues was titled “Fists Up/Underlying Conditions,” to raise money for Communities United For Police Reform. A May 12 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 Daveed Diggs, John Gallagher, Jr., Sarah Steele, and more joining in.
Watch Raúl Esparza, J. Smith-Cameron, More, in Latest Edition of The 24-Hour Plays: Viral Monologues
Coleman Ray Clark and Madelyn Paquette serve as producers for the series, with Mark Armstrong as artistic director.
