off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage A Pittsburgh Theater

We often hear the saying “Life is short, so ____.”  How would you fill in the blank? Here are some common answers: Life is short, so have fun. Life is short, so live life to the fullest. Life is short, so be happy. And the list goes on. But how often to you hear someone say “Life is short, so look past your differences and your struggles and give the gift of acceptance”?  Not typically the first thought that comes to mind, but should it be? After all, what we’re really talking about here is reconciliation. Look at the common answers: have fun, live life to the fullest, be happy. Who is at the center of these responses? Ourselves. But when we start talking about reconciliation and acceptance, it’s no longer only about ourselves. It’s now about our relationship with another. Reconciliations need not be limited to someone with whom you’ve lost touch with or had a huge fight with. No, reconciliations can be life changing even over smaller actions. Any of those ‘little things’ ...

The Mother-Daughter Relationship. Though words cannot really express the depth of the bond, there are countless references to this special relationship. Perform a quick Google search for ‘mother daughter relationship’ and you’ll receive not hundreds or thousands or even hundreds of thousands results. You’ll receive over 350 million results. And that doesn’t begin to account for all the books, movies and even songs on the topic. Take a look on social media, and you’ll find a plethora of posts using #MotherDaughter, innumerable quotes, pins on Pinterest and the list goes on. But as special as mother-daughter relationships are, they are often simultaneously fraught with contention. Even WebMD discusses the topic. There are as many variances within relationships as there are mothers-daughters. But even so, there are also many commonalities, as well as cultural pressures that impact every relationship. In our upcoming production Mother Lode, two independent women deal with end-of-life d...

Mother Lode is off the WALL productions upcoming play. There are so many great reasons to see this play that we’ve select the top seven reasons that make this play stand out. This is a world premiere performance and opens on January 28, 2016 at Carnegie Stage, a Pittsburgh Theater. TOP 7 REASONS TO SEE MOTHER LODE Linda Haston - Photo: Heather Mull The Music: Soulful, old style jazz from the 1930’s – you can’t find that at every street corner in Pittsburgh, but you can find it at C arnegie Stage during the performances of Mother Lode. The Life Story of Two Pittsburgh Women: Mother Lode is based on the lives Pittsburgh actor Linda Haston and her mother Ruth and on growing up in the Hill District. It is also about the stages of their mother-daughter relationship, from contention and discord to acceptance. Style: A one woman show, Linda Haston plays the characters of herself and her mother. Enjoy a Great Story:  Ruth is such a great story teller that you’ll be cap...

Linda Haston - photo: Heather Mull Do you enjoy a great story?  Then our next play Mother Lode is just what you’re looking for.  Although it’s a one woman show, there are two characters: Ruth (the mother) and Linda (her daughter).  And boy can Ruth tell a story!  In fact, she’ll want to tell you her whole life story. How can we describe Ruth?  She’s animated, absolutely a storyteller at heart, joyful, uplifting, and quite simply – a hoot! Linda, on the other hand, doesn’t have time for stories. She’s too busy trying to keep everything together AND take care of her mother.  Her mother is in the final stages of her life and true to her big personality, she also has some big demands of her daughter. Linda would do anything for her mother, she wants to be there for her mother; but she has a career, she has her own bills to pay, and she has her own health to tend to.  So how does a mother-daughter navigate through such troubled waters?  We can’t...

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...

Lisa Ann Goldsmith, Elizabeth Ruelas Photo by Heather Mull Do you ever feel that you are not completely happy, that you are not able to feel joy in all areas of your life? Do you ever limit yourself to certain activities because you fear the break in your mundane routine? Do you limit your way of thinking for fear of feeling uncomfortable? Unless one is fully living the self-actualized life, we all have fears that we are running from in life. Some may be so small, but still affect how we think, feel, and react.  We may not even notice that these fears are affecting the quality of our lives.  Other fears are so significant, that we can’t ignore the symptoms. We feel the unhappiness, we feel the sense of inadequacy, we may even be questioning our course in life.  We may, in fact, even feel fearful. Fearful of what life is bringing our way, fearful of what might happen, fearful of what others might think, fearful of what will be if we succumb to this thing which we our...

What do you get when you bring together a playwright and director from New York City and two experienced actors from Pittsburgh?  You get the perfect storm for the makings of a brilliant production. Join us as we welcome newcomers Lisa Ann Goldsmith and Elizabeth Ruelas for their first appearance with off the WALL productions at Carnegie Stage, as they star in the premiere production of Tunnel Vision, by Andrea Lepcio and directed by Melissa Maxwell. Lisa Ann Goldsmith, Elizabeth Ruelas,  Photo by Heather Mull Tunnel Vision is a very unique play in many ways. The set is simplistic, the props are unexpected, and the setting is non-realistic.  But it is a story that reflects the reality of many. It is the story about the challenges faced by women in today’s society.  Challenges ranging from how women perceive themselves and other women to how women go about deciding their career path, especially if it is not a traditional career for women.  The play also add...

It’s no secret off the WALL Productions is a huge advocate for women playwrights. It’s a busy world we live in, and sometimes we fail to question the obvious as we go about our day-to-day lives. We accept ‘things’ for what they are. ‘Things’ become so ingrained within a culture that few bother to think about them, let alone ponder or question the reasoning behind the current status or possible solutions for change. And we get that. If you’ve been to our theater, you know we like to select productions that tell a meaningful story, productions they may in their own small way allow you to see life through the eyes of another. Another perspective per say. So when it comes to hearing the voices of women, we 100% support parity in theater. Parity as applied to playwrights would mean that 50% of the time, the audience is hearing the voice of a female playwright, and 50% of the time that of a male playwright. As it is, just one in five plays currently produced around the country are written ...

When you read the headlines in today’s newspapers, you hear quite often “A suspect has been charged in robbery, murder or kidnapping.” What is your first thought? Guilty, Guilty, Guilty! Sounds a bit prejudice or narrow minded without sorting thru all the facts and making an unbiased decision, doesn’t it? Think about the person charged. Can you imagine the mind games and pressure that individual would be subject to in order for an admission of guilt? One would need to stay focused and keep from admitting anything that could be used against them? What if you were guilty of the crime charged against you… would you use the same determination and conviction in order to persuade your peers to believe you enough to drop those charges?  What if you were innocent… would the story look much different to the observer? Poster Monday 750If you stop, think and consider the facts and possibilities, I guess it’s not as easy as just hearing the headlines and making a decision… is it? In our up...

Anne Stockton You could say that actor/playwright Anne Stockon has just the right background and experience to brainstorm our upcoming production, ‘I won’t be in on Monday.’ Why? Besides being an actor and playwright, Anne is also a practicing psychiatrist and an Actor Trainer. As an Actor Trainer, she helps the officers in the New York City Police Department’s Hostage Negotiation team train for their job. She does this by acting the part of mentally ill individuals in real life scenarios. Her skills as an actor, along with her background as a psychiatrist, is the perfect combination to provide these officers with the situational effects necessary to help them handle the situations they will encounter on the job. So you can imagine the foresight Anne brings to her new play ‘I won’t be in on Monday.’ Starring in the play, Anne uses her finesse and experience to act the part of Nikki, a love-struck young woman thrown into the throngs of a police investigation regarding the theft ...

Have you ever felt the after effects of your past, even if they are but a memory to you? It may seem that merely being with people from your past surfaces the ‘old’ you. Not convinced, attend a high school reunion and you’ll likely be convinced otherwise. But what if you’re dealing with a current or ongoing issue? Can the actions of others result in a cause and effect? Can you control your own destiny when others ‘know’ of your troubled past? Anne Stockton’s world premiere of I won’t be in on Monday gives a hysterical, witty look at the dynamics of relationships around a troubled past. In this play, Nikki, played by the playwright herself, is thrilled about her upcoming adventure with her new love of her life. But just as she’s finalizing the plans, she is accused of stealing two very expensive rings, and things just seem to go from bad to worse as she tries to talk her way out of the accusations. You don’t want to miss the outcome of this comedic, provocative play directed by Aust...

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...

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 ...

The Women’s Lib movement made great strides in the 1970’s, expanding women’s access to a broader array of career choices. Now, in the 21st century, we can point to multitudes of women who have achieved workplace parity with men, stepping in as company executives, managers and business owners. It is no longer unusual for men to report to women, a relatively rare phenomena pre-women’s lib. Though we are approaching parity in some areas, with the level of parity varying within industries, geographic areas, etc., great strides have been made towards achieving parity. Unfortunately, when it comes to equal pay for equal work, we see parody, not parity. Women’s salaries are a “poor imitation” of men’s, when working in comparable positions. This same “parody of gender parity” — or poor imitation of equality — is evident in education, history books and so much more. What about theater? A number of studies reveal that women remain underrepresented in theater, not just in the United States, b...

Wondering what we do after our theater season officially ends? You might think that we sit back, relax, and enjoy some time off. Although that sounds delightful, it’s certainly not reality. Not when we’re committed to bringing some of the best that theater has to offer to Pittsburgh Theater and to the Carnegie community. Where better to find out first-hand the latest happenings in the world of theater? Why New York of course! That’s why we scour the streets, read the reviews, talk with the artists, and learn about the new and upcoming playwrights, directors and plays. We’re always searching for the next great production to bring to you! So you can be sure that we’re working our way through the Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway circuits. We’re excited about all the options to consider, and look forward to sharing some of our finds on our stage in the future. off the WALL Performing Arts Center | a Pittsburgh Theater 25 West Main, Carnegie, PA 15106 | 6 miles from downtown Pitts...

Summertime! We’ve waited all winter for it, and now it’s finally here. Before we know it, we’ll be donning our fall layers and preparing for holidays. So what will you do this summer? Relax, maybe take a vacation, kick back, go picnics, the usual… How about learning? Summertime is a great time to learn a new skill or to expand your existing skills in something you love, or have wanted to do for a long time. That’s why we’re offering summer school at our off the WALL Annex in downtown Carnegie, just 6 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. If you’ve always wanted to write a play or have had writer’s block and/or need a boost for taking your writing to the next level, this is your chance. We are offering both a beginning and advanced playwriting class this summer. But hurry! Classes begin Monday, June 1st!! BEGINNING PLAYWRITING YOU CAN WRITE A PLAY LEARN ALL ABOUT IT ADVANCED PLAYWRITING HONING YOUR PLAYWRITING SKILLS LEARN ALL ABOUT IT ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: In 2012 Writers...

Are you a seasoned writer looking to hone your writing skills? Join F.J. Hartland for the Advanced Playwriting Workshop series this summer. With F.J. as your mentor, you will learn how to better develop your plots, study various ways to layout the structure of your plays, and take your character development to new levels. If you’ve been struggling with writer’s block, F.J.’s collaborative spirit will help you regain your voice. Classes/EducationBe sure to take advantage of this workshop series, where you can discuss your questions, practice with exercises that will help you grow, and look at your writing with a fresh outlook.  Class input and direction by F.J. is just another added benefit! Don’t delay. This workshop begins June 1st. Learn More!    Register Now! ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: In 2012 Writers News Weekly named F. J. Hartland one of the top playwrights in Pittsburgh. He has made a record setting thirteen appearances in the Pittsburgh New Works Festival,...

YOU CAN WRITE A PLAY! Whether you realize it or not, you have a story lurking inside you, waiting for your creative genius to release it from the depths of your unconscious mind. Or perhaps you already have a story idea in mind, but just don’t know where to start. That’s where we come in. Join us this summer and learn from an expert. Playwriting Workshop at Pittsburgh TheaterF.J. Hartland will be leading an adult workshop series for beginning playwrights. Through these sessions, you will learn how to tap into your own unique voice. The best part, your 10 minute play will be brought to life via a reading of it at our stage at off the WALL Theater. Having written your play under the leadership and expertise of F.J.; if you so desire, you’ll even be able to submit your play to short play contests throughout the country. ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: In 2012 Writers News Weekly named F. J. Hartland one of the top playwrights in Pittsburgh. He has made a record setting thirteen appearances...