New Pitt theater group hits the scene

“Season’s Greetings” and “The SantaLand Diaries” Dec. 6 – 8 Studio Theatre Cathedral of… “Season’s Greetings” and “The SantaLand Diaries” Dec. 6 – 8 Studio Theatre Cathedral of Learning Suggested donation: $5

Are you yearning for a little holiday cheer to brighten up your finals week? USITT, the University’s newest theater organization, will be presenting “Season’s Greetings” and “The SantaLand Diaries” by humorist David Sedaris. These one-act workshops will act as the organization’s inaugural fundraiser.

The group is a chapter of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. The students involved in USITT hope to raise enough money to send some of their members to the National Conference and Stage Expo in Houston, Texas. The conference allows students to meet theater technicians from several different universities. Booths will be set up by theater companies and top graduate schools hoping to recruit prospective stage managers, lighting and sound designers, props masters and set designers.

“Pitt has never really done a holiday show. We thought it would be a slightly different way to raise money,” Catherine Costanzo, the chair and founder of Pitt’s USITT chapter, said.

Three different members of the Theatre Arts faculty will entertain audiences as the “Secret” Santa for the night. Costanzo promises that the evening “will be a fun way to relax during a stressful week.”

“Season’s Greetings” and “SantaLand Diaries” will be performed tonight, tomorrow and Saturday in the Studio Theatre, located in the basement of the Cathedral of Learning. There is a suggested donation of $5. Hand-knit scarves and hats will be sold during intermission by another theater organization, Buscare.