off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

Thank you for making 2018 so special As 2019 starts to gear up, we’re left remembering the many moments we’ve shared with you in 2018. It was a great year and we hope to make 2019 even better! We sincerely offer our most heartful ‘thank you’ to our creative partners, patrons, employees, and collaborators – Carnegie Stage and off the WALL surely wouldn’t be the same without every single one of you who make up our humble little community. From the bottom of our hearts, we’re happy to have you as part of our family. Erika Cuenca - Virginia Wall Gruenert Byhalia, Mississippi, May 2018 If you’d like to join the Carnegie Stage/off the WALL family, consider donating – no amount it too big or too small… and every little bit helps! With your help we are able to pay EVERY single person who works for us – there are no volunteers; only paid employees. We believe all working artists deserve to make a living doing what they love. To help support our cause, consider donating monthly or a...

A Christmas Carol unlike you’ve ever experienced... “Storytelling at its absolute finest.” - Pittsburgh City Paper “... a truly transformative evening” The Pittsburgh Current "A Christmas Carol at Carnegie Stage Gets Dickens Right" PGH Lesbian Correspondents Written by: Brianne Mueller We’re approaching week three of our run of A CHRISTMAS CAROL and it’s been a wonderful whirlwind experience. The newest version of this classic Charles Dickens tale -- performed and adapted by Mark Coffin, and directed and co-adapted by Heidi Mueller Smith -- is unlike any theatrical journey to have ever graced a stage in Pittsburgh, let alone in Carnegie. Mark Coffin - A Christmas Carol Photo by Heather Mull The 1843 novella written by Charles Dickens has been adapted from page to stage countless times and has practically become synonymous with the American Christmas season. Unlike its many predecessors, Coffin manifests all 16 or so characters in his one-man version of the pl...

WOMEN COUNT In case you missed the theatre industry’s gender parity movement, here’s a recap: women have been writing plays for millennia and landing productions for centuries.   Over time, they’ve also come to play key roles onstage and backstage.   But female theatre artists of all kinds still find themselves bonking their heads on a glass ceiling known as the “glass curtain.”   Even today, female playwrights, directors, and designers are atypical.   Shakespearian gender-swapping has been mooted as a partial solution; however, such theatrical “novelty” only serves to distract from the main issue – the absence of contemporary dramas reflecting the complexity of women’s lives.   Cross-gender casting fails to question the over-representation of dead and living male playwrights.   It does not address the fact that half our contemporary creative world is missing. In an essay in howlround.com, Jenny Lyn Bader writes: “We live in a world dominated by...

What do we want to be when we grow up?  For us this has become an existential question in more ways than one.   Let''s have a look back at the past five years and then... May 2014    Inky Written by: Rinne Groff Directed by Ingrid Sonnichsen With:  Tony Bingham*  (Greg), Abby Quatro* (Inky), Adrienne Wehr* (Barbara), and on alternating nights Evangelina Paul & Layla Wyoming (Allison) A love-starved Manhattanite husband and wife struggle to satisfy their child-like desire to "have it all" during the high-rolling, morally skewed 1980s. When they take in Inky, a young Slavic nanny who's obsessed with Muhammad Ali, to care for their nine-year-old daughter and infant son, they are forced to face both their limitations and their potential for change. Inky is a darkly comic story about the importance of fighting back. Reviews: "One of the most interesting productions I’ve seen for a while simply because just when you thought you had each o...

March 2014         A Feminine Ending Written by Sarah Treem Directed by Matt Morrow With: Erika Cuenca*, Ingrid Sonnichsen*, Weston Blakesley*, Shaun Cameron Hall, Andrew Wind* Amanda wants to be a great composer, but she’s in a profession that only recognizes famous men. At the moment, she's living in New York City and writing advertising jingles to pay the rent while her almost-famous fiancé, Jack, pursues his singing career. Her parents are getting divorced, her first love reappears, and there's a lot of noise in her head, but none of it is music. Until the end. A gentle, bittersweet comedy about a young woman who knows what she wants but not quite how to get it. Reviews: "...the play is really a showcase for Erika Cuenca as Amanda, who, in a mammoth performance of intense focus and rock-ribbed conviction, keeps reminding us of the humanity deep inside Treem’s compelling script." - Ted Hoover - City Paper “... the electricity between them and the...

What do we want to be when we grow up?  For us this has become an existential question in more ways than one.   Let''s have a look back at the past five years and then... December 2013          Well Written by Lisa Kron Directed by: Melissa Hill Grande With: Daina Michelle Griffith* as Lisa & Virginia Wall Gruenert* as Ann Ensemble: Tony Bingham*,  Alan Bomar Jones*, Linda Haston*, Susie McGregor-Laine* Lisa Kron’s insightful 2006 Tony Award-nominated play is a cheeky, fourth-wall-smashing seriocomedy about the collision of art and life, exploring the dynamics of health, family and community. With this story of her mother’s extraordinary ability to heal a changing neighborhood, despite her inability to heal herself, Kron is left to contemplate the notion that wellness lies in our ability to embrace the complexities and contradictions of life. Well is a surprising and riotously funny play that ultimately acknowledges the hea...

What do we want to be when we grow up?  For us this has become an existential question in more ways than one.   Let''s have a look back at the past five years and then... March 2013    Looking For The Pony  Karen Baum - Cameron Knight A Pittsburgh Theater Regional Premiere Written by: Andrea Lepcio Directed by: Robyne Parrish Starring: Theo Allyn*, Karen Baum*, Daina Michelle Griffith*, Cameron Knight*. Original music by EMay Finalist Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award Finalist for the NEA Outstanding New American Play Award. There once were two children who could see the bright side of any situation. One day, they are put in a room filled with manure. Hours later they are discovered laughing, scooping up the manure, digging underneath. "What on earth are you doing?" the children are asked. With beaming smiles they answer, "All this poop, there has to be a pony in here somewhere." Eloisa is finally ready to leave a lifeless career in fin...

What do we want to be when we grow up?  For us this has become an existential question in more ways than one.   Read original post here     December 2012          Gruesome Playground Injuries A Pittsburgh Theater Premiere Written by: Rajiv Joseph Directed by: Maggie Balsley With: Erika Cuenca* and Tony Bingham* Original music by Ryan McMasters 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? Reviews:   ”…terrific p...

 What do we want to be when we grow up?  For us this has become an existential question in more ways than one.   Read original post here December 2012  -  Our second  play in Allegheny County The Speed Queen Written and performed by Anne Stockton Directed by Austin Pendleton. Based on the novel by Stewart O'Nan Convicted murderer Marjorie Standiford has agreed to spend her last hours on Death Row talking into a tape recorder, answering questions posed by a celebrated author about her involvement in a killing spree, her drug addiction, wild sex life, and why she is where she is. Adapted from the novel by Stewart O'Nan and starring Anne Stockton, this harrowing one-woman tour de force won for Outstanding Performance - Solo Show at the 2007 NYC Midtown International Theater Festival. Reviews: "a gripping one-woman show" Bob Hoover - Post Gazette  "...both satisfying and frightening...she's captured Marjorie's innocence and insanity." ...

Season twelve of “alternative theater for grownups” includes great plays, bold choices, and talented artists.  off the WALL Productions is excited to announce its 2018-19 season, featuring one World premiere, one U.S. premiere, and one Pittsburgh premiere in the Acting Company’s three-play program. Purchase tickets online at www.insideoffthewall.com, or call our box office at (724) -873-3576, Ext. 1. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol  World Premiere                                                               Conceived, co-adapted and performed by Mark Coffin Co-adapted and directed by Heidi Mueller Smith In this adaptation of Dickens’ best-known work, with its themes of inequity and renewal just as relevant in our society today as they were in 1843, the arc of the story is experienced through the mind and heart...

What do we want to be when we grow up?  For us this has become an existential question in more ways than one. off the WALL productions (OTW) was founded July 1, 2007 in Washington County and relocated to Allegheny County in July 2012. Since 2012, OTW has produced and staged 25 productions of either new plays or regional premieres.  We have employed and paid (as per Union contracts) 25 directors and 101 professional actors. In addition, each show employed set, sound/music, lighting and costume designers, plus stagehands and front-of house-personnel, adding another 125 part-time jobs with the employees being paid a living wage of a minimum of $15.00 per hour. This we cannot sustain without your support. Our focus on diversity in theater, especially by supporting female artists, has put us on a very special list; The International Center for Women Playwrights has honored us for five continuous years with the 50/50 Applause Award. More details here But, we are also on anoth...

Pittsburgh Owl Scribe: Byhalia, Mississippi - Rosemary’s Baby with a Sout... : From the moment you lay eyes on set designer Adrienne Fischer’s remarkably authentic and detailed construction of a poor White domicile in Northern Mississippi you’re pulled into the ambient mood of the play. Adding to the authenticity of the theatrical experience that envelopes and engages the audience and keeps it there is the work of five actors, each of which are given their moment to shine by playwright, Evan Linder. Even the break at intermission doesn’t puncture the mis en scene sensibility of this intriguing comedy that comes with an emotionally wrenching ending. ....

off the WALL productions closes their 2017-18 season with the regional #theater premiere of Byhalia, Mississippi.  Previously staged by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Evan Linder’s #funny and moving salute to both down-home #decency and a troubled couple living in a see-through shack is a bittersweet story about love, class, race, family, and forgiveness. Brandon Meeks, -Erika Cuenca - Virginia Wall Gruenert All Photos by Heather Mull  - Jim and Laurel Parker are about to become new parents. They are broke. They are loud. They are "proud white trash." When Laurel gives birth to their long overdue child, she and Jim are faced with the biggest challenge of their lives.  Byhalia, Mississippi explores a couple in the midst of turmoil and a town with a racially-charged past that finds its way into the present.  Written by Evan Linder  Directed by Ingrid Sonnichsen  With: Erika Cuenca, Brandon Meeks,  Lamar K. Cheston, Hope Anth...

April 20-21, 26-28 @ 8:00 pm,  April 22 & 29 @ 3:00 pm May 3-5 @ 8:00 pm A Pittsburgh Premiere by Evan Linder Directed by Ingrid Sonnichsen With: Erika Cuenca*, Brandon Meeks*, Lamar K Cheston* Hope Anthony and Virginia Wall Gruenert* How, when, and why do you choose to forgive someone? Jim (Brandon Meeks) and Laurel Parker (Erika Cuenca) are about to become new parents.  They are broke.  They are loud.  They are “proud white trash.” When Laurel gives birth to their long overdue child, she and Jim are faced with the biggest challenge of their lives. Byhalia, Mississippi explores a couple in the midst of turmoil and a town with a racially-charged past that finds its way into the present. “ …an honest-to-goodness play. By that I mean a really good new American drama: something wise, truthful, funny and moving; a piece that other theaters should do; a script that hangs easily with shows by the leading writers of our day and a show that might brin...

Moriah Ella Mason THE YEAR IN DANCE EIGHT STANDOUT LOCAL PERFORMANCES By Steve Sucato, City Paper Moriah Ella Mason in Sex Werque (Carnegie Stage, July 27). Candidly based on Mason’s real-life experiences as a stripper, Sex Werque explored attitudes and misconceptions about the sex industry, and her and fellow strippers’ feelings about the profession. Mason was resplendent in the groundbreaking one-woman dance-theater show. TICKETS

By Robyne Parrish - Director I was immediately attracted to The Carols, written by Jennifer Childs and composed by Monica Stephenson. A modern-day Christmas Carol of sorts with a spin, chock full of music that will delight. This musical truly has something for everyone. At the heart of the story we honor family bonds, love, loss, and perhaps most importantly, our military. The men and women who so courageously have given of their time and talents and often their lives throughout history are honored here. The story takes place in a New Jersey VFW in 1944. War is raging on foreign battlefields and the women are left behind. While the community waits for loved ones to return, the annual performance of A Christmas Carol must go on, despite the lack of  men to fill important roles. L-R Kate Toole, Mandie Russak, Moira Quigley Enter our trio of sisters - Moira Quigley as Lilly, Mandie Russack as Rose, and Kate Toole as Sylvia. Next meet their Scrooge-like landlady and friend Miss...

By Monica Stephenson - Composer Last night was the first music rehearsal for Carnegie Stage’s Pittsburgh Premiere of The Carols , a musical that I composed with lyrics and script by Jennifer Childs.  On my way to rehearsal I spotted the first of many holiday street lights sparkling along Carnegie’s Main Street. I had two thoughts.  First, I imagined the city hanging these lights the day after Halloween. Holiday decor seems to go out earlier and earlier every year!  Second, audiences will soon pass these lights on their way to Carnegie Stage to see The Carols . The notion of it filled me with hopefulness, immense pride and excitement to meet the talented, new cast.  Monica Stephenson and Jen Childs, interviewed by  WHYY's Peter Crimmins In March of 2016, Jennifer Childs, 1812 Productions’ Artistic Director, asked me if I might be interested in writing a few harmony numbers for a new play she was developing to be produced that December.  The play ...

Interesting news about theater in Europe  The new theatre season in Germany, especially in Berlin, has started with a lot of highlights. But the big news was that a group of about 100 German theatre activists called Staub zu Glitzer (Dust to Glitter) squatted in the Berlin Volksbühne between 22-26 September 2017. 'We take possession of the theatre and declare it the property of all people.'—Staub zu Glitzer    Read more...

Nov 10 & 11 @ 8:00 pm,   Nov 12 @ 7:00 pm  fireWALL  dance theater three encore performances Stroking Its Ego Back by popular demand - A new work, an exploration of female empowerment, driven by honest, unapologetic, and raw musical sounds. Elisa-Marie Alaio Join Elisa-Marie Alaio and her incredible dancers as they take you on a dark, sexy, alluring, influential journey through egos, self awareness, and power.

Oct. 12, 13 & 14 & 8:00 pm Matinee Oct. 15 3:00 pm Written by and Starring: Anne Stockton Directed by: Austin Pendleton We are welcoming the long-awaited return of writer/actor Anne Stockton and director Austin Pendleton (The Speed Queen), in collaboration once again, to present our season opener. Nikki is being interviewed by a detective in the high level financial firm where she works about the disappearance of two very valuable rings earlier that morning. A witty look at the ways in which we are swept away by the scenarios we imagine for our lives.