With news on August Wilson Center’s Janis Burley, Tamara Tunie, Point Park University New BFA, First Night 2026, and Tom Stoppard

JANIS BURLEY HONORED ON AWAACC 15th ANNIVERSARY

Janis Burley, who took over as leader of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) in 2017, has been honored her for her Performing Arts leadership in City Paper’s People of the Year.

Pittsburgh City Paper’s profile of Burley noted that she “came in hot, launching programming that highlights Black talent while honoring the legacy of the AWAACC’s playwright namesake. Her efforts as AWAACC’s president, CEO, and artistic director have demonstrated the space’s impact on the region and the need to preserve it.”

AUGUST WILSON CENTER HONORS INCLUDE TAMARA TUNIE

In honor of the 15th anniversary of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center and what would have been August Wilson’s 80th birth year, the annual Take Center Stage gala on November 21 honored Wilson’s legacy and highlighted the center’s programming and galleries. Black Theatre United, in its December newsletter, highlighted BTU co-founder Tamara Tunie, who with fellow Pittsburgh natives Lamman Tucker, actor, and director Antoine Fuqua received Luminary Awards. Other honors bestowed at the events were the Trailblazer Awards for four Pittsburgh-based leaders: Tenel Dorsey, Marlon Gist, Monica Malik, and Ayisha A. Morgan-Lee, EdD.

POINT PARK U OFFERS BFA IN PERFORMANCE & CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Point Park University has announced a “first of its kind accelerated BFA in Performance and Creative Industries,” described as a three-year degree “merging artistry with life skills for the multitalented, the uniquely curious, the student who wants to do it all.”

Part of the School of Theatre, Film and Animation in Point Park’s Conservatory of Performing Arts, the accelerated BFA will be an 120-credit program that “fuses rigorous performance and production training with essential business and life skills, preparing graduates not only to perform but to produce, manage, and lead in a rapidly changing creative economy.”

“This program is built for the student who refuses to be defined by one discipline,” said Keisha Lalama, Interim Dean, School of Theatre, Film and Animation, and executive producer of the university’s Pittsburgh Playhouse. “We’re cultivating performers who can produce, storytellers who understand business, and creative professionals who can turn innovation into opportunity.”

For more information, visit https://www.pointpark.edu/BFA-PCI.

HIGHMARK FIRST NIGHT PITTSBURGH 2026 

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust:

Pittsburgh’s signature New Year’s Eve celebration returns to the Cultural District on Wednesday, December 31, from 7 p.m. to midnight, featuring live performances and a variety of family-friendly activities in the countdown to midnight. 

First Night 2026 features a curated mix of attractions that invite attendees to chart their own course through the Cultural District based on interest — live music, magic, ice carving, a holiday market, film, hands-on activities, and more. Returning visitors may notice a few thoughtful updates to this year’s schedule. 

“We refreshed this year’s schedule to make sure we’re truly offering something for everyone,” said Brooke Horejsi, Chief Programming & Engagement Officer for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “The kid-friendly ‘early eve’ celebration offers families a fun night out while new events like the Dollar Bank Battle of the Bands will charge up the crowd all the way to midnight. Special thanks to Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield for the generous support of this special community tradition.” 

The full lineup for First Night 2026 can be explored at TrustArts.org/FirstNightPGH. All events are free and open to everyone except as noted (two indoor ticketed performances). 

“Every exit is an entrance to somewhere else.” — Tom Stoppard

We lost an incomparable voice of modern theater with the death of Tom Stoppard on November 29, 2025. Charles Isherwood, in The Wall Street Journal, memorialized the 88-year-old playwright, writing that he “may or may not have been the greatest playwright of the past half century or so, but he was undoubtedly the most intellectually daring, historically inquisitive and encyclopedically knowledgeable.” Stoppard won five Tony Awards for Best Play, from Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead in 1968 to Leopoldstadt in 2023, and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. His wit and humanity live on. The Point Park University Department of Theatre performed Stoppard’s 1995 play Arcadia last year, and Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama has a production of Arcadia set for February 26-March 14, 2026.

👉 Don’t forget—you can always explore the next two months of performances, organized by date or company, anytime at onStage Pittsburgh.

👉Did we miss your show? Send us your updates at info@onstagepittsburgh.com so we can share them in a future Call Board.

Categories: Arts and Ideas