off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

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...

Perhaps calling our cast outrageously good would be a bit conceited, a little over the edge, perhaps even a little boastful, if we were to say it ourselves. But as fate would have it, we don’t have to, because that is exactly what Ted Hoover of the Pittsburgh City Paper had to say in his review ‘Scared of Sarah at Off the Wall.’ “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PERFORMANCES….. THE TAKEAWAY IS THE WORK OF THISOUTRAGEOUSLY GOOD CAST.” Ted Hoover of the Pittsburgh City Paper So who makes up this cast and what is this play about? The play is about the life three individuals. A young married couple finds out they are pregnant. They had not planned for a baby at this time. With inundating student loans, Sam (played by Shaun Cameron Hall) is overwhelmed not only by the worry of managing post-graduate schooling and college loans, but also by the reality of day-to-day expenses of raising a child. Really, how many diapers would they need? Lily (played by Erika Cuenca) quickly works to calm Sam,...

Add caption PITTSBURGH THEATER – OPENING NIGHT: SCARED OF SARAH This holiday season, you’ll likely see all types of families while you’re out and about. Some families may seem filled with holiday cheer, while others may appear stressed. Some may look happy, while others may look sad. When you take the time to compare families, it’s easy to see that every family is unique. What’s not apparent, is that every family unit – and every individual for that matter, whether it’s obvious or not, is at some point struggling with their own issues and challenges. Shaun Cameron Hall and Erika Cuenca – photo by Heather Mull We all have our unique differences and we all have our fears. This is the case with Lily and Sam, an upwardly mobile young couple having the time of their life before having a family. So when Lily finds out she’s pregnant, crisis mode sets in. Sam wonders how they’ll support a baby. They’re not ready yet and they owe more than one hundred thousand dollars in loans. Li...

What if? Do you ever worry about what might happen in any given situation? It’s ok… we’re not asking you to share your thoughts out loud, but if we’re honest with ourselves, every single one of us has probably fretted over ‘what if’ at least once in our lives. And with all the decisions in life, ranging from dating and finding a partner, deciding where to live, work and to what level of education to attain, not to mention readying ourselves for different stages of life – including raising a family, wondering about job security, aging parents and even vacation homes, in our fast paced lives where choices are as abundant as outcomes, some of us may even be in a perpetual state of ‘what if.’ With over 7 billion people on our earth, ‘what if’ just might be one of the most common questions asked across the globe. So you can imagine why Lily and Sam, an upwardly mobile couple making their way in New York City, have a lot of ‘what if’ questions when they unexpectantly find out they’re… wel...

Ingrid Sonnichsen and Erika Cuenca - Photo by Heather Mull Amanda (Erika Cuenca), a 25-year-old woman trying to make it in a man’s world, finds herself giving up on her own dreams to support the dreams of her almost-famous fiancé Jack (Andrew Wind), while also dealing with the troubles in her parents’ marriage.  Though she may feel alone with her troubles, not only are her challenges similar to those of many women of her own generation, Amanda finds out that her struggles at this stage of her life are the same struggles that her mother dealt with at a similar age.  They are, no doubt, the challenges of womanhood. Amanda’s mother (Ingrid Sonnichsen), struggling with her own loss from neglecting her lifelong dreams, does not want to see Amanda suffer the same consequences.  She wants Amanda to be happy and fulfilled, and fears that if Amanda goes through with her marriage to the almost-famous Jack, Amanda will be in the same situation as herself in 25-30 years. ...