| Playwright |
Walt McGough (cofounder of Sideshow Theatre Company) |
Christopher Walsh (ensemble member with Lifeline Theatre) |
| Setting |
A dilapidated barn in an alternate present after an alien invasion has decimated the human race |
A few eons from now, in various caves, labs, and oceans and on desert islands |
| Plot |
A woman takes refuge in a chalk circle during a battle with an alien whose form of kryptonite is, yes, chalk. |
A consortium of superheroes must save the world from a dastardly doctor intent on unleashing an ice age. |
| Hero(es) |
Fiercely maternal Maggie (Think Ripley from Alien meets Regan’s mother from The Exorcist.) |
The New Champions (a motley crew of juvenile cyborgs, aliens, superpowered humans, and a fairy) |
| Villain |
A moody teenage extraterrestrial who has taken over the body of Cora, Maggie’s long-estranged, troubled daughter |
Dr. Impossible, a brainiac with the ability to unleash devastating global climate change |
| Influences |
Frank Herbert (Dune) and William Peter Blatty (The Exorcist), The Walking Dead comic books, and stories his father told during Boy Scout camp outs |
Star Wars, J.R.R. Tolkien, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| Why Sci-fi? |
“With drama, you risk a level of disconnect if the story doesn’t track with something the audience has experienced,” says McGough. “With sci-fi, people make a big imaginative leap from the start.” |
“I’m fascinated by worlds a few degrees removed from our own,” says Walsh. “The heroes are all personifications of our ideal selves, while the villains are what we fear we might become.” |
| Go |
May 24 to June 28 at Victory Gardens. sideshowtheatre.org |
May 29 to July 19 at Lifeline Theatre. lifelinetheatre.com |
