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...

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...

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...

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.

  A dancer, choreographer and former stripper explores sex work in new dance piece  “It really changed who I am as a performer and my comfort with the stage.”   more...

By Elisabeth Beck When I sat down to watch The Pink Unicorn , I truly had no idea what to expect. Admittedly, I was skeptical, because I knew that the show centered heavily on the realities of diverse gender identity in today’s world, and when it comes to anything controversial or political, I’m exhausted. It seems that all we hear about these days is that diversity must be implemented, that it must be accepted and embraced, and if we don’t agree with someone’s lifestyle, we’re terrible people. My feelings on most of these subjects boil down to this: if someone wants to live his or her life a certain way, they should be able to do that. I just don’t want to hear about it all the time. I feel that I should be able to say, “That’s not for me, but that’s great for you,” to whatever someone is proposing—and that should be an acceptable answer. But usually it’s not. Amy Landis - Photo: Heather Mull So I wasn’t sure what I was going to watch when I sat down at Carnegie Stage t...

by Elizabeth Beck - Senior RMU Sarah Silk - Alec Silberblatt Photo: Heather Mull The first thing I thought when the lights came up at the end of the show was: That was an insane amount of words. This may not have been the most articulate thing to say, but ironically, Off the Wall’s latest opening, Lungs, is extremely eloquent. I think the most mind-blowing part of this play is the mastery with which the two actors deliver the dialogue. It’s what keeps Lungs moving along, and in a ninety-minute show with absolutely no stopping and no obvious transitions, this is crucial. The sheer amount of words spoken throughout the play is astounding; the entire time, I was astonished at the fact that Sarah Silk, who beautifully portrays the complicated and endearing woman, had memorized it all. Watching Lungs, I felt as if I were stuck watching an impossibly long, circular argument that seems to be going somewhere—but as audience members, we can never be too sure where that “somewhere” is....

Guest Blogger: Liz Beck - Senior RMU This is why we can’t have nice things!             It’s a phrase I’ve used many times. Usually, I say it when I’ve embarrassed myself. Other times, I’ve said it in a fit of desperation, after I’ve just seen someone of my own generation doing or saying something incredibly stupid on the Internet. We can’t have nice things because this guy is an asshole. We can’t have nice things because, once again, the Millenials have taken man buns to an unprecedented extreme. We can’t have nice things because one guy thought it was okay to run for president and, well, here we are.             Like I said, I’m a big fan of this phrase. So when I heard that this was the title of the latest venture at Off the Wall Theatre singularly starring Heidi Nagle, I was both extremely curious and excited. Finally, someone was going to dive into the same phenomeno...

A New Work July 7-9 & 14-16 & 8:00 pm Beauty. Sex. Power.  Three scenes. Dynamic. Provocative. Effulgent. Choreographed by  Elisa-Marie Alaio                 Original Music by  Reni Monteverde The struggle of feeling comfortable in your skin, wanting to explore your sexual desires and finally being who you are and owning every bit of it. With  Elisa-Marie Alaio, Alexis Bomer, Glenna Clark, Vicki Lynn Mcwilliams, Cammi Nevarez, Jenna Rae Smith. TICKETS - click here

A New Work July 7-9 & 14-16 & 8:00 pm Beauty. Sex. Power.  Three scenes. Dynamic. Provocative. Effulgent. Choreographed by  Elisa-Marie Alaio                 Original Music by  Reni Monteverde The struggle of feeling comfortable in your skin, wanting to explore your sexual desires and finally being who you are and owning every bit of it. With  Elisa-Marie Alaio, Alexis Bomer, Glenna Clark, Vicki Lynn Mcwilliams, Cammi Nevarez, Jenna Rae Smith.

Linda Haston -  Photo by Heather Mull When Linda Haston, star of Mother Lode , a new play written by Virginia Wall Gruenert, first acted in the show in 2013, her feelings about her mother were very close to the surface. Her mother had passed away in 2011, and she describes still being very raw. “The first time we did this show it was more of a catharsis,” she said. “I was still fresh from her death, reeling from everything that we went through.” Haston describes that she felt unable to give the play the space that it needed, and that she was having trouble separating her performance from the complicated issues she was still dealing with regarding her complicated relationship with her mother. “I suggested that we do it again, rewritten, and I was much more able to get into it.” For Haston, the passage of the three years between the productions had allowed her to come to terms with some of the issues that had been holding her back before. The portrayal of her mother ...

Guest Blogger: Liz Beck, Senior RMU I adore musicals. Brittany Graham, Gavan Pamer - Photo: Heather Mull             I love Les Miserables. I have Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat committed to memory. I know every word of every song from The Lion King. Please, don’t ask me what my favorite soundtrack is—even though it’s probably Evita—because I won’t be able to choose. Musicals provide us with wish fulfillment that’s unmatched by stage plays. There’s just something so damn satisfying about watching people break out into song and dance choreographed routines, and as a rather cynical person, I truly enjoy the happy, shiny endings musicals offer.             Since I love musicals, it makes sense that I loved T he Musical of Musicals (The Musical), the latest venture at Off the Wall Productions . The show takes the basic plot of a gullible woman who owes rent to her crook of a landlord and retells it in the styl...

Guest blogger: Elizabeth Beck (Senior, RMU)           Let me just say this: I am not a dancer. My dance abilities top off at the chicken dance. I have almost zero coordination when it comes to choreographed movement. Needless to say, activities like ballet are not in the cards for me.             That said, I am absolutely enthralled by those who can dance, and even more by those who dance professionally. To me, it’s amazing that people can do things with their bodies to convey stories. I love to watch any kind of professional dance and movement, because it is so beyond my scope of ability. I think my obsession with dance performances is what truly led me to enjoy Off the Wall’s latest production, Kimono. Moriah Ella Mason - Mark Thompson - Photo by Heather Mull             Kimono is a powerful story told through bodily movement, miming and da...

What some may consider a risky move, others state is long overdue. Theater and artistic theatrical performances have long been considered a medium for engaging the community in social discourse, but even so, some may feel the upcoming production of KIMONO at CARNEGIE STAGE pushes the envelope. Mark C. Thompson - Kimono It’s important to ask ourselves why this is the case. In what some consider to be an ‘almost anything goes’ society, why is speaking out on behalf of victims potentially seen as pushing the envelope? Why? KIMONO, developed and choreographed by Mark C. Thompson of Pittsburgh, calls out predators for what they are. As noted on the playbill, “ Kimono deals with the subject of predation and victimization in a form that resembles a parable. It aspires to recount a horrible story in an eerily beautiful way, juxtaposing scenes of ugliness with very beautiful ones. ” We think Pittsburgh is ready for this type of social justice. It is our hope that through the bravenes...

Are you looking for something both new and exciting in Pittsburgh Theater? Then the upcoming production KIMONO at CARNEGIE STAGE is one that needs to be on your short list of things to do in Pittsburgh this March. Not only is this production something new to Pittsburgh, it truly is new.  It is a new work developed and choreographed by Mark C. Thompson. Produced by fireWALL dance theater, a division of off the WALL productions , producing a new work is something they not only love to do, it’s right in line with their mission – to bring new works and developments to fruition and to support new artists. In this case, it just so happens all of the artists involved are native to and/or living in Pittsburgh. Exciting. Intense. Stimulating. Moving. Stirring. Yes, KIMONO is all of these. This unique production is the result of a particularly gratifying collaboration between all involved. The three artists on stage are just that…artists. Through movement, they convey a story, a stor...