THE MADRES By Stephanie Alison Walker Rolls Through Shrewd Productions In Austin

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that collaborates in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays, celebrates the final production of its 74th Rolling World Premiere (RWP): The Madres by Stephanie Alison Walker. The Roll included productions at Skylight Theatre Company (Los Angeles), Teatro Vista (Chicago), and Moxie Theatre (San Diego), before its opening on August 31 at Shrewd Productions (Austin), where it runs through September 15.

In an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, the Network provides production support to the playwright and the partnering theaters, including assistance with the creation and the contracting of the premiere agreement, collaborative interactions between the theaters, and travel and housing funds for the playwright to further develop the play in each city.

The Madres playwright Stephanie Alison Walker ABOUT THE MADRES
It's 1978 in Buenos Aires, Argentina where people are disappearing right off the street but no one is talking about it. Carolina and her mother Josefina are searching for their pregnant daughter/granddaughter, Belén, who has been missing for twelve weeks. When they receive a surprise visit first from a former neighborhood priest who is now stationed at the ESMA (the Navy Mechanics school turned concentration camp in the middle of the city,) they come up with a plan to try to see Belén one last time. Will it work? Will they be able to save her baby? Will they be able to save themselves?

Stephanie's plays include: The Madres, The Abuelas (sequel to The Madres, premiering in Chicago with Teatro Vista in 2019,) Friends with Guns, The Sister House, The Art of Disappearing, American Home, and more. Honors include: Blue Ink Award (winner), Ashland New Plays Festival (two-time winner), BETC Generations Prize (winner), O'Neill Playwrights Conference (two-time finalist), CTG/Humanitas Prize (finalist), Primus Prize (finalist), Saroyan/Paul Playwriting Prize for Human Rights (finalist), and more. Stephanie's short plays are anthologized by Smith & Kraus and have been produced all over the world. She is also the author of the book and blog, Love in the Time of Foreclosure which has been called "A heartbreaking work of staggering acceptance" and was featured by the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Business Week Magazine, Chicago Magazine, Huffington Post Live, and ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer. She is proud to be a NNPN Affiliate Artist and a member of the Playwrights Union and the Antaeus Playwrights Lab. She lives in Los Angeles with her brilliant husband Bob and their spirited sons, Malcolm (7) and Graham (4). You can follow Stephanie on Twitter @littof and read her plays on the New Play Exchange. Stephanie is represented by the Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency. stephaniealisonwalker.com

Championing unique perspectives and emerging artists, Shrewd Productions is focused on women's voices, new plays, and work developed though a collaborative artistic approach. We are committed to creating high-quality theatrical experiences that are thoughtful, provocative, and entertaining, featuring the work of female and LGBT artists as we seek to provide a broader array of voices in American theatre and for Austin audiences.

Shrewd has been honored by 73 nominations and awards from the Austin Critic's Table, B. Iden Payne Committee, Broadway World, and Austin Theatre Examiner and inclusion on multiple "Best Of" lists in the Austin Chronicle. We are proud to be a member of the Austin New Works Theatre Community, building Austin's professional theatre community devoted to the development of original work. shrewdproductions.com

National New Play Network is the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop produce, and extend the life of new plays. Since its founding in 1998, NNPN has supported more than 250 productions nationwide through its innovative National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program, which provides playwright and production support for new works at its Member theaters. Additional programs - its annual National Conference, National Showcase of New Plays, and MFA Playwrights Workshop; the NNPN Annual and Smith Prize commissions; its residencies for playwrights, producers and directors; and the organization's member accessed Collaboration, Festival, and Travel banks and online information sessions - have helped cement the Network's position as a vital force in the new play landscape. NNPN also strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Its most recent project, the New Play Exchange, is changing the way playwrights share their work and others discover it by providing immediate access to information on more than 21,000 new plays by living writers. NNPN's 32 Core and 84 Associate Members - along with the nearly 300 affiliated artists who are its alumni, the thousands of artists and artisans employed annually by its member theaters, and the hundreds of thousands of audience members who see its supported works each year - are creating the new American theater. nnpn.org

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