Walt McGough News

The Independent Reviewers of New England announced the winners of the 19th Annual IRNE Awards last night at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Celeste Oliva gives a riveting, tour de force performance as The Pilot in George Brant's GROUNDED at the Nora Theatre Company, under the astute direction of Artistic Director Lee Mikeska Gardner. George Brant's play examines the life of one woman, prohibited from flying due to an unexpected pregnancy, and the impact that her reassignment to the unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) "chair force" has on her psyche and sense of self.

Sideshow Theatre Company concludes its 2014-15 season with the sci-fi fable CHALK by ensemble member Walt McGough, directed by ensemble member Megan A. Smith, to be presented in a rolling world premiere with Boston's Fresh Ink Theatre. CHALK will play May 24 - June 28, 2015 at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 16, 2015 at www.victorygardens.org, by calling (773) 871-3000 or in person at the Victory Gardens Box Office. The press opening is Thursday, May 28 at 7:30 pm.

Lark Play Development Center has announced that seven plays have been chosen for its 21st Annual Playwrights' Week, which will take place September 22nd - 27th. This year's plays and playwrights are Parachute Men by Mando Alvarado, Lucky Ladies by Dominic Finocchiaro, INC. by Diana Grisanti, No More Sad Things by Hansol Jung, Girl of Glass by Jennifer A. Kokai, Chalk by Walt McGough, and The Tiger Among Us by Lauren Yee.

Swandive Theatre returns to the backyard this summer for the 5th annual Veggie Stock Theatre! The summer play-­reading series, taking place over four Saturdays (Aug 23rd, 30th & Sept 6th, 13th), invites patrons, friends, and neighbors into the Corcoran backyard for a potluck, a play reading, and a discussion. Read by a talented group of professional Minneapolis actors, each of the scripts tell stories that explore magic in the everyday, a hallmark of Swandive Theatre productions. Veggie Stock Theatre prompts conversations with members of Swandive's audience to find out first-­?hand what they enjoy and what they might want to see as a fully staged production sometime in the future.

Huntington Theatre Company announces its 2014-2016 cohort of Huntington Playwriting Fellows: Mia Chung, John J King, Sam Marks, and Nina Louise Morrison. This artistically diverse group of writers begin their two-year residency in September. Past Huntington Playwriting Fellows include Ronan Noone (The Atheist, Brendan, and the upcoming The Second Girl), Lydia R. Diamond (Smart People, Stick Fly), Melinda Lopez (Becoming Cuba, Sonia Flew), Kirsten Greenidge (Luck of the Irish), Ryan Landry (Ryan Landry's "M"), and Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro (Before I Leave You) to name a few.

PATTERN OF LIFE asks a lot of questions and challenges the audience to search for their own answers. In this play about life and death, McGough exposes a situation that most of us have not thought about very much and asks us to put ourselves in the other person's sandals. Director Bridget O'Leary and the cast of Nael Nacer and Lewis D. Wheeler focus on the human aspect of the story.

New Repertory Theatre announces PATTERN OF LIFE by Walt McGough, June 14 through June 29, 2014 at the Boston University Theatre, Lane-Comley Studio 210. PATTERN OF LIFE is co- presented with Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP) and is directed by Bridget Kathleen O'Leary.

New Repertory Theatre announces PATTERN OF LIFE by Walt McGough, June 14 through June 29, 2014 at the Boston University Theatre, Lane-Comley Studio 210. PATTERN OF LIFE is co- presented with Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP) and is directed by Bridget Kathleen O'Leary.

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to announce its full 2014/15 Season, beginning this fall with the Midwest premiere of Aaron Posner's comic spin on Chekhov's The Seagull, STUPID f**kING BIRD, directed by artistic director Jonathan L. Green. In March 2015, the season continues with Anne Carson's ANTIGONICK, a modern re-imagining of the Greek tragedy Antigone, also directed by Green and choreographed by Katie Spelman. The season concludes next spring with the rolling world premiere (with Fresh Ink Theatre in Boston) of CHALK, a sci-fi fable by ensemble member Walt McGough, directed by ensemble member Megan A. Smith. All three productions will be presented at Chicago's Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., where Sideshow continues its multi-year residency. For additional information and updates, visit www.sideshowtheatre.org.

Due to critical and popular acclaim, SpeakEasy Stage Company is adding one additional week of performances to its New England premiere production of THE WHALE by Samuel D. Hunter.

New Repertory Theatre announces NEXT VOICES: NEW PLAY READINGS, March 24, April 9, & April 21, 2014. Featuring the work of Danny Bryck, Deirdre Girard, and Evan Sanderson. Performed in the Black Box Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, in Watertown, MA. All readings are free and open to the public; reservations are suggested by contacting tickets@newrep.org.

New Repertory Theatre announces the inaugural NEXT REP FESTIVAL: five plays and three staged readings in two Black Box Theaters, March through June, 2014, co-curated by Jim Petosa and Elaine Vaan Hogue.

From today, March 7 through April 5, 2014, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England premiere of the acclaimed Off-Broadway drama THE WHALE by Samuel D. Hunter.

The Nominating Committee of the Independent Reviewers of New England has just announced nominees for the 2014 IRNE Awards. The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards, founded by Beverly Creasey of the Journal Newspapers and Larry Stark of TheaterMirror in 1997, recognize the extraordinary wealth of talent in the Boston theatre community.

From March 7 through April 5, 2014, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England premiere of the acclaimed Off-Broadway drama THE WHALE by Samuel D. Hunter.

New Repertory Theatre announces the inaugural NEXT REP FESTIVAL: five plays and three staged readings in two Black Box Theaters, March through June, 2014, co-curated by Jim Petosa and Elaine Vaan Hogue.

Casting has been announced for The 3rd Annual Boston One-Minute Play Festival, onstage at Boston Playwrights' Theatre today, Jan. 4-6.

Casting has been announced for The 3rd Annual Boston One-Minute Play Festival, onstage at Boston Playwrights' Theatre Jan. 4-6.

The One-Minute Play Festival and Boston Playwrights' Theatre (Kate Snodgrass, Artistic Director) continue their dynamic partnership with the The 3rd Annual Boston One-Minute Play Festival, with part of the proceeds to benefit BPT's artist residency programming.