In just one year, Rusty Sneary and Shawnna Journagan transformed the Pearl gallery at 1818 McGee into a home, then a theater, and at last a vital Crossroads fixture. And because the proprietors put on a play as though they're throwing a party, the place feels like all three at once. Like a grungier, less whimsical Fishtank, the Living Room — so named because its seats are comfy salvaged couches — produces small shows on small budgets. The ambition, though, is never small. In their first year, Sneary and Journagan focused on tough-minded contemporary plays: Neil LaBute's This Is How It Goes, Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio, John Kolvenbach's brutal On an Average Day. That last piece culminated in a set-destroying brawl, demonstrating just how visceral live theater can be. Expect more of the same when the Living Room hosts Ron Megee and the Coterie's next zombie splat-athon, Sorority House of the Dead, October 21.
