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