Leo Burnett NY Announce Off-Broadway Play

Creative Agency’s Cannes Lion winning platform inspires ‘8Million Protagonists’

Today, Leo Burnett New York announced plans to launch an Off-Broadway play in NYC called 8 Million Protagonists, building from the success of its creative platform NewYorkWritesItself.com – the platform recently won a 2012 Cannes Gold Lion in the inaugural year of the Branded Content & Entertainment category. And now, New York Writes Itself is heading to the big stage.

“Thanks to the technological age we are living in, those great stories that might have otherwise vanished on the streets can now make their way onto the real stage. The show is wild, beautiful, funny, honest, crazy, intimate and at times emotional. Don't miss it,” says LBNY Chief Creative Officer Jay Benjamin.

Premiering this November as a first of its kind Off-Broadway production, 8 Million Protagonists is a crowdsourced theatre play with its plot driven by the online submissions from everyday New Yorkers at NewYorkWritesItself.com. These submitted stories capture the real, uncensored streets of New York, and for the first time are being brought to life as a theatre production that reflects the reality entertainment of NYC streets - as the play's description states it is “An Off-Broadway play written by the streets of New York.”

“By bringing the real stories of New Yorkers to the stage, 8 Million Protagonists is a new model of theatre that New Yorkers have played a genuine part in helping to create - you can't make up the stuff that happens every day in NY so this will definitely be a different type of show,” says LBNY Executive Creative Directors Michael Canning and Kieran Antill.

8 Million Protagonists takes you on a journey that captures the true essence of New York City. The audience will meet a variety of bizarre and quirky characters that make New York so special. From the nervous newcomers to the hardened natives, New York is presented through the eyes of New Yorkers real stories.

"The Village Voice has dozens of writers, but the NewYorkWritesItself.com platform has allowed us to engage a writing staff of 8 million New Yorkers. To see these real stories and experiences of New Yorkers come to life in 8 Million Protagonists is something we're extremely excited about, and a first of its kind in New York theatre," says Village Voice Publisher Josh Fromson.

8 Million Protagonists premieres November 1 at 9th Space (150 1st Avenue) and will run with limited performances through November 10, 2012.

Tickets & more information at 8millionprotagonists.com

Location:

9th Space theatre

150 1st Avenue New York, NY 10009

New York, NY 10009

Located in downtown Manhattan, 1st Ave between E 9th St and E 10th St

Price:

$20.00 per seat

Show Nights:

Thursday, November 1, 2012, 8PM

Friday, November 2, 2012, 8PM