By SHARON EBERSON
The branding of the New Hazlett Theater as more than a venue sometimes gets lost in the translation.
An anchor of the North Side cultural district that includes the National Aviary and neighboring Children’s Museum, the New Hazlett’s website declares, “More than just a theater, we’re an incubator for the arts,” and “… for the artists.”
“There’s been a conscious choice made to say we are doing things other than serving as a venue,” said Rene Conrad, the New Hazlett’s executive director. “I think the communications plan about that was not robust, because that happened way back when we started.”
To herald its evolving developmental mission, the New Hazlett on Wednesday announced “a pivotal expansion of its commitment to the creative community, leading with a unified approach to growth and the already-active Resident Company Model (RCM),” including new co-presenting partnership with The Becoming Arts Collective, that demonstrates the theater’s immediate impact through a partner-focused approach.”
The announcement also touted the current season’s debut of CSA: Off the Page, and “increased community programming, such as the newly launched Sounds of the Season holiday concert, and a Northside Arts Block Party.”
Resident Company Model, established in 2023, includes advantages such as:
- Stability & Efficiency: Reducing production costs and exploring inter-organizational cost savings.
- Reach & Support: Amplifying joint marketing while providing priority space access, box office support, and Front of House labor.
- Collective Action: Facilitating professional development through shared DEAI and marketing workshops.
ILLUMINATING COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ARTISTS
Built in 1889 as the first Carnegie Music Hall, the name was changed in 1980, in honor of civic leader and arts enthusiast Theodore L. Hazlett Jr. The theater housed the Pittsburgh Public Theater for 24 years, until the move to the O’Reilly Theater, Downtown, in 1999.
In September of this year, the New Hazlett celebrates its 20th year under its current structure, which boasts four resident companies — Front Porch Theatricals, Kente Arts Alliance, Prime Stage Theatre and Texture Contemporary Ballet — while developing new works through the Community Supported Artists.
Now in its 13th year, the CSA has perhaps been flying under the theater-going public’s radar, but artists know it as a veritable windfall for a first production.
CSA’s ground-up development opportunities are nearly unheard of in these days of defunding the arts, and they attract a wide range of regional artists — in theater, dance, music, spoken word, or multi-disciplinary performances.
Selected artists receive rehearsal time, technical support, a stage manager, marketing, film and video documentation, film and video project documentation, and independent reviews, plus a $3,500 artist stipend, $2,500 design stipend, and $850 material and supplies budget.
“That’s what drew me to this place, was the fact that they champion new work,” said Artistic Producer Melissa Cardello-Linton. “I’ve been here not quite two years yet, but I remember, I think it was during the interview process, I remember saying to Rene, ‘Wait, so these creatives, these producers, playwrights, directors, choreographers, they’re getting X amount of dollars, plus the theater, plus a staff, plus marketing?’ Coming from a background of self-producing work in the hardest place in the world, New York City, I was blown away.”
A group of panelists choose the artists and works that will get CSA productions, requiring a commitment of time as well as talent.
“Sometimes, we absolutely love their piece, but their schedule just won’t allow them to be a part of the process, because it’s not just about their work and producing their work,” Cardello-Linton said. “We also hold professional development workshops that we ask them to take part in, and to come and see everybody else’s work, as well to support it.”
CSA NOW: ‘AGNUS TEACHES ACTING’
This year’s lead CSA artist is Treasure Treasure, who on February 5-6 will star in Agnus Teaches Acting, co-created with Zanny Laird and Lucas Fedele. Treasure is “thrilled” by the opportunity afforded by CSA.
“I’ve been developing vehicles for Agnus for nearly a decade alongside my fierce collaborators, Zanny Laird and Lucas Fedele. Agnus Teaches Acting marks our first full production with a budget of this size,” said Treasure, who will star in Hedwig and the Angry Itch for City Theatre in May.
“We started by writing and staging 55-minute cabaret acts for Agnus back in 2017, mounting one-night-only performances at The Duplex in New York. I’m grateful to receive this funding, in order to realize a theatrical vision we’ve had for many years. I recognize the privilege and responsibility of our position, especially at a time when funding for the arts — let alone for visionary new work — is being outright obliterated. Agnus Teaches Acting is a love letter to the tenacity of the human spirit!”
The New Hazlett’s CSA Off the Page reading series kicked off 2026 with the musical comedy There Goes The Bride, by Noah Van Ess and Catcher Sanchez, on January 12.
UPLIFTING RESIDENT COMPANIES
Being known as a venue for resident companies remains a factor in New Hazlett’s ability to wear different artistic hats.
For instance, Conrad’s years at the New Hazlett have coincided with the growth of Texture Contemporary Ballet, whose mission includes creating and presenting “predominantly new and original” works.
“They did one little show in July for one weekend, where all their dancers came from around the country where they were dancing in other ballets, but they had the summer off,” Conrad recalled. “And over [15 years], they’ve grown from one week a year to two, then to three, and now they have a school, and they do a dance recital with the students. It’s just really nice to see the growth that has happened.”
More than just a venue for resident companies, “We like being able to play the role of helping facilitate the growth of all those small companies,” Conrad said in an interview several weeks before Wednesday’s announcement.
While the pandemic brought many presenting and producing companies to the brink of disaster, Conrad said the New Hazlett came out of the shutdown with a sustainability plan that they continue to foster.
“What we saw was, we’re a midsize organization. We have a little bit of financial stability in the form of a little bit of an operating reserve, but we were able to see three years from now, there’s a cliff. And obviously you know this story. Everybody else who’s a big organization did the same thing … but these little guys, either didn’t see the cliff, or didn’t really realize what it was going to mean to them. And so as we came out of the pandemic, we started fundraising for what we are now calling the resident company model to say, ‘How can we collaboratively help these small organizations be sustainable?’ ”’
That next phase will include Darrin J. Friedman’s Becoming Arts Collective, a relative newcomer on the local theater scene.
The partnership is set to feature three programs, including the second Bridges and Stages 10-Minute Play Festival, and two full-length theatrical productions.
“To partner with the New Hazlett Theater in this way is genuinely inspiring. Their mission is deeply aligned with our focus on bringing new and transformative art to this community. This co-presenting effort allows us to build stronger connections through compelling storytelling that aligns with our mission to uplift and inspire hope,” said Friedman, Managing Director and Founder of The Becoming Arts Collective.
Becoming Arts would seem to be perfectly aligned with its new home. It’s tagline?: “A vibrant arts incubator for the Pittsburgh stage.”
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