BARE STAGE World Premiere Opens 2/8

Tickets are now on sale for the world premiere of bare stage, a new work by award-winning Boston Playwright Michael Walker, to run February 8-March 2, 2019 at Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts (539 Tremont Street, Boston 02116). bare stage is directed by A. Nora Long, and features IRNE Award nominee Ashley Risteen as Kate," Allie Meek-Carufel as Rachel , and Kevin Cirone as "Parker", the rising star playwright playwright/director, who clashes with the actors around the issues of nudity in his production. Tickets available now at https://www.bostontheatrescene.com/season/bare-stage/ or by calling 617.426.5000.

bare stage centers on the difficulties and pressures faced by two young actresses when they are faced with the choice to accept roles with nudity in a Broadway-bound play -- or not work. How will playing these roles affect their family, friends and lovers? Censorship, artistic freedom, exploitation and body-shaming are called into question in this world-premiere drama.

Rounding out the cast are Glen Moore as Tim, and Steve Auger as Paddy.

Ashley Risteen (Kate): Ashley was recently seen in Central Square Theatre's Frankenstein. She has also appeared with Commonwealth Stage Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, and Zeitgeist Stage. She has been nominated for the IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) awards for Best Actress for Faceless (Zeitgeist Stage), 6 Hotels (Hub Theatre Co.) and Best Supporting Actress for The Big Meal (Zeitgeist Stage). Ashley is a native of Newburyport and has been a lifelong participant in the area's theatre scene. www.ashleyristeen.com

Allie Meek-Carufel (Rachel): Allie is an independent actor, director, theatre educator and teaching artist in the Boston area. Favorite credits include Pride and Prejudice (Footlight Club), The Last Night Of Ballyhoo (Barker Playhouse), Marat/Sade (URI Theatre), and Hedda Gabler (Next Generation Theatre). Allie earned a Master's Degree from Emerson College in Theatre Education and Applied Theatre, and is currently the Music Theatre Program Director at NEMPAC and a Teaching Artist at Watertown Children's Theatre, Boston Shakespeare Project and Huntington Theatre Company. http://alliepmeek.wixsite.com/allie-meek

Kevin Cirone* (Parker): Previous credits include Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, Twelfth Night, and The 39 Steps (Moonbox Productions), Running In Circles Screaming (Titanic Theater Company), Dusty And The Big Bad World (Martha's Vineyard Playhouse), Stupid F###Ing Bird (Apollinaire Theatre), Creative License (New York Fringe), Big Fish (Umbrella Theater), It's A Wonderful Life (Ocean State Theater Company), and The Secret Garden (Greater Boston Stage Company). www.KevinCirone.com *Denotes member of Actors Equity Association

Steve Auger (Paddy): Steve was last seen as Kurt Seaman in Vicuna (Zeitgeist Stage Company). Other productions include Jeffrey, Lips Together Teeth Apart, Shakespeare In Love (SpeakEasy Stage Company) and The Misadventures of Spy Matthias (Theatre on Fire). Steve was recently nominated for Best Supporting Actor IRNE Awards for his performances in A Beautiful Day In November On The Banks Of The Greatest of the Great Lakes (Apollinaire Theater) and Incident At Vichy (Praxis Stage). He is a Proud member of SAGAFTRA and StageSource. www.SteveAuger.com

Glen Moore (Tim): As an artistic ensemble member with Liars & Believers, Glen Moore played Saul in Who Would Be King, which he helped devise over the course of 2015. Boston area credits include The Last Schwartz (Gloucester Stage Company), Blinders (Flat Earth Theatre), The Importance Of Being Ernest (Moonbox Productions), Closer (Bad Habit Productions), The Time Of My Life (Zeitgeist Stage Company and Speech And Debate (Curious Theatre Company) among others. He holds a B.A. in acting from The University of Northern Colorado.

Michael Walker, Playwright: Michael Walker is an award-winning playwright living outside of Boston, Massachusetts. He has been an actor, director and producer in professional theatre for over forty years.

Although he has written screenplays, Michael concentrates on writing full-length plays for the stage. While dramatic action and audience enjoyment drive his plays, Michael dedicates his efforts to creating powerful roles for women and to illuminating issues critical to women in the twenty-first century. His dramas, mysteries and thrillers have been produced in Virginia, Texas, Kentucky, Massachusetts and New York City. Soon, he'll be adding New Hampshire and Kansas to the list.

His full-length plays include, among others, Dancing in the Garden; Aftershock (winner, Penobscot Theatre's 2009 Northern Writes New Play Festival and finalist, 2010 Playwrights First's (NYC)); Absolutely Dead (Winner, 2012 International Mystery Writers' Festival and 2nd Place, Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting), La Fin du Silence (Semifinalist, Ashland New Play Festival and Quarterfinalist at PlayPenn) and bare stage.

A. Nora Long (Director): Nora Long is a freelance director, writer, and dramaturg based in Boston. She served as the associate artistic director at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston for eight seasons, where she directed Virginia Woolf's Orlando, Murder for Two, Mr. Burns: a post-electric play, and Dear Elizabeth. She is one of the artistic directors for New Exhibition Room (NXR), a fringe company that specializes in developing cheeky ensemble-based new work.

bare stage will run from February 8-March 2, 2019 at Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts (539 Tremont Street, Boston 02116). Performances: Wednesday and Thursday (7:30 pm), Friday (8pm), Saturday (2pm & 8pm), Sunday (2pm). General are available at https://www.bostontheatrescene.com/season/bare-stage/ or by calling 617-426-5000.

An integral part of the cultural fabric of the city, BCA utilizes its historic campus in the vibrant South End to present world-class exhibitions and performances, provide affordable work space, engage cultural consumers throughout the region, and nurture artists with the resources to take risks and develop new works.

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