off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

To all of our fans, followers and donors, I thank you, on behalf of the entire Off The Wall team, for a wonderful year!  With your support, we were able to make the year 2013 the ‘Year of the Woman’ with 4 plays by and about women. We’re always striving to bring you plays that represent real life. Plays that will shape your future experiences by creating a more conscious and compassionate community. Plays whose memories will last well beyond the applause. So the next time you’re looking to enjoy an experience that’s a bit ‘Off The Wall’ – come join us at our local Pittsburgh Theater – Off The Wall Productions , just 6 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Here’s a taste of what you can look forward to in 2014: A Feminine Ending – by Sara Treem, playing February 28 – March 15, 2014 Inky – by Rinne Groff, playing May 2 – May 17, 2014 Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Daina Michelle Griffith & Virginia Wall Gruenert - Photo by Heather Mull This weekend is your last chance to catch the Pittsburgh Premiere of ‘WELL’ – a hilarious, heartfelt seriocomedy. Come join us for our last weekend of performances.  How often do you have the opportunity to enjoy a play in a theater so intimate that you’re not only almost sitting on the stage, but where the actors are blatantly aware of you? Well, by Lisa Kron, is written in a unique autobiographical style, where Lisa, the daughter, has brought her mother to our stage to ‘make an exploration of universal issues’.  What does that mean?  That means that Lisa, always thinking of herself, is perhaps using her mother a bit as she tells the story of her own life through a play.  But the fun is just beginning!  Ann, the mother, has some different recollections of Lisa’s childhood and early adult years, and she doesn’t hesitate to point those differences out to Lisa. The play gets funni...

Daina Michelle Griffith, Virginia Wall Gruenert Photo by Heather Mull Most of us say it at one time or another, “I don’t want to be like my mother (or father),” only to find out years later that’s exactly what we have become! WELL gives us insight into the life of playwright Lisa Kron, who worries that her mother’s chronic battle with “allergies” will likewise plague her own life. Kron presents “a play within a play,” portraying a unique and somewhat satirical look at chronic illness, human weakness and family ties that bind. “No one can be anything but pleased with the acting,” notes Christopher Rawson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, adding, “her (Kron’s) memories and the feisty characters keep rising up and commandeering the stage.” Read more of Rawson’s review . LAST WEEKEND TO SEE 'WELL' - December 26, 27 and 28:   Don’t miss it! Order your tickets today by selecting this link . Well, written by Lisa Kron, is a riotously funny play that acknowledges the heartbre...

Virginia Wall Gruenert, Linda Haston, Susie McGregor-Laine - Photo by Heather Mull If you have never attended an Off The Wall Theater production, WELL is the one! Unique and interactive, this autobiographical sketch of playwright Lisa Kron turns audience members into cast members and uses the theater itself as its stage. According to Pittsburgh Owl Scribe’s review by David Zuchowski,“You’ll probably find yourself on the edge of your chair trying to keep up with the shenanigans of the six character cast and the author’s playful penchant for violating all the rules of chronology, place and dimension.” Join the laughter as we poke fun at the idiosyncrasies of the Ann Kron household, where allergies seem to rule. WELL’s effective portrayal of family relationships, conflicts and unmet expectations will be sure to resonate with you. Don’t miss it! Order your tickets today by selecting this link . December 26, 27 and 28 - Pittsburgh Theater Live Spend some with us this holiday ...

Daina Michelle Griffith & Virginia Wall Gruenert- Photo by Heather Mull What happens when a daughter, who has been impacted all her life by her mother’s undiagnosed illness, decides to write a play about her experiences? Well, an auto-biographical play, explores various life issues, such as wellness and illness, integration, and mother-daughter relationships.   Watching the main character Lisa (the daughter) deliver the dialogue on the play and run through its scenes is much like watching a Christmas present being unwrapped. Once unwrapped, a very nice gift is revealed. Like a present, Lisa must unwrap and shed layers of past experiences before she can get to the core issue with her mother – why can her mother, who healed a failing neighborhood, not heal herself? The empathy and understanding that ensues is the true gift of healing. December 19-28. Pittsburgh Theater Live:  WELL, written by Lisa Kron, plays this weekend before Christmas and the weekend after Chris...

Alan Bomar Jones, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Susie McGregor-Laine, Tony Bingham - Photo by Heather Mull “It was a great theatrical experience!” - Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli of Burgh Vivant “It was enthralling, from start to finish.” – Lonnie the Theater Lady of Burgh Vivant Buzz & Lonnie’s review of Well seems to follow the old adage, if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything. And let me tell you, they had PLENTY to say, and all of it good . Here’s a compilation of bits and pieces from their podcast.   Click here to listen to entire podcast. I enjoyed the way the play was written. I thought it was very unique and creative. The talent was amazing. It was enthralling, from start to finish. Every bit of it. The set, the actors, the play itself, the direction, everything.  I liked the way the set looked so phenomenal when you come in. Daina Michelle Griffith (Lisa): Daina impresses me every time I see her. She just does everything so naturally. Virgin...

Virginia Wall Gruenert - Photo by Heather Mull Looking for a personal gift for someone close to you this holiday season? What could be better than spending time and having a good laugh with someone you love?  Our production this holiday season is perfect for a mother-daughter outing, any close relationship, or two friends wishing to spend some time together. WELL, written by Lisa Kron, is about a mother-daughter bond and the need for empathy for those you love most. It is also about how a mother heals a failing neighborhood when she can’t heal herself and what constitutes wellness versus illness. But the best part is that although the messages in the play are meaningful, you and your loved one will laugh your way through the entire play. You will be glad you spent this time together. WELL, a 2006 Tony Award-nominated play,  runs the weekend before and after Christmas. So take a break from the hectic holiday and spend some time with a loved one in our cozy theater. Co...

Daina Michelle Griffith & Virginia Wall Gruenert - Photo by Heather Mull From the moment you walk into the theater, you might sense that this play is going to be different. What you won’t sense prior to the start, is just how funny this play will be. Well is not your typical play where the actors stay in character the entire time. Well is a production where the actors portray their characters, have an awareness of audience, and play themselves…the actors. Well is a play about a mother who heals a neighborhood through racial integration, but who is not able to heal herself.  It is also about the impact the mother’s illness has on this mother-daughter relationship as the daughter struggles to understand why her mother cannot get well. Virginia Wall Gruenert, artistic director of Off The Wall Productions, and who plays the mother in the play, selected the play.  When asked why this play, Ginny commented that this play is funny and it’s hard to find good comedy. ...

Daina Michelle Griffith, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Tony Bingham, Linda Haston, Alan Bomar Jones, Susie McGregor-Laine.  Photo by Heather Mull What is Theater?  According to Wikipedia , “Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place.” Read on to see how the unique seriocomedy Well, opening this Friday, December 13 , fits the Wikipedia definition of Theater and why it is a must see in Pittsburgh Theater . Tickets on Sale Now . Theater is... “A Collaborative Form of Fine Art” :  Our technical and artistic team, led by Stage Manager Erika Cuenca, have collaborated to prepare a stage that will make you believe you are sitting in watching the private mother-daughter affairs in the mother’s living room through the wonderful use of the set, props, costumes, lighting and sound. “That Uses Live Performers” :  Some of Pittsburgh’s fi...

Virginia Wall Gruenert & Daina Michelle Griffith. Photo by Heather Mull. Well is a seriously funny play! Autobiographical in nature, it is the story of a mother-daughter relationship. Ann, played by Virginia Wall Gruenert, has galvanized the community by spearheading the racial integration of a Lansing, Michigan neighborhood, but is not able to cure her own mysterious illness, which she attributes to unidentifiable allergies. Lisa, played by Daina Michelle Griffith, struggles with her mother’s inability to heal herself.  Lisa not only blames her mother for the impact her health has on her own life, but also assumes that she has the same life altering ‘allergies’ as her mother. If you’re looking for a unique experience in a Pittsburgh theater , join us for this play.  You’ll laugh as you, the audience, are not only entertained by both sides of the story, but become part of the play as the actors and characters voice their awareness of you. December 13-28. Pittsbu...

Have you ever noticed that the holidays tend to magnify family idiosyncrasies?  When emotions are put aside, you might be able to see that these same day-to-day family interactions can be a great source humor.  Our production this month has nothing to do with the holidays, but everything to do with family dynamics and humor. Daina Michelle Griffth, Alan Bomar Jones, Tony Bingham, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Linda Haston, Susie McGregor-Laine Photo by Heather Mull Well, a seriocomedy brilliantly written by Lisa Kron, will have you laughing as this mother-daughter pair explore why the mother is able to bring life to a failing community, but not able to heal herself. The mother, riddled with pain and fatigue, is convinced she has allergies. As the daughter tries to understand how her mother can heal a sick neighborhood, the mother is critical and relays the ‘true’ story to the audience.  This frustrates the daughter, who at the same time, attempts to bring the audienc...

Virginia Wall Gruenert Virginia Wall Gruenert is passionate about gender equality in the theatre arts.  That’s why, as Artistic Director of Off The Wall Productions, she promotes plays that are written and directed by women, and which include women in the technical roles as well as in the acting roles. As an author, director and actress, Virginia is personally aware of this bias.  This bias reaches to all arms of theater production, whether it’s physical gender bias against female artists, or general gender bias against women producers, directors, playwrights, or stage technicians. And there’s research to validate Virginia’s stance.  In a yearlong research project completed by Emily Glassberg Sands, the findings validated that there is indeed discrimination against female playwrights, which lends itself to the disproportion between the numbers of shows produced by men versus women. ( full article ) In fact, based on information on 20,000 playwrights, the number ...