Bruce Walsh

Bruce Walsh

Bruce Walsh’s fascination with sacredness infuses all of his writing. But not in the ways people sometimes expect. He has no interest in prescribing moral codes. His characters are bold, queer, angry, ridiculous, joyous, deeply sexual beings. Bruce writes most often about people he encountered in many day jobs, working for companies like UPS, Trader Joe’s, a porn video warehouse (seriously), and a slew of...
Bruce Walsh’s fascination with sacredness infuses all of his writing. But not in the ways people sometimes expect. He has no interest in prescribing moral codes. His characters are bold, queer, angry, ridiculous, joyous, deeply sexual beings. Bruce writes most often about people he encountered in many day jobs, working for companies like UPS, Trader Joe’s, a porn video warehouse (seriously), and a slew of downsizing newspapers. He is endlessly enthralled by those that seek the “courage to be” – a sacred meaning or purpose – even amidst a culture and economy with very little capacity to foster those needs. Actors Theatre of Louisville recently named him the 2018 Heideman Award winner for his play, GROWN-ASS LOUIS. Other recent honors: The Gary Garrison National Ten Minute Play Award, Seven Devils Playwrights’ Conference (finalist), and the BETC Generations Residency (finalist). He received an MFA in Playwriting from Indiana University in 2017. His full-length play, BERSERKER, was presented last summer at the Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights’ Workshop.

Plays

  • Berserker by Bruce Walsh
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: Peer Gynt, George Saunders + 4 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, romantic comedy, satire, tragedy
    Keyword: Peer Gynt, George Saunders, gaming, tech industry, Asian American character, cross gender casting
    When an idealistic teacher falls in love with a voice emanating from a security camera mounted deep in the wilderness, he leaves his partner, child, and students in pursuit of his new obsession. But in order to get closer to his muse, he must embark on a new career in her workplace – a tech company specializing in virtual “NatureScapes.” There he discovers the true face of his passions, not in the beautiful...
    When an idealistic teacher falls in love with a voice emanating from a security camera mounted deep in the wilderness, he leaves his partner, child, and students in pursuit of his new obsession. But in order to get closer to his muse, he must embark on a new career in her workplace – a tech company specializing in virtual “NatureScapes.” There he discovers the true face of his passions, not in the beautiful woman he imagines, but in what he fears might be lurking in the forest surrounding his office.
  • Grown-Ass Louis, a ten-minute play by Bruce Walsh
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: 10 minute play
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, tragedy
    Keyword: 10 minute play
    When Louis was eleven-years-old, he wrote a note to his recently deceased father, tied it to a balloon, and released it to the heavens. But now, even though he's a grown-ass man, he can't stop wondering if his dad ever received the message.

Recommended by Bruce Walsh

  • Shitheads by Douglas Williams
    21 Apr. 2018
    “ SHITHEADS is a fine-tuned day job comedy about young people desperately seeking a vessel for their personal authenticity (the bike shop where they work) amidst a culture that is increasingly skewed toward a vapid, winner-take-all economy. In the best spirit of ALIENS and THE FLICK, this sparse, four-person drama presents micro dilemmas (how to sell an overpriced bike) that poetically resonate with the great questions of a life well lived. ”
  • These Peaceable Kingdoms by Chelsea Woolley
    11 Aug. 2017
    “ I was fortunate to catch a reading of THESE PEACEABLE KINGDOMS at the Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights' Workshop. It was simply one of the most captivating staged readings I've ever seen. KINGDOMS evokes the startling early work of Caryl Churchill and Naomi Wallace. But Woolley's own sharp, biting, dangerous, challenging brand of feminist theater comes pouring through as well. ”
  • business by Kelly Lusk
    23 Jun. 2017
    “ On the surface, BUSINESS is an understated tragedy: a pair of star-crossed modern would-be lovers find, or rather lose each other in a faceless hotel. But underneath, Lusk subtly builds a heartbreaking statement about the relationship between how we work and how we love in 2017. ”
  • How to Use a Knife by Will Snider
    10 May. 2017
    “ HOW TO USE A KNIFE brings global politics into the less-than-sparkling kitchen of a Midtown Manhatten restaurant. And that feels surprisingly perfect. Snider knows a thing or two about fast-paced kitchen culture, and it shows. The play runs at breakneck speed, like a New York kitchen at lunchtime. ”
  • St. Sebastian by Andrew Kramer
    10 May. 2017
    “ ST. SEBASTIAN deals with the oft-unspoken fears, angers, and resentments that permeate the changing demographics of gentrifying urban America. But with such heart. It's also about the way in which well-intentioned progressives often cut themselves off from vulnerability by obsessing over getting their politics and language "right." Kramer smartly sets his play on a bare, sparsely designed stage. It's a play about people - three fascinating men - and not the cold buildings that surround them. ”