Pitt Rep promises a variety of exciting shows

The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre doesn’t like to get tied down.

The group’s upcoming season spans a range of emotions — from flowery to comedic to somber — and a dizzying array of themes. The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre doesn’t like to get tied down.

The group’s upcoming season spans a range of emotions — from flowery to comedic to somber — and a dizzying array of themes.

Pitt Rep, as the organization is nicknamed, splits its shows into two categories: main stage productions and labs. Main stage productions are directed by the staff and performed in the Henry Heymann Theatre or the Charity Randall Theatre, both in the Stephen Foster Memorial. The fall season’s main stage shows are “Archy and Mehitabel” and “Slasher.”

“Archy and Mehitabel”

This one-man show is based off the work of writer and poet Don Marquis, whose work appeared in newspapers from 1916 to 1930. Gale McNeeley, the show’s director and only actor, interpreted the material, taking Marquis’ poems and arranging them to tell a story.

The play follows Archy, a reincarnated cockroach who is so passionate about creating and writing that he dives onto typewriter keys to construct stories, and Cleopatra, an alley cat who McNeeley describes as a “gutsy broad.”

“[The poems] are very today, they’re very modern and universal,” he said.

McNeeley has given himself quite the task in playing upwards of 20 characters.

“I like doing one-man shows because it really puts you to the test. You have to create new bodies, new voices,” he said.

“Slasher”

The name of Allison Moore’s play is both appropriate and deceptive: This is a blood and gore-filled show, but it’s not a horror story — it’s a riotously funny satire. Following the production of a low-budget horror film, the play questions those slasher movie clichés we’re all too familiar with.

Holly Thuma, the director, explained that rather than bludgeoning her with a message, the play made her crack up and think at the same time.

“I just kept thinking, why are Americans so fascinated with looking at slashed up women’s bodies?” she said.

After eight or more readings, Thuma’s still laughing out loud at the smart humor Moore uses and admires the play’s phenomenally strong female roles.

The Labs

The lab productions are student-directed and often include works by lesser-known or more experimental playwrights. They are often performed two at a time in the Studio Theatre of the Cathedral, although this year, the play “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” will be performed on its own in the Henry Heymann Theatre.

“The labs are a great way to see short pieces of performances and can introduce people to playwrights they otherwise might have known in small doses,” said Kate Whitmore, marketing director for the Department of Theatre Arts, which oversees the program.

This year’s labs include: “Eleemosynary,” “Words, Words, Words” and “Variations on the Death of Trotsk,” both from “All in the Timing,” “Wanda’s Visit,” “Krapp’s Last Tape” and “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.”

“Eleemosynary”

Director Grant Williams will explore the intricacies of relationships between generations in this one-act play written by Lee Blessing.

Characters include a grandmother, Dorothy, who fiercely desires to be herself; her daughter Artie, an intellectual and sensitive individual who is greatly affected by her mother and Artie’s daughter, Echo, a driven national spelling bee champion.

After Dorothy suffers from a stroke, Artie reconnects with her, forcing the three women to confront their tumultuous past and an uncertain future.

“Words, Words, Words” and “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” from “All in the Timing”

Director Dave Peterson is pleased to bring these two delightfully playful David Ives works to life. With the description “Two comedic one-act plays about monkeys and murder. You decide which is which,” the plays promise a humorous and compatible double-header.

“They reflect on each other because they’re informing similar sensibilities. They play well together,” Peterson said.

“Words, Words, Words” depicts monkeys that have been given typewriters to see if they will inevitably write “Hamlet” by hitting random keys. “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” uses eight different scenes to depict the final day of Leon Trotsky — each of which ends in the Marxist’s death.

“There was this sort of quirky anarchy,” he said. “It pokes at notions of science and history. They’re big ideas, and it has fun with them.”

“Wanda’s Visit”

Every marriage has its complications, but when spouses Jim and Marsha host Jim’s quirky ex-girlfriend, Wanda, for a visit, their lives become even more embroiled than the average couple’s.

Directed by Rachel Brookstein and written by Christopher Durang, “Wanda’s Visit” raises questions of what could have been and explores Wanda’s turbulent past in depth.

“Krapp’s Last Tape”

Director Jordan Matthew Walsh delves into a more somber narrative than many of the labs’ humorous productions. “Krapp’s Last Tape” is an absurdist drama by the well-know playwright Samuel Beckett.

“I don’t think there’s been enough of [Theater of the Absurd] around here,” Walsh said.

The minimalist play follows Krapp, a writer, as he listens to tapes he has made every year on his birthday. He critiques the person he was in his past and realizes he’s never created the world-altering work he intended to craft.

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot”

Director Joanna Getting will play with ideas about salvation in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ dark comedy.

In a section of purgatory called Hope, Jesus’ infamous betrayer, Judas Iscariot is on trial to appeal his eternal damnation. In the ensuing comical flurry, viewers will be forced to question their own opinions on morality.

Auditions

Pitt Rep invites students from any major to perform at their auditions.

“There have been students who have not been theater majors, not been theater minors, who have worked with us, have been on stage with us, have been behind the scenes with us,” said Angie Jasper, the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools production coordinator.

Auditions will be held Monday, Aug. 30 and Tuesday, Sept. 2 in the Stephen Foster Memorial Theater from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Students interested in auditionining should sign up in advance in the Department of Theatre Arts office on the 16th floor of the Cathedral of Learning.