off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

Summertime is typically the ‘off-season’ for theater. But by now you know we like to do things a little differently. That’s why we’re featuring a special off the WALL summer production!  Beginning August 13 and running through August 16th, “I won’t be in on Monday” will take to our stage for its first set of performances on our stage, or for that matter… anywhere! As part of our In Repertory program, “I won’t be in on Monday” will run again in February of 2016. Poster Monday 790There’s a lot of reasons that make this production of ‘I won’t be in on Monday’ extra special. We’ll start with a few: This first run in August will be a world premier showing. It was written by the returning playwright Anne Stockton, who wrote the successful play ‘The Speed Queen’ that ran on our stage in 2012. We booked this play sight unseen, meaning the play was still in process when we committed to it. Why? Because we know Anne Stockton will deliver and will WOW every member of the audience! W...

Rain, Rain and more Rain. Tired of all the Rain? Looking forward to more sun? Let’s pretend we have a week of no rain. Let’s pretend we have a week of sun. Let’s pretend we’re in the eye of a storm. Let’s pretend we’re atop a mountain, feeling the trembling of the beginnings of an avalanche. Let’s pretend we’re in a sunny spot. Let’s pretend we’re in a dessert place with a monsoon on its way. The weather varies greatly in different parts of the world, offering a variety of experiences. The weather can be so unpredictable.  Sometimes it’s beautiful when it was supposed to rain. Sometimes a storm hits from nowhere. Wouldn’t it be nice to sometimes be more spontaneous, a bit unpredictable ourselves? Like a ray of sun after a storm or perhaps just once, like the storm itself. What would that feel like? Let’s pretend we are someone we are not. Let’s pretend we can be anyone. Let’s pretend we can experience life from another’s perspective. What would it be like to experience daily...

Ghosts March 2015 Decades ago, the television was quickly nicknamed “The Boob Tube” for its power to draw people into a viewing stupor. And it continues to do so today. How often do you flip through the channels looking for an interesting show? Does this sound familiar: “There’s nothing good on TV”? It doesn’t seem to matter how many channels there are, sometimes you just want more. So why sit there and watch mindless TV when you can come to our theater and stimulate your senses and challenge your mind? At off the WALL, we don’t mind tackling topics that some may consider controversial or that are at the heart of challenges faced by many in our society. What we do mind — and what you won’t find on our stage as part of our theater productions– are mindless plays about mindless topics. Our audiences deserve better. We strive not only give you something to talk about, but to think about. To REALLY THINK about, that evening, the next day and maybe even the next. off the Wall’s prof...

Live theater.  To those of us who love it so, live theater is a comfortable visit with people we know, or who we are about to know. The ticket we exchange for entry is our invitation to a special time, a time of laughter, smiles, tears and sighs, the same emotions we share with family and friends. The experience of small live theater , in particular, holds a special allure. Instead of watching the story unfold from the front door, we are invited into the living room, invited to share the moment, rather than watch it only. Those who frequent Off the Wall Center for Performing Arts enjoy the intimacy unique to small theater. You are our guests, and we invite you in to be a part of the special stories we have to share. We're one of the few theaters in the Pittsburgh area where professional actors take the stage. lease consider our schedule for the upcoming 2015-16 theater season. We can't wait to spend some time with you. So consider this your invitation to come on in! H...

t’s not just funny. It’s not just weird.  It’s in a league with the elite weird.  That’s according to Mike Vargo in his review Try a Snarly Treat: It’s Brewed in the Pittsburgh Entertainment Central.  Vargo further complimented the play by No Name Players stating that “a number of good things work together in Brewed…  the play has a the ring of truth; it hits home.” Brewed, written by native North Hills Pittsburgher Scott T. Barsotti and directed by Steven Wilson is all about sisters who perhaps would have the time of their life on the Jerry Springer show, though Jerry and the producers may not fare quite so well.  Committed to ‘stirring the pot’ to keep their sister Babette alive, their inner struggles, intensified by their ‘charming‘ personalities, lead to fist fights and all out brawls. Wondering if this play is for you?  Here’s what Vargo had to say of the audience: On the night I went, the audience ranged from late-middle-aged matrons to young du...

People are often drawn to a career that they believe will satisfy their passion. Lovers of children are drawn to teaching, lovers of animals to veterinary medicine, lovers of crime shows to forensic science, and so on. We can and should add that lovers of artistic expression are often drawn to theater. Parity (the state or condition of being equal, especially regarding status or pay) — actually the lack of parity — may be most evident in theater. Few veterinarians treat diseased animals as a side job until they can earn enough money to go full time. Few forensic scientists offer to help solve criminal cases for free of for very minimal pay until they prove they are worthy of hire. Theater, however, is a different story. Most audiences would be surprised to know that a percentage of actors, even in New York City, practice their craft for as little as five dollars per night. Some work for free, choosing to satisfy their passion without regard to compensation. Some might say that th...

Fact:Across the world, women remain underrepresented in theatre. A recap of a previous blog tells us that, as recent as 2014, women represent only 17% of all playwrights. As with most ingrained cultural practices, change doesn’t come easily. Achieving true gender parity will require a concerted effort across the entire theatre universe. Rita Anderson, an award-winning Texas playwright, in a recent article posted on tcgcircle.com recommends a push from the theatre world to achieve “50/50 by 2020.” Martha Richards, in an article for American Theater, shared a series of steps that she believes will help to eliminate the “parody of gender parity,” that poor imitation of equality. She outlines the following: Build alliances with other social justice groups. Work with women in other art forms. Teach and produce plays by women. Work with the unions to help prevent unfair labor practices. Educate political candidates about the need to increase arts funding. off the WALL Theater is ...