off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

Dec. 14- 29, 2012 at Off The Wall Theater A great video clip from a recent performance. Junior High dance and first kiss.  Erika Cuenca and Tony Bingham at their best. Original music composed and produced  by Ryan McMasters. Click on picture for a sample.

Pittsburgh Theater review: "Gruesome Playground Injuries" at Off The Wall Productions by Gordon Spencer on WRCT Two fine, local actors whose talents have brightened many plays in recent years again confirm their appeal. Erika Cuenca and Tony Bingham fill the stage with warmth, depth and truth. At Off the Wall Productions, superbly guided by director Maggie Balsley, they are the cast in the unfortunately-named  Gruesome Playground Injuries  by awarded and much-admired Rajiv Joseph.  For more click here

A Pittsburgh Theater Premiere Dec. 14 - 29, 2012.

A Pittsburgh Theater Premiere Written by :   Rajiv Joseph   Directed by :   Maggie Balsley With:  Erika Cuenca* and Tony Bingham*  Love hurts, and that’s the point. Two eight-year-olds’ lives collide in the nurse’s office. Then over the course of 30 years, the lives of Kayleen and Doug intersect at the most bizarre intervals, leading the two childhood friends to compare scars and the physical calamities that keep drawing them together. As they mature from accident-prone kids to self-destructive adults, their broken hearts and broken bones draw them ever closer. These two rebels may only be fit for one another – but how far can one person go to heal another’s wounds?  .”…irresistibly odd and exciting…achy and darkly humorous drama… ” –  NY Daily News “… gripping and off-kilter… humor and pathos constantly elbow one another… edgy theater…” -   City Beat

December 6-8, 2012 A Pittsburgh Theater Premiere Limited run - three nights only! Written and performed by Anne Stockton Directed by Austin Pendleton Adapted from the novel by Stewart O'Nan This harrowing one-woman tour de force won for Outstanding Performance - Solo Show at the 2007 NYC Midtown International Theater Festival.  "...both satisfying and frightening...she's captured Marjorie's innocence and insanity." Stewart O'Nan, Author.  "Performed by the remarkable Anne Stockton... this is a daring piece of theater. Austin Pendleton has directed the play with a keen understanding of the humanity within the monster."The Siegel Column Buy Tickets - Click Here Directions - Click Here

A Pittsburgh Theater Premiere Written by:  Sharr White Directed by:  Melissa Hill Grande With:  Erika Cuenca*,   Virginia Wall Gruenert* , Mark Conway Thompson*, Ricardo Vila Roger “…impressive, compelling...beautiful performance…” –  WRCT, Pittsburgh “…taut and moving..” –   Coal Hill Review “…new location - same bold productions...examplary cast... Pittsburgh Owl Scribe

October 12 -27, 2012  A Pittsburgh Theater Premiere Written by: Sharr White Directed by: Melissa Hill Grande With: Erika Cuenca*, Virginia Wall Gruenert* , Mark Conway Thompson*, Ricardo Vila Roger “…a haunting drama…” – Variety “…the emotional wallop it delivers is almost shocking..” – NY Daily News “… takes you to …that transcendent level you can only reach in the theatre when the heart, mind, nerves, and soul operate in perfect concert.” Off Broadway

For you who missed our Open House, here is a video with the latest construction updates. We are 95% there. We will be ready for the start of our new season 10/12/12. Don't miss " The Other Place" at well, The Other Place in Carnegie.

Only 6 days until our Open House.  We are close but not there yet. It's going to be a long week.

The outside of our building is finally catching up with all the work being done on the inside. We have four banners up. Stay tuned for a short video coming this weekend. Open House 9/22 12.00 noon until 3.30pm. 

FREE EVENT!  Join us for an OPEN HOUSE on Saturday, September 22nd from 12 noon until 3:30, and help us celebrate our move to Carnegie! Off The Wall now resides in a newly-constructed theater space in the heart of downtown Carnegie (25 W. Main Street), surrounded by bars, restaurants, and ample parking. We’ll be offering special promotional deals, ticket raffles, restaurant coupons, live entertainment and more. Experience the "new" Off The Wall Theater! Off The Wall is extremely proud to celebrate the opening of our sixth season this fall at our new location. In keeping with our newly enhanced mission statement, the entire 2012-13 season will consist of plays never before staged in the Pittsburgh region (three of which have yet to be published, one a world premiere), and our focus will be on supporting the work of the enormously talented female artists in our area – playwrights, directors, and actors. Hope to see you on September 22nd!

What were we thinking? We had planned on building a theater, excavating for dinosaur bones was not in the cards. We had perfectly nice bathrooms that served dozens of office employees well.  Here we are, after applying for permits and following ADA requirements. Total demolition and a complete re-build to make all bathrooms accessible. Here is the plan (very European), we will charge our audience to use the bathrooms. Let's say we sell 3,500 tickets per season (please help us to do this) and 50% of the audience uses the bathroom,  and we charge $ 1 per flush, it will take us 14 years to break even. Theaters have been known to sell chairs to their audience members, how about buying a toilet stall? $ 5,000 will get you a plaque with your name on a stall of your choice!

If you are following our blog you might remember our promise to dance on the new stage floor this weekend. Here we are, Ginny and Hans, not only enjoying the construction progress at the new and improved Off The Wall Theater, but also celebrating our wedding anniversary.

Moving ahead. Drywall is up on outside theater walls and tech/control booth.  Electrical wiring close to done. Plumbing underway.  Trusses for ceiling grit going up early next week. Stay tuned.

Air condition unit and ducts moved from stage area to lobby. Risers finished, waiting for carpeting. Stage floor ready for MDF board.  Electric wiring run. Drywall going up tomorrow. Trussing for lighting grid on its way.  Should be able to "dance" on stage this weekend. Next week, painting, painting and last but not least - plumbing. New entrance doors and awnings hopefully in next week.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Risers nearly done, first layer of " sprung " stage floor is in.  Air-condition ducts are being re-configured. Electrical wiring being run, control booth is framed, wired and ready to be walled in.  Slowly but surely...

The new paint job is taking shape. Will we be done by Labor Day?  Stay tuned.

Off The Wall - Carnegie, PA  We are finally making progress. Permits are in, still some plumbing ADA issues but we are getting there. 90% of the demolition is done, the actual theater inside the building is being framed, outside painting will start Monday. Awning, new entrance doors, banners, lights are ordered. Now we just need money, lots of money. Anybody out there who is looking for tax break, call us!

We are still waiting for some of the permits to come in. I guess building stage sets, creating living rooms and bed rooms or whole houses, with running water and working stoves, and doing this in the blink of an eye, moved us a little bit out of the realm of reality. Reality sucks. If these architects, contractors and whoever else is involved had to build a set, there would be no live theater. So, we are running late but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Stay tuned for updates and check out the rendering of our new theater's facade. Come Hell or High Water (Oops, we are close to Chartiers Creek, which flooded Carnegie a few years back) we shall start rehearsals Sep. 17 and open " The Other Place" Oct. 12, 2012.

Nice article from the PG Click here

And now the latest from the Post Gazette: Stage Notes: Off the Wall Productions creating new home in Carnegie July 5, 2012 12:22 am Off The Wall Productions has a new home for its upcoming sixth season, making the move from Washington, Pa., to Carnegie. By Sharon Eberson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Hans and Virginia Gruenert, the managing and artistic directors of the 6-year-old company, bought an empty building at 25 W. Main St. and are in the process of having it converted to a 94-seat theater with a lobby that can accommodate concessions. A business development grant from the Borough of Carnegie helped to facilitate the move. "Off The Wall is also opening up our venue to other companies who need a home for a night or a weekend or two, making it the multicultural center we've always dreamed of," Mr. Gruenert said, adding that the stage has been designed with the idea of attracting dance companies and stand-up comedians. The Gruenerts began the pro...

“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them” – Albert Einstein We thank everyone who has supported us in our Washington venue, and we can assure you that the artistic quality of Off The Wall Productions will only strengthen in our new home.  In 2007, Off The Wall made a bold, courageous choice to open our doors in Washington, with the hope of contributing to the community and aiding the city in a comeback from economic decline.  Fittingly, our programming choices were also bold and courageous, and we’re immensely proud of that.  We are also incredibly grateful for our Washington-based friends and supporters like the Washington County Community Foundation, from whom we received the Director’s Choice Award in 2010. But now it’s time to move forward – specifically, to Carnegie – for the fiscal and artistic health of our production company.  The Borough of Carnegie has welcomed us with us a substantial business development grant, and our new location will...

The Washington Hospital Teen Outreach Real Talk Performers announces a special performance at Off the Wall Theatre (147 N Main Street, Washington) on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at 1 PM. The Real Talk Performers is a teen drama group. The group's mission is education through theatre; the group began addressing topics vital to teens in 1996. The Performers have been awarded first place in four state wide competitions and have presented nationally for Healthy Teen Network, Lamaze International, and AASECT. Sunday's performance includes two plays that are cutting edge. A Diary of a Teen Label deals with the stereotypes associated with adolescence. Labels has been presented to excellent reviews on a state level at PASAP (Pa Student Assistance Program) and the Three Rivers Community Foundation and nationally to Healthy Teen Network. Teens wear the labels they are assigned by their peers throughout the play as they strive to discover their personal path and identity. Snapshots looks...

I don't know who wrote the following editorial in the Washington Observer-Reporter.  Frankly, I was surprised to see it. The writer is very complimentary to Off The Wall, which is very nice, but one glaring error perfectly sums up one of the main reasons we are leaving Washington: he/she doesn't know where we are.  He/she is not alone. We are not located in the former VFW building (which stands empty), and we never were.  We're in the building next door.  If having Off The Wall on North Main was in fact "a matter of pride for city residents," I think this piece of information might have been fact-checked, not to mention that our Washington audience base would have been much higher than 20%, and many members of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce (of which Off The Wall has been a member since 2007) would not have been visiting us for the  very first time  at a networking function last month. We know who are friends are locally, and we value t...

We had five great years in Washington. We have reached and surpassed our artistic goals but our current building cannot keep up with us. We have found a bigger and better space. Now, we have only three performances left at the old Off The Wall Theater in Washington.  Come, visit, say good bye and enjoy " Death And The Maiden" our 21st and last play in Washington.  More information to follow soon .

"...it might be the most important play you never saw."  Click here for full review

"...staged with unsettling reality by director Maggie Balsley and performed with sure integrity by her cast. " click here for full review

Sadism and Schubert, justice and vendetta, madness and healing, violence and rapprochement . In his moral thriller, "Death and the Maiden," Chilean playwright, Ariel Dorfman, certainly employs enough in the way of concepts to awaken the thinking cap and keep it occupied for a good 95 minutes. More

If you love theater that really makes your palms sweat and your heart quake, then maybe – maybe – you’re ready for Off The Wall Productions’ presentation of “Death and the Maiden.”  This white-knuckle thriller by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman centers on the story of Paulina, a former political prisoner, who has since retreated from her ordeal with her husband to an isolated country house. While there, happenstance brings a stranger calling who the woman believes may be her nameless, faceless tormentor from years past.  Paranoia or reality? You and Paulina will take the journey together in a brilliant bone-chiller from one of Latin America’s foremost writers and human rights activists. Don’t miss your chance to experience the 20th anniversary revival of this contemporary masterpiece. For special offer, please click here

The following article by Ariel Dorfman (playwright) was published 10/14/11 in  "the guardian" Death and the Maiden's haunting relevance The play I wrote 20 years ago about Chile's torture and trauma has a painful, global relevance today It happened yesterday but it could well be today. A woman awaits the return of her husband as the sun goes down. The dictatorship that plagued her land has just fallen, and everything is uncertain. The woman is full of fear, gripped by a secret terror that she only shares with the man she loves. During the night and the day that follows she will have to confront that fear, she will bring to justice in her living room the doctor she believes is responsible for having tortured and raped her years ago. Her husband, a lawyer in charge of a commission investigating the deaths of thousands of dissidents under the previous regime, must defend the accused man because without the rule of law the transition to democracy will be compromised...

April 1, 2012  at 2.00pm at Off The Wall Theater Where do you belong?    What does it feel like?   What does it mean to belong? Trying to find one's niche in life, the idea of belonging floats to the surface of many minds. Through the use of multiple creative mediums, queer youth and allies come together on stage, transforming Off The Wall Theater in to a space of exploration around belonging, while exploring this journey through spoken word such as this at the preview show:  I belong in the sound of the song of myself  I belong in my own groove  I belong/ in the sound of my joints cracking  to the feeling of my hands in mittens  I belong in the ragtime tongue twist of my next verse  I BELONG Come to Off The Wall Theater to see our Season show to experience what young queer youth and allies feel and think about belonging as the Dreams of Hope's Performance Troupe in Being in, Being OUT, an original...

Off The Wall is a theater production company whose mission is to enrich, enliven, educate, amaze and entertain our audiences, to help create a more conscious and compassionate community while increasing the public knowledge and appreciation of theater in South Western Pennsylvania, and to nurture, challenge, inspire and empower women theater artists from our area and beyond to collaborate as playwrights and directors, explore new ideas, and develop new works. Please follow this link . The article by Marsha Norman (we proudly staged her play 'night, Mother in 2010) helped with our decision to add the focus on women theater artists to our mission statement.

If you missed Baby click the video for a few funny moments during rehearsal and check below for critics reviews. " I've never heard an audience at Off the Wall laugh more raucously or with more frequency than they did last Friday, at the play and at the finesse and versatility that were obvious in the performances given by Robyne Parrish, Tressa Glover and Tony Bingham." Observer - Reporter "The cast is brilliant with pitch-perfect comic timing. But it is Glover who gives the tour-de-force performance of the show." Pittsburgh Theater Today "Off The Wall Productions again lives up to its name, offering a play which clambers and crawls over provocative space, defying conventions, prodding us to ponder what's inside." Pittsburgh City Paper " High Strung Menage a Trois Makes Myriad of Mirthful Moments...Washington's Off The Wall Theater comes up with yet another delightful way to spend the evening." Pittsburgh OWL Scribe ...

February 24-25, March 2-3, 8-10 at 8:00pm and March 4 at 3:00pm Written by Paula Vogel – Directed by Linda Haston Starring Tony Bingham, Tressa Glover, and Robyne Parrish Move way over, Brady Bunch. Anna’s baby is a week late.  Ruth, her longtime partner, is jealous that Anna’s gay friend Peter fathered the child in a very conventional way.  And, oh yes, the three imaginary children Anna and Ruth have created (and embody), not to mention impending fatherhood, are totally freaking Peter out.  What’s a non-traditional family to do?  Simple: kill off the imaginary kids to make room for the real one. As it turns out, that’s easier said than done.  Paula Vogel’s outrageous comedy, And Baby Makes Seven, celebrates a family in which members freely materialize and dematerialize, offering love, comfort, and the occasional kick in the ass if needed.  Devising ways to do away with the fictional children becomes problematic. The very sane Anna and Rut...