Maura Halloran to Return to New Conservatory Theatre Center, 11/14-30

New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the return of Maura Halloran's award-winning solo play, Pussy, a one-woman show about a lesbian couple, their overly curious landlady and one highly opinionated cat.

Pussy follows the tangled heartaches and mis/adventures of Leslie and Jo, a lesbian couple teetering on the brink of breakup. Jo is lolling about in Spain, while Leslie is crying about it in Vancouver, and their vaguely homophobic but very curious landlady, Ana, is listening with crossed arms from the apartment below - but no one has stronger opinions on the matter than Leslie's pet cat, Pussy. It's a tale of love, sex, love-sex, hate-sex, vampires, unicorns, softball, faith and three outsiders whose fates triangulate around one spectacular cat.

Pussy plays Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, November 14 - 30, 2014 in NCTC's Theater 3. Tickets are $20-25, and are available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.

Pussy premiered in May 2012 at the invitation of San Francisco's DIVAfest, under the direction of Claire Rice, and has toured to The New York International Fringe Festival, The Seattle Fringe and New York's United Solo Theatre Festival, where Halloran won Best Actress for her performance.

Pussy will be directed by Arturo Catricala.

Playwright and Performer Maura Halloran is a Canadian actor and writer. She holds a BFA in Theatre Acting from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and currently resides in California. Maura is an Associate Artist with The Cutting Ball Theatre (San Francisco) and member of The United Solo Academy (New York.) Halloran acted as dramaturg for Megan Cohen and Amy Clare Tasker's The Helen Project at DivaFest 2013. Halloran's other acting credits include The Pride at NCTC; Andrew Saito's Krispy Kritters in the Scarlett Night and Communique No. 10 at Cutting Ball; Merchants with No Nude Men; and The Tempest with SF Shakes tour. Halloran received a BFA in Acting from the University of British Columbia and is a member of The United Solo Academy in NYC.

Director Arturo Catricala has directed several productions at NCTC, including The Homosexuals, World Premiere of Rights of Passage, Master Class, A Perfect Ganesh, and the West Coast Premiere of The Pride. He attended Fordham University at Lincoln Center and NYU School of the Arts where he studied stage directing with Carl Weber of the Berliner Ensemble and Mel Shapiro. Mr. Catricala is a member of SDC, the national labor union representing Stage Directors and Choreographers.

New Conservatory Theatre Center is San Francisco's premiere LGBTQIA and allied performing arts institution and progressive arts education conservatory since 1981. NCTC is renowned for its diverse range of innovative, high quality productions, touring productions and shows for young audiences; its foundational anti-bullying work with youth and educators through YouthAware; and its commitment to nurturing emerging artists and playwrights to expand the canon of queer and allied dramatic work.