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...

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...

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...

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

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....

Lungs   by Duncan Macmillan Performances:  Performances:  Dec. 2–3, 8–10, 15–17  @ 8:00 pm,  Matinee Dec. 4 & 11, 2016  @ 3:00 pm Dec. 2–3, 8–10, 15–17   p m A play by British playwright Duncan MacMillan. Directed by Spencer Whale With: Sarah Silk & Alec Silberblatt A bare stage, no scenery, no furniture, no props, no costume changes but infinite possibilities. LUNGS is a smart and funny drama that follows a couple through the surprising lifecycle of their relationship, as they grapple with questions of family and change, hope, betrayal, happenstance, and the terrible pain that you can only cause the people you love. "Duncan Macmillan's distinctive, off-kilter love story is brutally honest, funny, edgy and current. It gives voice to a generation for whom uncertainty is a way of life through two flawed, but deeply human, people who you don't always like but start to feel you might love." ...

ICWP - International Centre for Women Playwrights - Sep  15, 2016 Dear 2016 50/50 Applause Award Recipients, We are thrilled that you are a recipient for our 5th anniversary of the ICWP 50/50 Applause Awards! Congratulations! Your theatre is part of a list of 107 theatres in 10 countries and 5 continents, breaking records on all fronts for this award. You are in company with theatres from Australia, Canada, England, Italy, Kenya, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States, including its Puerto Rico territory. The full list and our press release may be viewed by clicking this link: http://www.womenplaywrights.org/award Elana Gartner Kris Bauske Deborah Magid Co-Chairs, ICWP 50/50 Applause Awards awards@womenplaywrights.org International Centre for Women Playwrights www.womenplaywrights.org

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...

Purchase one of our season packages  and enjoy  four plays for the price of three. In addition, receive discount on other Carnegie Stage events. off the WALL productions has once again put together a diverse lineup for the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Theater Season. For our 10th season, you can expect a variety like never before. Our acting company continues to address challenging topics, using various theater techniques. Not only will this year’s selections bring about a wide range of emotions, sometimes resulting in laughter, other times tears; they’ll also bring about a better awareness and understanding of what others experience and perhaps add a new perspective to all our lives. Click here for our Season brochure Packages/Discounts – click here Ticketing Links: Opening Night Regular Run    Super Saver

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 ...

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...