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Showing posts from June, 2015

THEATER – BETTER THAN A BOOK?

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Do you remember the last good book you read… that really good book? Think about what happened when you closed the cover for the final time. How did you feel? Were you a bit sad, your time with those characters just came to an end. No longer would you delve into the depths of their soul. If you like to read, you may have read books that have left you with any of the following thoughts or feelings: UPLIFTED Feeling like you can take on the world, happy for the characters, feeling good about what’s going on in a certain area or even within the world. AWARE In awe that such a terrific or horrific action could take place, whether from an individual, team, workplace, or even from within an entire culture or country. EDUCATED Able to at least in part, understand what others may be experiencing and having a level of empathy, even if you yourself have never experienced that situation, (we’re talking about great books here, not how-to books) TORN You may ask yourself “did that really

PARITY OR PARODY? PART 1

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The Women’s Lib movement made great strides in the 1970’s, expanding women’s access to a broader array of career choices. Now, in the 21st century, we can point to multitudes of women who have achieved workplace parity with men, stepping in as company executives, managers and business owners. It is no longer unusual for men to report to women, a relatively rare phenomena pre-women’s lib. Though we are approaching parity in some areas, with the level of parity varying within industries, geographic areas, etc., great strides have been made towards achieving parity. Unfortunately, when it comes to equal pay for equal work, we see parody, not parity. Women’s salaries are a “poor imitation” of men’s, when working in comparable positions. This same “parody of gender parity” — or poor imitation of equality — is evident in education, history books and so much more. What about theater? A number of studies reveal that women remain underrepresented in theater, not just in the United States, b

SISTERLY LOVE? YOU DECIDE!

t’s time to tackle a touch question! What is sisterly love? Some say it’s commitment, some say it’s an undying bond, some say it’s being best friends, and some say it’s about sacrifice and obligation. But can it also be, well… about emotions, fist fights, and all out shocking drama? That’s the case with the sisters in No Name Theater’s production of Brewed, which is premiering in Pittsburgh at off the WALL Theater in Carnegie. The sisters include Paulette – she’s just plain fed up Collette – let’s just say she’s clueless Babette – oh so volatile and crippled Juliette – she does her best to keep things civil, at least for a while Roxette – she’s full of surprises If you think your family has problems, you haven’t seen anything until you meet these sisters! Nothing is off limits as these sisters ‘keep the pot stirred.’  The question of sisterly love just might not be the only thing tackled in this play!! ‘NO NAME PLAYERS’ PRESENTS – A PITTSBURGH THEATER PREMIERE BREWED By

NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

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Wondering what we do after our theater season officially ends? You might think that we sit back, relax, and enjoy some time off. Although that sounds delightful, it’s certainly not reality. Not when we’re committed to bringing some of the best that theater has to offer to Pittsburgh Theater and to the Carnegie community. Where better to find out first-hand the latest happenings in the world of theater? Why New York of course! That’s why we scour the streets, read the reviews, talk with the artists, and learn about the new and upcoming playwrights, directors and plays. We’re always searching for the next great production to bring to you! So you can be sure that we’re working our way through the Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway circuits. We’re excited about all the options to consider, and look forward to sharing some of our finds on our stage in the future. off the WALL Performing Arts Center | a Pittsburgh Theater 25 West Main, Carnegie, PA 15106 | 6 miles from downtown Pitts

A TASTE OF BREWED

Last year ‘No Name Players’ brought you EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL This year they’re bringing to you BREWED Want a taste of BREWED? Below are clips from reviews of past productions of BREWED produced by various theaters around the country, as collected by the playwright himself on his blog site scott t. barsotti: playwright and author “When the first line of a play is “motherf@cker,” you know you’re probably in for a good time. BREWED is a lively production full of everything from ultra violence to the supernatural and even some dark family issues.” ~ New City, John Accrocco “My brother and I sometimes fight, but in the world of BREWED the sisters look like they are auditioning for Fight Club (by the time the play was over there were mangled feet, bloodied noses, and blackened eyes)…BREWED is recommended for its very dark satire and wickedly awesome fight scenes.” ~ Splash Magazine Chicago, Noel Schecter “[C]austic, darkly funny family drama…What does it mean when loyalty among

LAUGH OUT LOUD! (LOL)

The Harvey WALLbangers are back and they’re back with their best material yet! Think they were funny before, they were just getting started.  So if you’re ready to laugh out loud, and I mean really laugh out loud, not just little lol’s, grab a few of your friends, a date or come alone.  Just be sure to get to off the WALL theater on June 11th, 12th, 13th or 14th. After that, the laugh’s on you! “Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.” ― Anthony Burgess DON’T BE A LONER! COME JOIN IN THE FUN. HERE’S WHAT AUDIENCE MEMBERS HAD TO SAY AFTER THE LAST HARVEY WALLBANGER SHOW. “I laughed so hard I cried!” “I almost wet myself.” “Did you hear me snorting? That was so funny!!” “Oh my gosh! I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.” “Did you hear that group of women laughing? I was laughing at how hard they were laughing!” “I laughed so much my belly hurts! I bet I’ll be sore tomorrow.” “Ow! I think I pulled my back laughin

THE WONDERFUL RUN OF FIREWALL DANCE THEATER’S ‘ADMISSION’

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It’s been a wonderful run! Admission, the most recent fireWALL production on our stage, not only was an amazingly powerful dance performance, it exemplified the very existence of off the WALL (Carnegie Stage) Performing Arts Center! A central theme of our mission is to nurture, challenge, inspire and empower women theater artists, and this production did just that! TO NURTURE, CHALLENGE, INSPIRE AND EMPOWER WOMEN THEATER ARTISTS Promote women in theater and the arts: Six vibrant young women were the stars of Admission. Four were local artists, and two joined us from New York City. Provide a fair wage to working artists: An often unknown, and in some cases overlooked fact, is that theater and dance artists too often work for very low wages or no wages at all. Off the WALL believes that artists are entitled to earn a living wage. Promote empowerment: Female empowerment was the theme of Admission. The act of coming to recognize the frustrations, to overcome inhibitions as one st

IT’S NO LAUGHING MATTER!

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Laughing is serious business! Think I’m kidding? Did you know there are Expert Level Practitioners as a Certified Laughter Leaders? It’s a fact. Julie Ann Sullivan is one such laughter expert in the Pittsburgh area and she has worked with the likes of McDonald’s, Bayer USA, and Highmark Health Services to name just a few. Need more proof that laughter is serious business? Have you heard that Laughter is the best medicine? How about a little scientific research. “Feeling rundown? Try laughing more. Some researchers think laughter just might be the best medicine, helping you feel better and putting that spring back in your step.” R. Morgan Griffin / Web MD Feature ‘Give Your Body a Boost – With Laughter‘ So why do I share this information with you? Because The Harvey WALLbangers are back on stage!! And this time they are performing not one, not two, not three, but FOUR times. We heard you loud and clear… “We Want More! We Want More! We Want More!” So if you’re looking for the

ADMISSION: BOLD, EXHILARATING AND FABULOUS!

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fireWALL dance theater fireWALL dance theater is taking our stage by storm with their current production of Admission! Admission is the story of six women as they work through their self-doubts, fears and worries on their journey to self-acceptance and female empowerment. Steve Sucato, of the Pittsburgh City Paper, published his review earlier today. You can read his full review here, but we thought we’d share a bit of what he had to say. To start, we’ve displayed a mix of words from his review that we always like to hear, followed by the selected highlights from the Sucato’s review. ENERGETIC     STRONG     FULL OF POWER     EXHILARATING     VISUAL METAPHORS     BOLD CHOREOGRAPHY     DRAMA     WHIRLWIND SOLOS     WONDERFUL     FABULOUS   “ADMISSION’S REAL STRENGTH CAME IN AN ONSLAUGHT OF FULL-THROTTLE, ENERGETIC AND ATHLETIC DANCE SEQUENCES” DANCERS IN SILHOUETTE BEHIND A ROW OF LARGE PANELS “… series of gestures that revealed them in states of worry, self-doubt,

LIBERATION THROUGH EMPOWERMENT

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fireWALL dance theater FIREWALL DANCE THEATER PRESENTS ADMISSION A WORLD PREMIERE REMAINING PERFORMANCES: JUNE 4-6 @ 8:00 PM Choreography by Elisa-Marie Alaio Original Music by: Ryan McMasters our fireWALL dancers: Elisa-Marie Alaio, Glenna Clark, Grace Cohen, Sara Cohen, Cammi Nevarez, Jenna Rae Smith Have you recently had one of those days where you just want to scream? As hard as you try to work around problems, your hands are tied and you just can’t do what you to do. No matter what you do, you run into a brick wall. Sometimes it may even feel a bit hopeless. It’s not fun feeling stifled, whether from your own perceptions or from boundaries placed by others. Often, various segments of society have barriers placed upon them. Invisible as they are, these cultural barriers are stronger than steel. This has been, and continues to be, in varying degrees, the case for women. Imagine how you feel when you just want people to hear you, to acknowledge you, to understa