Walt McGough

Walt McGough is a Boston-based playwright (by way of Pittsburgh and Chicago). In Boston, he has held fellowships with both the Huntington and New Repertory Theatre Companies, and was a finalist for the 2016 Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award. His plays include PATTERN OF LIFE, which was named Best New Play by the Independent Reviewers of New England, and THE FARM, PRISCILLA DREAMS THE ANSWER, and PAPER CITY PHOENIX, all of which received Best New Play IRNE nominations. Other plays include CHALK, DANTE DIES!! (AND THEN THINGS GET WEIRD), THE HABERDASHER!, and NON-PLAYER CHARACTER. He has worked around the country with companies such as The Lark, the Huntington, New Rep, the Kennedy Center, NNPN, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Fresh Ink, Sideshow, Orfeo Group, Nu Sass Productions, Chicago...

Walt McGough is a Boston-based playwright (by way of Pittsburgh and Chicago). In Boston, he has held fellowships with both the Huntington and New Repertory Theatre Companies, and was a finalist for the 2016 Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award. His plays include PATTERN OF LIFE, which was named Best New Play by the Independent Reviewers of New England, and THE FARM, PRISCILLA DREAMS THE ANSWER, and PAPER CITY PHOENIX, all of which received Best New Play IRNE nominations. Other plays include CHALK, DANTE DIES!! (AND THEN THINGS GET WEIRD), THE HABERDASHER!, and NON-PLAYER CHARACTER. He has worked around the country with companies such as The Lark, the Huntington, New Rep, the Kennedy Center, NNPN, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Fresh Ink, Sideshow, Orfeo Group, Nu Sass Productions, Chicago Dramatists, and Argos. In 2015, his play ADVICE FOR ASTRONAUTS was selected as the winner of the Milken Playwriting Prize. He serves on the staff at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, and was previously the company manager at Chicago Dramatists. He holds a BA from the University of Virginia, and an MFA in playwriting from Boston University.

Scripts

Non-Player Character

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Aspiring video game designer Katja and her longtime friend Trent are an unstoppable team against animated monsters in the virtual underworlds of SpearLight, an online role-playing game. But after a humiliating falling-out, Trent marshals an army of internet trolls to wage real-life war against her. Comic and poignant, Non-Player Character is a timely, boldly theatrical exploration of the games we play and who’s...

Aspiring video game designer Katja and her longtime friend Trent are an unstoppable team against animated monsters in the virtual underworlds of SpearLight, an online role-playing game. But after a humiliating falling-out, Trent marshals an army of internet trolls to wage real-life war against her. Comic and poignant, Non-Player Character is a timely, boldly theatrical exploration of the games we play and who’s winning.

The Whisperer's Apprentice

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

A kingdom is falling, and two young siblings come to the forest to find the one woman who could save it. Rione of the Whispers can weave stories into magic, but now she hides herself away, haunted by past mistakes and old regrets. Will she be willing, or able, to pass her knowledge on to the next generation? Or will the tale that shapes the world be fully broken, once and for all? "The Whisperer's Apprentice" is...

A kingdom is falling, and two young siblings come to the forest to find the one woman who could save it. Rione of the Whispers can weave stories into magic, but now she hides herself away, haunted by past mistakes and old regrets. Will she be willing, or able, to pass her knowledge on to the next generation? Or will the tale that shapes the world be fully broken, once and for all? "The Whisperer's Apprentice" is a magical, theatrical look at narrative power, the people who wield it, and what it costs them. The play refracts the tropes of classic high-fantasy adventure, and uses them to imagine a better world for its characters.

Brawler

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Adam was the scariest man in the National Hockey League, but now he’s been demoted to the minors, gotten high on painkillers and trashed the locker room at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. His friends need to talk him down before he gets into real trouble, but he’s got his own agenda, and is spoiling for one last fight. A modern-day riff on Sophocles’ "Ajax," seen through the lens of the last true gladiator sport.

Adam was the scariest man in the National Hockey League, but now he’s been demoted to the minors, gotten high on painkillers and trashed the locker room at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. His friends need to talk him down before he gets into real trouble, but he’s got his own agenda, and is spoiling for one last fight. A modern-day riff on Sophocles’ "Ajax," seen through the lens of the last true gladiator sport.

Chalk

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Maggie survived the end of the world, and has enough supplies to last. But now her daughter has come home, and something’s wrong about her. The two women square off, kept apart only by their pasts and a protective chalk circle, hastily drawn on to the floor.

Maggie survived the end of the world, and has enough supplies to last. But now her daughter has come home, and something’s wrong about her. The two women square off, kept apart only by their pasts and a protective chalk circle, hastily drawn on to the floor.

Advice for Astronauts

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

The shuttle is launching tomorrow, and everyone has come out to view it. But when one of the astronauts goes missing, the whole evening is thrown into chaos. Science, donuts and dead parrots are discussed. Also, lobsters.

The shuttle is launching tomorrow, and everyone has come out to view it. But when one of the astronauts goes missing, the whole evening is thrown into chaos. Science, donuts and dead parrots are discussed. Also, lobsters.

Two Socks Discuss Loss

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Navy and Black have lost their mates, but just because they’re lonely doesn’t mean they’re glad to be paired up. A wooly, comic meditation on grief.

Navy and Black have lost their mates, but just because they’re lonely doesn’t mean they’re glad to be paired up. A wooly, comic meditation on grief.

The Haberdasher!

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

In the old, romantic time, in France of all places, Antoinette works as a haberdasher’s apprentice, until fate (and a mysterious burglar) intervene. Suddenly she finds herself swept up in a whrilwind of criminals, court intrigue and a curiously counterfeit locket, where the stakes are life-or-death and nothing is as it seems. Which would all be well and good, if she could just find a weapon more substantial than...

In the old, romantic time, in France of all places, Antoinette works as a haberdasher’s apprentice, until fate (and a mysterious burglar) intervene. Suddenly she finds herself swept up in a whrilwind of criminals, court intrigue and a curiously counterfeit locket, where the stakes are life-or-death and nothing is as it seems. Which would all be well and good, if she could just find a weapon more substantial than her ruler to fight with. A dashing tale of derring-do featuring mistaken identities and plenty of swashbucklery, with a completely overworked ensemble of four bringing an entire genre’s worth of action to life.

Priscilla Dreams the Answer

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Priscilla was feeling pretty boring, until the aliens showed up. Now she’s the most important person in the universe, and the fates of multiple planets depend on her. It hasn’t made her feel much better, but at least it’s something to do.

Priscilla was feeling pretty boring, until the aliens showed up. Now she’s the most important person in the universe, and the fates of multiple planets depend on her. It hasn’t made her feel much better, but at least it’s something to do.

The Farm

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Something went wrong, but Finn’s not talking. Instead, he’s retiring, and Parker needs to know why. But trust doesn’t come easy at the CIA, and as the two operatives match wits, it becomes clear that they may not even be on the same side. A modern-day spook story that asks how you move on from a life lived in shadow.

Something went wrong, but Finn’s not talking. Instead, he’s retiring, and Parker needs to know why. But trust doesn’t come easy at the CIA, and as the two operatives match wits, it becomes clear that they may not even be on the same side. A modern-day spook story that asks how you move on from a life lived in shadow.

True Places

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

The world’s gone off its axis, and everything is new. Rose finds herself in unfamiliar territory after a crisis, and the only way to get things under control is to lay them out on paper. Enter the mapmakers, in this irreverent, funny and highly theatrical exploration of man’s impulse to define the world around him. Dramatized takes on cartographical history are interlaced with Rose’s quest to find her way, and...

The world’s gone off its axis, and everything is new. Rose finds herself in unfamiliar territory after a crisis, and the only way to get things under control is to lay them out on paper. Enter the mapmakers, in this irreverent, funny and highly theatrical exploration of man’s impulse to define the world around him. Dramatized takes on cartographical history are interlaced with Rose’s quest to find her way, and maybe even leave her own small mark on things.

Pure Madness

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Professor Doominus has made a mistake.

Professor Doominus has made a mistake.

Up and Away

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Two old-timey hobos debate the finer points of going to space in a bathtub.

Two old-timey hobos debate the finer points of going to space in a bathtub.

False Flag

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Tori and her brother, Hank, have a very strained relationship, so she is left deeply conflicted when he's killed in an act of sudden violence. Things get more confusing when his ex-girlfriend, June, shows up on Tori's doorstep, and tells her that Hank's death was anything but random. The two women attempt to piece together Hank's legacy, and navigate a series of events that could either be coincidence, or mask a...

Tori and her brother, Hank, have a very strained relationship, so she is left deeply conflicted when he's killed in an act of sudden violence. Things get more confusing when his ex-girlfriend, June, shows up on Tori's doorstep, and tells her that Hank's death was anything but random. The two women attempt to piece together Hank's legacy, and navigate a series of events that could either be coincidence, or mask a darker agenda. As their mounting exhaustion, grief and paranoia weave together, Tori is pulled deep into a world where everything is connected, but nothing actually makes sense. FALSE FLAG is a theatrical, propulsive examination of conspiracy culture, and a look at how even the most outlandish narratives can be compelling when there's nothing else to hold on to.

Clean Sweep

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Kyle and Jennifer debate the finer points of technological dependence while their Roomba tries to kill them.

Kyle and Jennifer debate the finer points of technological dependence while their Roomba tries to kill them.

Lost Properties

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

David has lost something. Something big. Luckily, he has an appointment with the Office, and they’re always there to help.

David has lost something. Something big. Luckily, he has an appointment with the Office, and they’re always there to help.

The Dinosaurs Have a Request

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

The dinosaurs are here, and frankly, they’re sick of your crap.

The dinosaurs are here, and frankly, they’re sick of your crap.

Exposure

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

The boy is adrift on an ice floe, and he’s out to prove he’s a man. The Polar Bear has other ideas.

The boy is adrift on an ice floe, and he’s out to prove he’s a man. The Polar Bear has other ideas.

Pattern of Life

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

The mistaken death of a young boy links two men thousands of miles apart. The first, a drone pilot, tries to fight through a haze of guilt and anxiety, and find something human to hold on to. The second, a Pakistani villager, struggles to comprehend the tragedy, and put a face on a faceless enemy. A series of shared dreams lets them begin to see one another, and explore questions of revenge, justice and...

The mistaken death of a young boy links two men thousands of miles apart. The first, a drone pilot, tries to fight through a haze of guilt and anxiety, and find something human to hold on to. The second, a Pakistani villager, struggles to comprehend the tragedy, and put a face on a faceless enemy. A series of shared dreams lets them begin to see one another, and explore questions of revenge, justice and connection in a time of perpetual warfare.

Paper City Phoenix

by Walt McGough

Synopsis

Brenna’s soulmate is missing, but finding him is hard when she can’t stop channeling the Internet. Gale tries to help, but she’s got her own problems and her printer’s out of toner. Both women, an anti-Tech cult, the FBI, and the Internet itself will be involved before it’s over, and the city will never be the same. An explosive comedy exploring how we connect when we’re always connected, and just what’s left...

Brenna’s soulmate is missing, but finding him is hard when she can’t stop channeling the Internet. Gale tries to help, but she’s got her own problems and her printer’s out of toner. Both women, an anti-Tech cult, the FBI, and the Internet itself will be involved before it’s over, and the city will never be the same. An explosive comedy exploring how we connect when we’re always connected, and just what’s left when the universe hits the delete key.

The Trouble With Maisie

by Greg Lam and Walt McGough

Synopsis

10 MINUTE - The relationship of two siblings is threatened by the reappearance of an obnoxious ventriloquist's dummy named Maisie. Co-authored by Walt McGough.

THE TROUBLE WITH MAISIE is an outrageous look at the perils of relationships, familial, human, and otherwise.

10 MINUTE - The relationship of two siblings is threatened by the reappearance of an obnoxious ventriloquist's dummy named Maisie. Co-authored by Walt McGough.

THE TROUBLE WITH MAISIE is an outrageous look at the perils of relationships, familial, human, and otherwise.