off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

I have always enjoyed the theater. I never watch a movie or read a book twice. A rerun on television gives me the chance to try something new. But I look forward to seeing a play I know well, reinterpreted and brought alive with a different director and cast. The intimacy of the theater, especially in a small venue, is my favorite form of entertainment. When I can see the spittle, smell the cigarette, hear the footsteps and feel the emotions unfold before me, I am part of the experience. I have had the pleasure of introducing my second wife to the theater over these past six years. We read the critics and synopsis of the plays, on the way to the Shaw and Shakespeare festivals in Canada. We look for a new play when traveling, especially New York, San Francisco and Toronto. We subscribe to The Pittsburgh Public and try to never miss an August Wilson production. Now we have our own local theater to support and enjoy. On the Main Street of Washington, PA, in a city trying to...

Ruminations by Lauren Michaels Finding the Off the Wall Theatre has been one of the luckiest coincidences in my career. I moved to Pittsburgh almost a year ago from New York City, where I had been studying acting at NYU. I had moved there from Dayton, OH with big dreams to find big opportunities in the big city. And I did, for a while in school. But once I graduated, times got tough. I realized it was a hard city to make it, not just for my career, but for rent, too. It was hard to find any theatres that were ready to hire non-union actors fresh out of college. If I wanted to act, I did plays friends produced on a small scale or student films. A paid gig was still a faraway dream. Life took a turn when a certain someone walked into the East Village Mexican restaurant where I was bartending. He was from Pittsburgh, and despite the physical distance of our homes, we needed to be together. As fates would have it our relationship was sped up when I was fired from this particular...

I was pleasantly surprised and pleased by Off the Wall's production values and choice of material. I just attended the opening night of THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED and loved the play - it plays a lot better than it reads, and I'd never seen it before. Good choice - and risky material for Washington! For one thing - it's again an actor-centric piece. Small set, not a complex technical production - simply actors doing great roles. Which is still what I think theater is about, and something to which your theater has made a real commitment. So few theaters today have the freedom, (both economic and from their Boards) to choose material that depend on actors doing exciting work. More often season choices are made in order to entice audiences away from their television sets. Your selections seem focused on enticing actors to work in a small theater, in Washington, for not a lot of money - in order to do roles that 'they've always wanted to do'. Thank you!!! Ingrid Sonnic...

Oh my goodness! I saw the production of 'agnes of god' over the weekend and it was simply amazing. It was so intense and very well directed. The venue is beautiful and such a wonderful surprise for little Washingotn, PA! I was very impressed with off the wall theatre and look forward to attending many more productions in the future. .... again, what a great experience this weekend was! Thank you. Kimberly Katruska 10-23-09

Thank you all for an amazing experience last night. I have never been so entranced by a stage production in my life-I was nearly in tears.The quality of the sets and the acting were honestly unexpected. I expected good, what I got was mind-blowing. Everything was absolutely fantastic. Thank you so very much. As an English major I do not run out words often, but last nights performance left me utterly speechless. I am looking forward to a return trip. Thanks again, Evid Miller 10-17-09

Dear Mr & Mrs Gruenert, Agnes of God is in keeping with your apparent bigotry against Catholics, religion and family life. Ever since Agnes hit the stage, Catholics (and those who put the play on) have known of its harshly negative and unfair view of Catholicism. I wouldn’t be surprised if you followed this up with Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You or Bare. Mercy Seat may not be as bad in relation to its attack on religion, but this Mormon artist certainly makes up for it in his use of the profane talk of his characters. I’m looking forward to you performing something that treats Gays, Women or Muslims in the same ugly light. But I won’t hold my breath too long. Liberals rarely display that kind of intellectual integrity; they preach that we should be tolerant, peaceful and compassionate, yet they themselves spew the most bigoted, hateful and insensitive things. You seem to think, like a spoiled teenager, that to be “grown up” means that you have to be crass, vulgar, and...

Below is a synopsis of our next show: Set in Manhattan and Los Angeles, the play is a fast paced, hilarious look at the world of celebrity and the down-and-dirty politics of show business. The four characters are Mitchell, a handsome young movie star, his uber-agent Diane, a hustler named Alex, and Alex’s girlfriend Ellen. When Mitchell and Alex become involved in a physical relationship, Diane is concerned that what she describes as Mitchell’s “slight recurring case of homosexuality” will derail his career. She may have to push him back in the closet and everyone else in his life off a cliff in order to secure the movie role of a lifetime for him. At Off The Wall Theater Dec. 4-19, 2009

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