The program listed six different sketches. Some funny, some serious.<\/p>\n
One is about a son trying to write a eulogy for his alcoholic and gambling addicted dad. In another, a YouTube food critic who calls himself \u201cEl Taco-rino\u201d is the main character.<\/p>\n
Origin story<\/p>\n
McGaw co-founded the group when he was 37. He had studied theater in college and later coached a high school improv group. He missed performing, but not the full slate of rehearsals that came with it.<\/p>\n
So, McGaw and friends Les Cargot Hofheinz and the late Elizabeth Sexton-Morrison founded a group with a more casual set up.<\/p>\n
Instead of putting together a play, their shows included a handful of sketches from different writers.<\/p>\n
\u201cLes likened it to the stage equivalent of seeing a band. Each song lasts three, four or five minutes, and if you don’t like one, well, just wait for the next one,\u201d McGaw recalled.<\/p>\n
![\"Steven](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786038734_845_.jpeg\"\/)
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Marcheta Fornoff<\/p>\n
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KERA News<\/p>\n
Steven McGaw performs opposite Peggy Bott Kirby in a sketch he wrote titled “What We Did” in SceneShop’s final production “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” <\/p>\n
Hofheinz and then Sexton-Morrison eventually dropped off as their careers and family lives got busy.<\/p>\n
Others cycled through, including high school students, retirees, theater professionals, educators and writers.<\/p>\n
Natalie Gaupp who wrote the first scene the group performed in 1996, also wrote the opening sketch for \u201cDon\u2019t Dream It\u2019s Over.\u201d<\/p>\n
A place for everyone<\/p>\n
Tyler Moore is 30 and first got involved with the group when he was 24. He\u2019s written and performed with SceneShop. For this production, he sat in the front row and supported his friends.<\/p>\n
SceneShop fostered community and provided an outlet for people to deepen their creative lives, Moore said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s eclectic and funny,” he said \u201cBut it also will tug on your heartstrings in certain places, so I feel like there’s a little bit of something for everyone at Scene Shop.<\/p>\n
“No matter what your background is or where you come from, I think everyone has a place there.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to see SceneShop come to an end, Moore said, but he supports McGaw\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t think these people are really going anywhere,\u201d Moore said. \u201cThey\u2019re still people that will show up to performances or will still perform in the area. The ties and connections are still there. So that aspect of it, I think really helps it not be as sad … you know, it’s bittersweet.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786038734_828_.jpeg\"\/)
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Marcheta Fornoff<\/p>\n
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KERA News <\/p>\n
Rob Bosquez and Joshua Eguia perform a scene called “What Can I Say…” by Straton Rushing in the first act of SceneShop’s production “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” <\/p>\n
The last goodbye<\/p>\n
McGaw feels as mentally sharp as ever and plans to keep writing. But he\u2019s tired and didn\u2019t want to be in charge anymore.<\/p>\n
A couple of people said they would be open to carrying the torch, but McGaw didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re young. They’re ambitious. They have other outlets, and so I just decided it was better just to let it end,” McGaw said.<\/p>\n
He put it this way to the audience:<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about the theater groups in Fort Worth and Dallas over the last 20 years. They go great guns for a while, and then they disappear. They disappear because people can’t get along anymore or because somebody gets a divorce or because they run out of money or somebody goes to prison. That’s my speculation and I’m entitled to it,” McGaw joked. \u201cYou never hear about them again, and I did not want it to be that way for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, he wanted to give SceneShop a proper sendoff. So he wrote one.<\/p>\n
Details: 8 p.m. on Aug. 7 and 8 at Arts Fifth Avenue, 1622 5th Ave., Fort Worth. Tickets are $15<\/a>.<\/p>\n Got a tip? Email Marcheta Fornoff at mfornoff@kera.org.<\/p>\n