onStage Pittsburgh catches up with Joseph Bell, Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s co-Executive Director, as the Fall season at the East Liberty theater gets under way with AURA, by Freshworks artist Mal MacKenzie.
OnSTAGE PITTSBURGH: Please tell us about the choice of “Freshworks: Mal MacKenzie.” The topic is so of the moment, in many ways.
JOSEPH BELL: Even before Freshworks launched in 2013, KST had a rich history of residency programs supporting the creation of new works, including a residency for Kyle Abraham’s Bessie Award-winning The Radio Show in 2009. Today, we’re happy to work with a panel of artists and KST staff to select four Freshworks artists per year. This year, the panel was energized by Mal’s clear and cunning take on urgent questions of our time. There’s a lot to unpack here — modern tech, unconditional love, gender (the mother is more comfortable with an AI’s “gender”?), our very existence as humans. KST has always supported new performance that is in conversation with the present moment, even when the present moment is challenging, and that’s exactly what Mal is doing.
(Image courtesy of Mal MacKenzie)
oSP: What does it mean, that it was created with the “AI Tools,” and is there a takeaway from that?
JOSEPH BELL: Actually, it is the opposite. When submitting their application materials, Mal was very explicit that the work was created without the use of AI tools. At the end of the day, theater is a deeply human expression. Theater helps creators, collaborators, and audiences process and better understand their own lived experiences, and those of others.
AURA is concerned with how people are increasingly outsourcing emotional processing, grief, and other deeply human experiences to AI agents. The fact that, as human beings, we are increasingly looking to AI for affirmation, empathy, and solutions presents a unique challenge. AURA doesn’t provide an answer, but it does create a shared space and opening for a broader conversation.
oSP: Please tell us about nurturing local talent such as MacKenzie and Jesse Factor, and how important that is to KST.
JOSEPH BELL: KST has nurtured a long and diverse roster of artists, taking pride in both incubating new work and amplifying careers through our national networks. Many have gone on to tour nationally and internationally. For performing artists to spend most of their time working in the arts, their careers must reach beyond Pittsburgh and span across geographies.
Over the past 20 years, KST has supported every Pittsburgh-based recipient of the prestigious National Dance Project in at least one, and often all, of the following areas: commissioning, grant writing, coaching, residencies, world premieres, and touring. This includes slowdanger, Jasmine Hearn, Staycee Pearl, Bill Shannon, Maree ReMalia, and Jesse Factor as an NDP finalist. And that’s just the choreographers we’ve worked with!
We’re very proud of the trajectory of theater-maker Adil Mansoor, whose performance, Amm(i)gone, will return home to Pittsburgh at City Theatre in June 2027 after a robust national tour. This follows KST’s world premiere in 2022, our co-presentation with The Andy Warhol Museum in 2023 during the Theater Communications Group National Conference, and our presentation of the work in NYC in 2023 during the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), a global arts conference, as part of KST x NYC. You can read all about his great work in American Theatre Magazine.
As part of KST’s ongoing Owning Our Future, Thriving Where We Live strategic direction, we present KST x NYC, a special initiative showcasing the work of Pittsburgh-based artists in New York City for the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference. We are sharing Pittsburgh artists and our story with the world!
I haven’t even touched on KST’s legacy of being the first organization to introduce world-renowned visiting artists to Pittsburgh, such as Sidra Bell, the first African American woman to choreograph for the New York City Ballet; Malpaso Dance Company from Cuba; Tony Award-winning Camille A. Brown & Dancers; and others, all of whom have since been presented by colleague arts organizations around the city.
oSP: What would you like us to know about upcoming productions at KST?
JOSEPH BELL: Sign up for our newsletter for the most recent updates on our season. Along with KST Presents programming, we have more than forty fabulous Producing Partners who call KST home for their own events and performances. Check them out.
(Image: Kitoko Chargois)
One upcoming performance I’m especially excited about is WITH OURSELVES, WITH EACH OTHER (WOWEO) by Maree ReMalia, co-directed by Adil Mansoor, and produced and created in collaboration with Hatch Arts Collective. It’s October 23-24, with a matinee for folks who don’t like to mess with their early bedtimes and karaoke party on the 24th for folks without a bedtime!
This is for folks who enjoy adventurous performance. Is it dance? Is it theater? Is it karaoke? I’ll ask you after the show. and you can tell me. In addition to adventurous performance-goers, I recommend it to adoptees and people raised in foster care; those raised across multiple cultures; anyone navigating grief; memoir enthusiasts; and those curious about lives and experiences different from their own.
It’s a solo performance where the audience is seated in the round, onstage with the performer (Maree). The central theme explores the longing to understand where we come from. Maree is a Korean adoptee who has and is grieving the loss of a parent who raised her (her adoptive dad) and the absence of a parent she never met (her biological mom). She uses a lot of dance, storytelling, and pop music to get deep into it. As much as the performance carries heavy topics, it also invites lots of laughing, singing, and curiosity. Also, I’m moderating a discussion with Maree and Kelly Hughes from Foster Love Project on Monday, October 5. Free dinner catered by Manduhandu!
oSP: Any word on KST’s future in a different location?
JOSEPH BELL: Through extensive study and planning, KST is working to secure its future through a comprehensive project that will give us both permanence and the facilities we need to fulfill our mission at the highest level.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
AURA performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, October 2-3, 2026, include a post-show discussion. At KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. Tickets: Pay What Moves You: $15-$30. https://kelly-strayhorn.org/events/f26-freshworks-mal-mckenzie/. More at https://kelly-strayhorn.org/.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Feature, Feature Stories, Our Posts, Show Previews
Leave a Reply