Pitt Stages to produce live theater this fall
By Charlie Taylor, Culture Editor
July 20, 2020
According to Annmarie Duggan, the department chair for theater arts, the department has yet to decide whether the shows scheduled for the upcoming academic year will take place in person or be moved to a virtual platform due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Pitt Stages ‘kills’ with first production in months
By Maggie Young, Contributing Editor
July 14, 2020
About 500 people attended a web performance of “She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms” put on by Pitt Stages, its first production since Pitt shifted to online classes in March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Pittsburgh drag scene adjusts to new normal
By Charlie Taylor, Culture Editor
June 23, 2020
Most drag queens and kings earn money and practice their craft by performing at bars, which closed March 15 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the City’s drag scene has far from disappeared.
Seeing live, local theater is a piece of ‘The Cake’
By Charlie Taylor, Culture Editor
June 2, 2020
A small town bakery becomes a battleground for marriage equality as family ties, religious identity and progressive values clash in the latest comedy from Pittsburgh Public Theater.
“Liberty Magic @ Home” dazzles audiences from a distance
By Charlie Taylor, Culture Editor
May 12, 2020
Robert Ramirez balances a bucket on a keyboard in his living room, mixing and magically unmixing brightly colored liquids while bantering with audiences via webcam. This setup may seem humble, but it’s the new reality for Ramirez and his fellow magician, Siegfried Tieber.
Pitt Stages production keeps it “Appropriate”
By Diana Velasquez, Staff Writer
February 19, 2020
“Appropriate,” written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, an American playwright and MacArthur Fellow, and directed by Ricardo Vila-Roger, a professor in Pitt’s Department of Theatre Arts, will premiere Thursday at 8 p.m. and continue through March 1.
Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks announces ‘Cymbeline’ for 16th season
By MJ LaRocque, Staff Writer
February 18, 2020
Two women stood in the middle of a bar playing an improv game where they created a new Shakespeare play they called “The Sisters of Atalanta.” The two acted as a father and his boss, trying to reach a marriage agreement between the man’s daughter and a pile of sand. The theatrics were part of Pittsburgh Shakes...
Pitt students hit the road: What it’s like to be a travelling actor
By Beatrice McDermott, For The Pitt News
February 6, 2020
Margaret Pryor estimates that she performed at least 320 productions of “Damn Yankees” and “Grease” in the span of two years in the late ’90s. But it wasn’t just the amount of shows that made the work hard — having to frequently move cities was also pretty exhausting.
A tragedy of botany and madness in Pitt’s production of “The Verge”
By Simon Sweeney, For The Pitt News
February 6, 2020
A woman stands alone onstage in a greenhouse completely cluttered by pots, dirt and plants. Occasionally, another person or two will join her for a time, but the true stars of “The Verge” are this woman and her plants.
Fading into ‘Oblivion’
By Ananya Pathapadu, For The Pitt News
February 4, 2020
"Oblivion" opens Feb. 5 and runs until Feb. 9 in the Henry Heymann Theater. Cook said he found the dichotomy to be particularly relevant within what he describes as a divided country.