Outside Inn play premieres

The University of Pittsburgh will be a place of artistic and international collaboration… The University of Pittsburgh will be a place of artistic and international collaboration this week. The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre is presenting Andreas Jungwirth’s “Outside Inn” at the Charity Randall Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial Building from Sept. 12 through Sept. 15.

“Outside Inn” is a world-premiere play that will be performed three times in English and twice in German. The production is a partnership between Pitt’s Theater Arts Department and the Theater Rampe Stuttgart, an acclaimed theatre company from Germany. Actors from the United States, Germany and Austria will form the bilingual cast of four.

Melanie Dreyer, an assistant professor of Theatre Arts at Pitt, served as the play’s translator and director. Stephan Bruckmeier, co-founder of Theater Rampe Stuttgart, helped Dreyer bring this German piece to Pittsburgh. Bruckmeier is also an internationally known writer, actor, director and set designer.

“Outside Inn” tells the tale of four personal journeys across Germany, Africa, Arizona and Mexico. The characters commit infidelity, murder and identity theft as they attempt to flee their past and present identities. “Outside Inn” will also explore the cultural differences between Europeans and Americans.

Dreyer says the play “provides an opportunity for Pittsburgh’s German speakers and students to see a new German play in German while highlighting Pittsburgh as a place for artists to live and work.”

Dreyer is also in the process of documenting her international theatrical experience on video. She hopes that her work will serve as a guide for other theater companies interested in creating international collaborations.

Ticket prices range from $12 to $22. For more information, call 412-624-PLAY or visit www.play.pitt.edu.