Downstage At New Rep Presents BOOM

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is pleased to close its fourth season of Downstage @ New Rep with boom a New England Premiere by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. boom opens for the press on Monday, February 22, 2010 at 7:30pm and plays through Saturday, March 13, 2010 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Downstage @ New Rep Black Box Theater.

"I knew boom needed to be a part of my Inaugural Season," explains Kate Warner, New Rep's Artistic Director. "Peter is one of the hottest young writers in the country and his language is clever, funny, and engaging."

boom will be directed by Bridget Kathleen O'Leary, New Rep's Artistic Associate, whose New Rep directing credits include Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Downstage @ New Rep's Fool for Love. boom features the critically-acclaimed Karen MacDonald as Barbara, Zofia Gozynska as Jo, and Scott Sweatt (Picasso at the Lapin Agile) as Jules.

"I immediately fell head over heels for boom," states Bridget Kathleen O'Leary, the director. "In my profession, I read a lot of scripts, and it is unique for me to connect so quickly with a piece of writing."

Ms. O'Leary adds, "I am so fortunate to be directing such a solid play with an amazing cast. I am excited to introduce Zofia to the New Rep family, and to finally have the opportunity to work with Scott Sweatt, as well as Karen MacDonald, an award-winning actor whose work I truly admire."

As an undiscovered comet hurtles towards earth, one lone scientist takes it upon himself to preserve the human race. Hilarity ensues when the woman he has taken captive refuses to procreate, and the shelter he has built is damaged beyond repair. This darkly funny New England premiere by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb takes a look at our fascination with the end of the world and starting anew.

New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time. Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audience. New Rep presents world premieres, contemporary and classic works in several intimate settings. We are committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture. Programming for New Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Zofia Gozynska (Jo) is thrilled to be working with New Repertory Theatre on such a great play! Last summer she returned to Boston to play Luciana in Commonwealth Shakespeare's production of Comedy of Errors. Regional theatre credits: Olly's Prison and Desire Under the Elms (A.R.T.); To Kill a Mockingbird (Foothills Theatre Company); Arcadia (Longwood Players); Our Country's Good (Theatre Co-operative); The Tempest (Redfeather Theatre Company); and The Play About the Baby (Mill 6 Collaborative). Zofia recently worked on the Boston independent feature film Slip & Fall directed by Marc Colucci, starring William Forsythe. Zofia holds a BFA in Theatre from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, a postgraduate diploma in Acting from Birmingham School of Acting in the UK, and is a proud new member of Actors' Equity Association.

Karen MacDonald (Barbara) most recently appeared in The Huntington's All My Sons (Kate Keller) and A Civil War Christmas (Mary Todd Lincoln). As a founding member of A.R.T., she appeared in seventy productions. Last season she played Arkadina in The Seagull, Nell in Endgame, Elena in The Communist Dracula Pageant, and Lottie in Trojan Barbie. Other local credits include: Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Gloucester Stage Company); Hamlet and Twelfth Night (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); and Infestation and My Heart and My Flesh (Boston Playwrights' Theatre). Regional appearances include: Merrimack Repertory Theatre, The Vineyard Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Hartford Stage, and most recently as Laurie Jameson in Third (Portland Stage Company). She has been honored to be a nominee and the recipient of several Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for her work. Nationally, she has worked from Berkeley Repertory Theatre to Houston's Alley Theatre to Philadelphia's Wilma Theatre. Internationally, she has performed at festivals in Asti, Avignon, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Belgrade, Jerusalem, and the Duke of York's Theatre in London. Directing credits include: The Woman in Black (Gloucester Stage Company); and Dressed Up! Wigged Out! (with Leslie Dillen and Paula Plum) and Surly Girl (Boston Playwrights' Theatre). Television and film credits include: Law and Order, Orphan, The Crucible, and What's the Worst that Can Happen? She has also done extensive voice over work for PBS, including the award-winning documentary Tupperware. A veteran improviser, she was a member of the Proposition and the Next Move Theatre. She graduated from Boston University's College of Fine Arts. She teachesUndergraduate Acting at Harvard University.

Scott Sweatt (Jules) Previous Boston credits include: The Donkey Show, Once in Hell, 47 Ways to Die (A.R.T.); IN on IT and The Europeans (Whistler in the Dark); Picasso at the Lapin Agile (New Rep); Othello, Of Mice and Men, and Animal Farm (New Rep On Tour); Cantaloupe Girlfriend and The Dogsitter (SLAMBoston); White People (Boston Theatre Marathon); and Love's Fire and Concord Marrow (Exquisite Corps Theatre). He holds an MFA from Columbia University.

Peter Sinn Nachtrieb (playwright) is a San Francisco-based playwright whose works include: boom, T.I.C: Trenchcoat in Common, Hunter Gatherers, Colorado, Meaningless, and The Amorphous Blob. Hunter Gatherers received the 2007 American Theatre Critics Association/Steinberg New Play Award for Best New Play to premiere outside of New York and the 2007 Will Glickman Prize for Best New Play in the Bay Area. His work has been seen Off Broadway and across the country at Ars Nova, SPF, Woolly Mammoth, Cleveland Public Theatre, Brown/Trinity Rep, the Bailiwick Theatre, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, Dad's Garage, as well as the Magic Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Killing My Lobster, Playground Theatre, and Impact Theatre in the Bay Area. He is currently under commission from South Coast Rep and is a 2008 Resident Playwright at the Playwrights Foundation in San Francisco. Peter holds a degree in Theater and Biology from Brown University and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He likes to promote himself online at www.peternachtrieb.com.

Bridget Kathleen O'Leary (director) is in her second season at New Rep as Artistic Associate. Most recently she directed Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol after serving as the associate director on last year's production. Previously, she directed Downstage @ New Rep's production of Fool for Love. Other directing credits include: The Boys of Winter (IRNE Nomination, Best New Play, 2008) for BKS productions; The Devil's Teacup (IRNE Nomination, Best New Play, 2007)
at Boston Playwrights' Theatre; and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The American Clock, Much Ado About Nothing, Curse of the Starving Class, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Sarah Kane's Crave and 4.48 Psychosis, all at Boston University. In 2007, she assisted Artistic Director Wendy C. Goldberg at the National Playwrights' Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and worked as an assistant on new plays by Rebecca Gilman and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Before moving to Boston, Bridget worked in Washington, D.C. with the Olney Theatre Center, Theater Alliance, Cherry Red Productions, Charter Theater, Studio Theatre Second Stage, and Phoenix Theatre DC, of which she was a founding member. Selected D.C. directing credits include: Independence, Parallel Lives, and the creations of Unwrapped and Lulu Fabulous by area playwrights. Bridget received her MFA in directing at Boston University.

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