Author Archives
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Real/Time Interventions Presents Angelmakers: Songs for Female Serial Killers
I think many would agree that we could use more compassion in this world. I’m guessing though that most would not look to a concert musical about female serial killers as a possible outlet. Surprise, Pittsburgh! Real/Time Interventions, a local… Read More ›
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Artist Spotlight: Tony Sirk
In the theater world it is hard to find someone not vying for the spotlight. Tony Sirk, one of Pittsburgh’s most sought-after costume designers, told me that he hated to talk about himself. Perhaps this kind of reserved attitude is… Read More ›
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Sunday Fringe: Taking a Dive into the Absurd
My Sunday Fringe viewing took a dive into the absurd. I began my afternoon by catching One Man Apocalypse Now in the smelly basement of St. Mary’s Lyceum. Full disclosure: at the conclusion of this show, I thought—holy Hell, what… Read More ›
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Fringe 2017 Day 1: Teeth & Sinew and The Chronic Single’s Handbook
Cup-A-Jo Productions, a Pittsburgh-based artist collaborative, returned to this year’s Fringe Festival with another challenging piece: Teeth & Sinew. At the beginning, we see two figures—a man with his back to the audience facing a large sheet of paper and… Read More ›
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Artist Spotlight: Jeffrey Chips
Jeffery Chips is trying to be it all: husband, father, theater director, and day-job-worker. He said, referring to the old idiom of burning the candle at both ends, that he had actually located a third end to burn. He started… Read More ›
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Artist Spotlight: Sean Sears
If you listen closely enough, you can hear the North Carolina in Sean Sears’ speech. We met for tea last week, and over our hour-long conversation I could just barely discern a drawl at the end of a few words…. Read More ›
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Twenty Years of Prime Stage
Wayne Brinda has his wife to thank for giving him the push to start the Prime Stage Theatre Company in 1995. Brinda, had been working for a grant funded company that was facing financial hardship and Wayne’s wife, Connie pointed… Read More ›
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Artist Spotlight: Tracy Brigden
In her fifteen seasons as City Theatre’s Artistic Director, Tracy Brigden has witnessed an evolution in the staging of plays and playwriting. According to Brigden, the writing and style is more cinematic now, and the pace is faster in terms… Read More ›
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Fringe Day 3: A Day at St. Mary’s
I never experienced the old Pittsburgh of soot and burgeoning mills and new immigrants, but there are times this old Pittsburgh reveals itself to me in surprising moments. There are locations in the North Side where the Fringe was held… Read More ›