PICT Season Opens with Blithe Spirit

Contact: Michelle Belan
Marketing & Communications Director
412.561.6000 x203
mbelan@picttheatre.org
www.picttheatre.org

PICT Theatre opens 2014 season with Blithe Spirit
 PICT Artistic & Executive Director Alan Stanford to direct ghostly comedy
First professional production of Blithe Spirit in Pittsburgh since 1971


Pittsburgh, PA – March 11, 2014. PICT Theatre’s Artistic and Executive Director Alan Stanford has selected a bold assortment of classic plays for PICT’s 18th season, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Each play contains its own version of wickedness, with the Noel Coward classic Blithe Spirit opening the season May 3rd (May 1 and 2 previews.)

Alan selected Blithe Spirit to launch the season with humor and broad appeal. “Noel Coward’s humor and wit is as engaging today as ever, and a comedy from this era might help relieve the withdrawal symptoms for the fans of Downton Abbey.”

About the Plays
Blithe Spirit: Not since 1971, when Helen Wayne Rauh played Madame Arcati for The Playhouse has Pittsburgh seen a professional production of Noel Coward’s classic comedy Blithe Spirit. Perhaps more remarkably, Mrs. Rauh played the very same role in 1945! Written to entertain London’s beleaguered audiences during World War II, this comedy tells the story of Charles Condomine, a novelist who hosts a séance with the quirky clairvoyant Madame Arcati in order to gather material for a book. Much to Charles’ surprise, Madame Arcati not only successfully makes contact with his first wife, Elvira, but now Elvira won’t leave him alone – and his second wife, Ruth, is none too pleased!

Mary Rawson has been cast to play the quirky Madame Arcati, the clairvoyant who unwittingly brings back the dead in Blithe Spirit. Mary earned a Performer of the Year nod from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for her portrayal of Violet Watson in August: Osage County. In addition to her many acting credits, she teaches at Point Park University, and is perhaps most famous for playing Cousin Mary Owl on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Mary will return to the PICT stage to play Miss Havisham in December’s Great Expectations.

Dan Rodden, sometimes described as “Don Knotts meets Cary Grant,” will make his Pittsburgh premiere as Charles Condomine, a role he played for the New American Theatre (Rockford) under the direction of Richard Raether. Other selected credits include Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps (Nebraska Repertory Theatre); Felix Unger inThe Odd Couple (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre), and Benedick inMuch Ado About Nothing (The Shakespeare Project of Chicago).

Daina Michelle Griffith will play second wife Ruth Condomine. She was one of Pittsburgh’s busiest actresses in 2013, starring in 7 mainstage productions for Quantum, The REP, No Name Players, barebones and Off the Wall, and earning a nod from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as Performer of the Year for her efforts. Most recently she appeared inCompany for Pittsburgh Public Theater. She was last seen on the PICT stage in the world premiere of Martin Giles’ Beautiful Dreamers in 2010.

Vera Varlamov returns to PICT to play the ghostly Elvira, having played Rachelka/Marianna in the Pittsburgh premiere of Our Class in April of 2013. Vera earned a nod as a breakout performer by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for her performances in Chekhov’s Three Sisters, as well as playing two roles in two short plays for Funny Chekhov during PICT’s Chekhov Celebration in 2012.

James FitzGerald, who is one of two featured artists for the PICT 2014 season, will play Dr. Bradman, an invited guest to the séance. James most recently appeared on the PICT stage as Mr. Dumby in Lady Windermere’s Fan. James is a stalwart member of the PICT team, having appeared with the company since 2008. He has performed 16 seasons with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater as well as other Chicago-area theatres, and is the recipient of two of Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Awards. He will be appearing in all but one play during the PICT 2014 season.

 Karen Baum will play Edith, the hapless maid in the Condomine household. Karen is also a featured artist for PICT during the 2014 season. She will appear in all but two plays in the PICT season and only because those two plays have no female roles. Two of her best-remembered performances would be Cordelia in King Lear and the maid in Boston Marriage. Last season with PICT, she played Woman 4, Nurse 1 and Young Girl in the Pittsburgh premiere of Don Juan Comes Back from the War.

 Lissa Brennan will play Mrs. Bradman. She returns to PICT after strongly featuring in Don Juan Comes Back from the War in 2013 as Woman 1, Nurse 2, Nun 1 and Prostitute 1. Previous PICT performances include Annie in In the Next Room or the vibrator play(2012) and as a member of the chorus in Salome. Lissa has also performed with barebones, Quantum and Bricolage as well as her own company Dog & Pony Show.

Johnmichael Bohach, who also designed The Crucifer of Blood set in 2013, is the scenic designer for Blithe Spirit. Joan Markert, who designed costumes for The Crucifer of Blood andLady Windermere’s Fan. will design the costumes. Christopher Popowich will design lighting and Angela Baughman will design sound.

NEW AT PICT THEATRE IN 2014
PICT has introduced a 2:00 pm Wednesday matinee in the final week of the run of each show to help accommodate people with alternate work schedules, retirees, college students and student groups. PICT has often provided ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation at one performance in each production. Beginning this season, the Saturday 2PM matinee for each show will include ASL interpretation to accommodate the hearing impaired. Subscriptions and single tickets are available for both.

THE REST OF THE SEASON

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Aoife Spillane-Hinks will return to PICT to direct Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in June, with Martin Giles as Vladimir/Didi and James FitzGerald as Lucky. Although PICT produced BeckettFest in 2006, the company offered only a staged reading of Waiting for Godot. In October of that same year, Alan Stanford starred as Pozzo in the Gate Theatre Dublin’s touring production at the Byham. Waiting for Godot is considered by many to be one of most influential plays ever written.
 Woman and Scarecrow by Marina Carr
Alan Stanford will direct this beautiful dramatic comedy by one of Ireland’s most notable female playwrights. The woman of the title, played by Nike Doukas, is surrounded by colorful characters including her husband (James FitzGerald), her Auntie (Sharon Brady), and her strange companion, Scarecrow (Karen Baum).

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness
The Great War is imminent when a group of boys from Ulster begin training in the British army, preparing for the Battle of the Somme. Frank McGuinness’ lyrical play captures the fierce friendship and loyalty among men who must face the wickedness and wastefulness of war. Matt Torney, who previously directed The Crucifer of Blood for PICT in 2013, returns to direct.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Double, double toil and trouble: the witches of Macbeth are just in time for Halloween in PICT’s October production directed by Alan Stanford. Stay tuned for our casting release in April.
 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, adapted by Hugh Leonard
Hugh Leonard wrote this adaptation specifically for Alan Stanford to produce at the Gate Theatre Dublin, where it met with critical and commercial success. Mary Rawson will play Miss Havisham, and further exciting casting news will be available shortly.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SEASON IS AVAILABLE ON THE FOLLOWING FACT SHEET OR AT THE WEBSITE, picttheatre.org

 TO ORDER TICKETS:
Subscriptions available now. Single tickets on sale April 1, 2014.
By phone at 412-561-6000.  Online at picttheatre.org. Email to tickethelp@picttheatre.org
 PICT Theatre (also known as Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre) was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production. PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh, and performs in The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres from April through December in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.


PICT THEATRE’S 2014 SEASON QUICK FACT SHEET

Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
Directed by Alan Stanford
The Charity Randall Theatre
May 1 – May 17, 2014
NEW THIS YEAR: WEDNESDAY 2PM MATINEE- May 14, 2014
(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Tuesday, May 13)
(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, May 17 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Directed by Aoife Spillane-Hinks
The Charity Randall Theatre
June 4 – June 21, 2014
NEW THIS YEAR: WEDNESDAY 2PM MATINEE- June 18, 2014
(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Wednesday, June 4)
(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, June 21 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)
 Woman and Scarecrow by Marina Carr
Directed by Alan Stanford
The Henry Heymann Theatre
July 10 – August 2, 2014
NEW THIS YEAR: WEDNESDAY 2PM MATINEE- July 30, 2014
(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, August 2 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness
Directed by Matt Torney
The Charity Randall Theatre
September 4 – September 20, 2014
NEW THIS YEAR: WEDNESDAY 2PM MATINEE- September 17, 2014
(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Tuesday, September 16)
(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, September 20 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Directed by Alan Stanford
The Charity Randall Theatre
October 8 – 25, 2014
NEW THIS YEAR: WEDNESDAY 2PM MATINEE- October 22, 2014
(10 a.m. student matinees on Tuesday, October 8 and Tuesday, October 21)
(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, October 25 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Adapted for the stage by Hugh Leonard)
Directed by Alan Stanford
The Charity Randall Theatre
December 3-20, 2014
NEW THIS YEAR: WEDNESDAY 2PM MATINEE- December 17, 2014
(10 a.m. student matinees on Tuesday, December 3 and Tuesday, December 16)
(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, December 20 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)
           
Subscriptions- full and flex plans available $288-$188*
Single Tickets
Senior Tickets (60+)
(Limited “grab bag” seating at $25; not available at all shows) $48-$38*
$44*
$25*
Military and Youth Tickets:
Military Adult
Military Children (ages 18 and under)
Patrons ages 19-30
Children ages 18 and under
$24*
$5*
$20*
$10*
* Prices do not include handling fees.
Email tickethelp@picttheatre.org to become an E-Subscriber or for online purchasing options, or contact PICT at 412-561-6000 x.207.
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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

UnCommon Pleas: An Evening of Legal Theatrical Entertainment

Contact: Michelle Belan

Marketing & Communications Director

412.561.6000 x203

mbelan@picttheatre.org

www.picttheatre.org

 

 

Guilty or Not Guilty? Macbeth Appeals His Conviction

PICT Theatre’s UnCommon Pleas: An Evening of Legal Theatrical Entertainment

Dennis Unkovic as Macbeth; Audrey Russo as Lady Macbeth

 

Pittsburgh, PA – February 25, 2014. Shakespeare’s most wicked couple, the Macbeths, will appeal their murder convictions in front of six noteworthy judges. Attorney Dennis Unkovic and Pittsburgh High Tech Council President Audrey Russo will play the devious pair at PICT’s UnCommon Pleas, a legal theatrical event co-sponsored by the Arts and Law Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association. This uncommonly entertaining evening will take place at the Duquesne Club on March 27th, featuring cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a three-course meal, and a most entertaining appellate argument.

 

The event is co-chaired by PICT Theatre’s board president Charles H. Moellenberg, Jr. (Jones Day) and his wife Karen Moellenberg, also an attorney, and Thomas G. Donahue (Dinsmore & Shohl LLP). On behalf of PICT Theatre, Chuck Moellenberg said, "PICT is thrilled to team with the ACBA to present an evening of legal theatrics, full of jest, surprises, and intrigue. We will set the stage for our panel of 6 federal and state judges to test the wit of our bar’s advocates and to determine the fate of Macbeth and his Lady.” PICT Artistic & Executive Director Alan Stanford has devised a script for the evening and will direct a noteworthy cast of legal minds. “PICT is producing Macbeth in October of this year, so it is the perfect time to whet the appetite for delicious wickedness that is Shakespeare’s shortest but perhaps most powerful tragedy.”

 

The six judges who will deliberate are all confirmed. Among them is the Honorable Maurice B. Cohill, Jr., a senior judge for the U.S. District Courts, Western District. His late wife Anne Mullaney was a PICT board member and ardent supporter of the theatre company until her untimely death in April of 2011. Judge Cohill expressed great enthusiasm for taking the bench at this unique event. Joining Judge Cohill are Judge Nora Barry Fischer, also from the U.S. District Court; Court of Common Pleas President Judge Jeffrey Manning, Superior Court Judge Judith Olson, Common Pleas Complex Case Judge Christine Ward, and Common Pleas Judge and former Pittsburgh Steeler Dwayne Woodruff.

 

Playing Macbeth is an unexpected addition to attorney Unkovic’s bucket list, but he thinks he might also be helping fulfill the dreams of a few others. “People have been hoping to see me die for years, and now, they may get the chance to see it happen right before their eyes,” he said.  “It’ll be fun and it’s for a great cause." 

 

TO ORDER TICKETS:  

PICT Theatre is taking orders by phone at 412-561-6000 and online at http://picttheatre.org/plays-events/pict-uncommon-pleas/ . Tickets are $250/person, or $200/person for members of the Arts & the Law Committee, Homer S. Brown Division, and Young Lawyers Division of the ACBA.

 

TO BECOME A SPONSOR:

 It’s not too late to be a sponsor, and sponsorship does have its privileges. Sponsorship options, ranging from $750 to $5,000, come with a host of benefits, including the chance to become involved in the show.  Call PICT Theatre or visit http://picttheatre.org/plays-events/pict-uncommon-pleas/ for the details.

.

PICT Theatre (aka Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre) was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production. PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh, and performs in The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres from April through December in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.

PICT THEATRE’S 2014 SEASON

Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Charity Randall Theatre

May 1 – May 17, 2014

(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Tuesday, May 13)

(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, May 17 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

 

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Directed by Aoife Spillane- Hinks

The Charity Randall Theatre

June 4 – June 21, 2014

(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Wednesday, June 4)

(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, June 21 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

 

Woman and Scarecrow by Marina Carr

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Henry Heymann Theatre

July 10 – August 2, 2014

(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, August 2 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

 

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness

Directed by Matt Torney

The Charity Randall Theatre

September 4 – September 20, 2014

(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Tuesday, September 16)

(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, September 20 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

 

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Charity Randall Theatre

October 8 – 25, 2014

(10 a.m. student matinees on Tuesday, October 8 and Tuesday, October 21)

(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, October 25 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Adapted for the stage by Hugh Leonard)

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Charity Randall Theatre

December 3-20, 2014

(10 a.m. student matinees on Tuesday, December 3 and Tuesday, December 16)

(2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, December 20 includes an American Sign Language interpretation.)

               

Subscriptions

(wide range of packages and flex plans available-

Early Bird pricing in effect until December 21, 2014) $288-$188*

Single Tickets

Senior Tickets (60+)

(Limited “grab bag” seating at $25; not available at all shows) $48-$38*

$44*

$25*

Military and Youth Tickets:

Military Adult

Military Children (ages 18 and under)

Patrons ages 19-30

Children ages 18 and under  

$24*

$5*

$20*

$10*

* Prices do not include handling fees.

Email tickethelp@picttheatre.org to become an E-Subscriber or for online purchasing options, or contact PICT at 412-561-6000 x.207.  

###

Michelle Belan

Marketing & Communications Director

 

theatre you can't stop talking about

mbelan@picttheatre.org

412-561-6000 ext. 203

picttheatre.org

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

PICT Plays with Mystery and Mayhem

Contact: Michelle Belan
Sales & Marketing Director
412-561-6000 x. 203
mbelan@picttheatre.org
www.picttheatre.org
For Immediate Release

PICT Plays…with Mystery and Mayhem, a Costume Gala by PICT Theatre
*Awards ceremony honoring Sara Steelman and Ray Werner*
**Special Guest Host Jack Gleeson of Game of Thrones is
King of the AE Dance Party**

Pittsburgh, PA – October 16, 2013. PICT Theatre, presenting sponsors PNC Bank and Jones Day, and Dance Party sponsor American Eagle Outfitters are pleased to announce PICT’s reimagined annual fundraiser, a three-part celebration to be held at J. Verno Studios on the South Side.

AWARD RECEPTION, 6-7 PM: PICT is introducing two awards, the Anne D. Mullaney Inspiration Award, which will be presented to Ray Werner, and the Chosky-Rauh Theatre Award, presented to Sara Steelman. Cocktails and hors d’ouevre will be served.

DINNER and SILENT & LIVE AUCTION, 7-9 PM: Guests will dine with actors and directors from PICT’s family as well as special guest Jack Gleeson, star of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Producing Artistic Director Alan Stanford will serve as auctioneer for the live auction.

AE DANCE PARTY & COSTUME CONTEST, 9-11 PM: Jack Gleeson will be the guest host for the AE Dance Party beginning at 9pm. Gleeson will judge the costume contest, where cash prizes for the best Sherlock Holmes themed costume and the best overall costume will be awarded.

ABOUT JACK GLEESON:
PICT’S Producing Artistic Director Alan Stanford has known Jack Gleeson since he was a small boy, and he cast Jack as Tiny Tim in the Gate Theatre Dublin’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Jack also portrayed Young Pip in the Gate’s production of Great Expectations, a production which PICT will present in December of 2014.

“Jack Gleeson is an incredibly talented young actor and I’m extraordinarily pleased by his success. He first worked with me as a most heart-rending Tiny Tim and his natural ability to engage with audiences marked him at once as a natural actor with star quality. Apart from his stage work, which also includes his work in theater for children, he already has a considerable screen career. These credits include appearances in Batman Begins, Reign of Fire and All Good Children. He is also, and very much unlike the character he portrays on Game of Thrones, one of the nicest, most articulate young men you could ever hope to meet, and I’m glad the guests at the gala will get to enjoy his company all evening.”

Jack stars in HBO's Game of Thrones as Joffrey Baratheon. He is a student of Trinity College, Dublin as well as a founder and artistic director of Collapsing Horse Theatre Company, which is based in Dublin.

ABOUT THE AWARDS:
The Chosky-Rauh Theatre Award acknowledges distinguished service to and support of arts and culture. It has been created in honor of philanthropists Richard Rauh and the late Philip Chosky for their many years of leadership gifts. Stephanie Riso, PICT’s co-founder and Operations Director explains, “Philip Chosky and Richard Rauh have been stalwarts in the theatre community since before PICT ever came to be. They have always been passionate about encouraging and supporting all kinds of theatre as well as its professionals and artists. They have, in particular, been extremely generous to PICT over the years. We hope to honor their generosity and commitment and encourage to sustained and meaningful support of theatre with this award.”

The Anne D. Mullaney Inspiration Award has been established to honor the late PICT board member Anne D. Mullaney, a respected attorney and lover of the arts who inspired others with her support of great causes, not only for theatre, but a variety of well-deserved efforts in the Pittsburgh community and beyond. Stephanie Riso notes, “Anne served PICT during the critical years of 2003-2006. She represented kindness and generosity, a sense of humor and a positive attitude. She inspired those around her in countless ways, and PICT is pleased to honor her memory with this award.”

ABOUT SARA STEELMAN, CHOSKY-RAUH AWARD RECIPIENT:
Sara Steelman credits her daughter Amy’s interest in theatre as one of the primary reasons she became so active in theatre, and it was Amy who introduced her to PICT. Through the Indiana Players, the entire family was active in all facets of theatre, from acting and stage management to production and promotion. Both Sara and her husband John Henry serve on the board of the Indiana Players, and last year Sara began coaching the Indiana Players Shakespeare Contest Team. Her support of PICT has come in many forms; not only is she a significant financial supporter, but she has devoted a great deal of time writing articles and copy-editing the program books. Sara served seven terms as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1991 until 2002, and as a director of the Indiana Arts Council.

ABOUT RAY WERNER, ANNE D. MULLANEY INSPIRATION AWARD RECIPIENT:
Ray Werner has enjoyed a distinguished career in the marketing world, and he put his prodigious skills to use for PICT, first as a volunteer on the marketing committee. He joined the PICT board in 2002, taking on the role of President in 2003, and recruiting Anne Mullaney to the board that same year. Ray was selected for this award because of his ability to develop ideas and inspire enthusiastic support —  whether as PICT board president, or in creating a farmer’s market in the Strip District or building a community bread oven in Braddock. Among Ray’s passions is a talent for playwriting that has garnered awards and admiration, and also links him to Chosky-Rauh Theatre Award recipient Sara Steelman: Sara produced and directed Ray’s one-act play Night Song for the Indiana Players.

PICT Theatre (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre)  was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production.  PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh and PICT productions at The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres are presented in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.

FACT SHEET -  PICT Plays…with Mystery & Mayhem
A Costume Gala with a Sherlock Holmes Theme

October 28, 2013 from 6- 11 PM
J. Verno Studios, 3030 Jane Street, Pittsburgh PA 15203
Presenting sponsors: PNC Bank and Jones Day
AE Dance Party sponsored by American Eagle Outfitters
Event Planners: Christine Ferguson and Evelyn Castillo

Catering by BIG Catering. Open bar all evening.

6:00 PM                               Award Reception with Cocktails and hors’ doeuvre
                                                Award presentations by Maurice Cohill and Richard Rauh

7:00 PM                               Seated dinner with PICT actors and special guest Jack Gleeson
                                                Silent and live auction
                                                Strolling dessert course

9:00 PM                               AE Dance Party with guest host Jack Gleeson
                                                Photo Booth
                                                Sweet and salty buffet with open bar
                                                Costume award presentation

Ticket Prices:                  Award Reception + Dinner + Dance Party - $250/person
Dinner + Dance Party - $200
Dance Party - $35/person or 2 for $60

Sponsorships and program book advertising available
Contact Terry Moss at tmoss@picttheatre.org.


Tickets and information available online at www.picttheatre.org,
or by calling 412-561-6000

# # #

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

PICT Announces 2014 Theme: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Contact: Michelle Belan
Marketing Director
412.561.6000 x203
mbelan@picttheatre.org
www.picttheatre.org
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

PICT Theatre Announces a ‘Wicked’ Season for 2014
Six plays fit the theme: “Something Wicked This Way Comes”
A mixture of classic favorites and pure Irish genius.

Pittsburgh, PA – September 23, 2013. PICT Theatre (Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre) packs its eighteenth year of classic favorites and pure Irish genius, a return to its original mission under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Alan Stanford. The selection of plays all fit the theme, “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” a line taken from the fifth show of the season.

BLITHE SPIRIT – MAY 1-17, 2014 – THE CHARITY RANDALL THEATRE
PICT launches its season next May with Noel Coward’s immensely popular comedy Blithe Spirit.  This play made its Pittsburgh premiere at the Nixon Theatre in 1942 and was produced again in 1943, and then the Pittsburgh Playhouse produced it in 1945, but since then, there have been no professional productions of this comic gem in Pittsburgh. The story is simple: after a séance gone bad, Charles Condomine is disturbed to find that he now has two wives occupying his home— one of which is his late wife, Elvira. Blithe Spirit playfully mocks the traditions of love and marriage through the machinations of spiritual folly and the fight between a wife living, a wife dead and the haunted husband stuck between them. Even the grim reaper has no rest. A darkly amusing comedy, Blithe Spirit will be directed by PICT Producing Artistic Director Alan Stanford.

WAITING FOR GODOT – JUNE 4-21, 2014 – THE CHARITY RANDALL THEATRE
Though PICT produced BeckettFest in 2006, the company only offered a staged reading of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. In October of that same year, Alan Stanford starred as Pozzo in the Gate Theatre Dublin’s touring production at the Byham. PICT is finally producing this work as the second production of the 2014 season. Waiting for Godot, considered by many to be one of most influential plays ever written. Of this play, Alan Stanford notes, “ Two men waiting on a road for someone who never arrives. Two other men on a journey that seems to have no purpose or end.  In this simple tragic-comedy, Beckett has captured all life – the waiting and the journeying.” Aoife Spillane-Hinks, who directed PICT’s 2013 season opener Our Classwill return to PICT  to direct.

WOMAN AND SCARECROW – JULY 10-AUGUST 20, 2014, THE HENRY HEYMANN THEATRE
First performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London and subsequently presented at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Woman and Scarecrow is Marina Carr’s perfect play about the last moments of a woman’s life. With great beauty and with clear Irish wit and wonder, this play tells the story of a life that was lived and the joy and sadness that comes that comes at journey’s end. The woman of the title is surrounded by colorful characters including her husband, her Auntie, her strange companion- and not forgetting the ‘thing’ in the closet. A wickedly wonderful plot for the adventurous spirit. Directed by Alan Stanford and starring Nike Doukas and Karen Baum,

OBSERVE THE SONS OF ULSTER MARCHING TOWARDS THE SOMME – SEPTEMBER 4-20, 2014, THE CHARITY RANDALL THEATRE
Almost legendary in Irish Theatre, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme was written in the height of “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland. It was one of the few plays from the Irish Republic which addressed the traditions and sense of Uster-ness of the Northern Protestants. Set during the First World War, the play follows a group of new recruits to the British army from basic training to the night before the Battle of the Somme where over 50,000 British troops died on the first day. Most of the Ulster contingent were killed in the first onslaught. Award-winning Irish playwright Frank McGuinness gives us a play which brilliantly demonstrates duty, loyalty, friendship, and above all, the effect of war on men. PICT’s production marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I.

MACBETH – OCTOBER 8-25, 2014 – THE CHARITY RANDALL THEATRE
One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, Macbeth chronicles the lust for power and the enticements that fate can offer. Macbeth, of all Shakespeare’s heroes, is the one on whom temptation and vanity wreak their most terrible revenge. He is the victim of his own delusions and of his own blind ambition. This is a play with no sub-plot. No deviations. No overtly intellectual debate. It is a play of action, power and passion. And there are three wicked witches! Alan Stanford will direct.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS – DECEMBER 3-20, 2014 – THE CHARITY RANDALL THEATRE
One of the best-known novels of England’s most prolific and loved Victorian writers, Great Expectations chronicles the life and loves of Philip Pirrip, known simply as Pip. Apprenticed to a blacksmith, kind to an escaped convict, sent to the home of an eccentric old woman (still in the bridal wear from her wedding day), Pip falls hopelessly in love with her ward. He is sent to London with great expectations of an inheritance. But the truth behind his expectations is far from anything he believed and the conclusion of his adventures is far from anything he dreamed. This classic of literature by Charles Dickens, which contains some of the author’s most colorful characters, was adapted by Hugh Leonard for Alan Stanford for production at the Gate Theatre Dublin. Alan Stanford will direct.

PICT IS NOW A BLUE STAR THEATRE
PICT Theatre is pleased to announce its participation in the Blue Star Theatre program, a program of Blue Star Families and Theatre Communications Group, with support from the MetLife Foundation. Through this program, military servicemembers and their families can receive discounted tickets. More information about the program can be found at the PICT website.

The Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production. PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh, and performs in The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres from April through December in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.

PITTSBURGH IRISH & CLASSICAL THEATRE 2014 SEASON FACT SHEET

All performances in the Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Oakland

Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Charity Randall Theatre

May 1 – May 17, 2014

(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Tuesday, May 13)

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Directed by Aoife Spillane- Hinks

The Charity Randall Theatre

June 4 – June 21, 2014

(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Wednesday, June 4)

Woman and Scarecrow by Marina Carr

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Henry Heymann Theatre

July 10 – August 2, 2014

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness

Director TBA

The Charity Randall Theatre

September 4 – September 20, 2014

(10 a.m. Student Matinee on Tuesday, September 16)

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Charity Randall Theatre

October 8 – 25, 2014

(10 a.m. student matinees on Tuesday, October 8 and Tuesday, October 21)

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Adapted for the stage by Hugh Leonard)

Directed by Alan Stanford

The Charity Randall Theatre

December 3-20, 2014

(10 a.m. student matinees on Tuesday, December 3 and Tuesday, December 16)

              

Subscriptions

(wide range of packages and flex plans available-

Early Bird pricing in effect until December 21, 2014) $296-$188*

Single Tickets  $55-$38*

Senior Tickets (60+)  $44*

(Limited “grab bag” seating at $25; not available at all shows) $25*

Military and Youth Tickets:

Military Adult  $24

Military Children (ages 18 and under)$5

Patrons ages 19-30  $20*

Children ages 18 and under  $10*  

* Prices do not include handling fees. Subscription handling fees waived for E-Subscribers.

Email tickethelp@picttheatre.org to become an E-Subscriber or for online purchasing options, or contact PICT at 412-561-6000 x.207. 

###

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Don Juan Comes Back from the War

Contact: Michelle Belan
Sales & Marketing Director
412-561-6000 x.203
mbelan@picttheatre.org
www.picttheatre.org
For Immediate Release

PICT Presents U.S. Premiere of Don Juan Comes Back from the War
**Alan Stanford directs Duncan Macmillan’s new version of the Odon von Horvath play**
***Featuring David Whalen and Nike Doukas ***

Pittsburgh, PA –July 31, 2013. British playwright Duncan Macmillan was asked numerous times to adapt Don Juan Comes Back from the War by Odon von Horvath, and after reading it in the original German as well as a few translations, he felt compelled to accept the challenge. “I thought it was a fascinating play, to take this extraordinary character – the archetypal lover Don Juan - and refract his character through the dark experience of going through the war, and coming back to a war-torn Berlin as an older man, looking for love and redemption.” Macmillan’s version of the play has only been produced once before, at the Finborough Theatre in London in 2012.  Macmillan traveled to Pittsburgh to attend rehearsals and work with director Alan Stanford and the cast for its U. S. premiere. This production will run August 8-31.

Alan Stanford, PICT’s producing artistic director, most recently directed his adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan for PICT in July 2013. “Don Juan Comes Back From the War is a most amazing journey – a pilgrim’s progress into Hell.”

The Cast:
David Whalen plays the iconic lothario Don Juan; in this play, he is a shell-shocked German soldier on a quest for redemption, seeking the love he left at the altar. He is, appropriately, the only male cast member. Whalen recently played Parker in PICT’s production of Lady Windermere’s Fan, and has more than 20 other performances to his credit on the PICT stage, including Ivanov, Three Sisters, Doubt, The Mask of Moriarty, Stuff Happens, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Salome and The Lieutenant of Inishmore a role he reprised at the Repertory of St. Louis, winning the Kevin Kline Award for Best Actor. In 2012, he was named the MVP (Most Valuable Performer) by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as well as being recognized as Performer of the Year for 2007.  He will soon begin filming a leading role in the independent film The Legion  as well as originating a role in Tammy Ryan’s Soldier’s Heart. In December, he will reprise his role as Sherlock Homes in PICT’s Sherlock Holmes & The Crucifer of Blood.

Each of the female cast members play multiple characters. Nike Doukas just finished an acclaimed turn as Mrs. Erlynne in PICT’sLady Windermere’s Fan. Nike played Celimene in PICT’s The School for Lies last December, as well as the role of Anna inIvanov and Olga in Three Sisters. Other PICT credits include The Bear, House and Garden, Betrayal and Celebration.

Melinda Helfrich returns to PICT after appearing as Mrs. Daldry in In the Next Room or the vibrator play.

A native of Pittsburgh, Melinda has most recently appeared as Duck Macatarsney in The Monster in the Hall (City Theatre), and as Sanelma Kayramo in The Howling Miller (Quantum Theatre).  Additional credits include the title role in Yerma (Quantum Theatre) and as Elizabeth in Jeffery Hatcher's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (City Theatre.)

Karen Baum, a Point Park University graduate, has previously appeared in three PICT productions (King Lear, Boston Marriageand The Shaughran) as well as on stage with other Pittsburgh theatres including Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Playhouse REP, Bricolage, No Name Players, Unseam’d Shakespeare, and Off the Wall. She is a SAG-AFTRA member with film and TV credits including Promised Land, The Road, My Bloody Valentine 3D, KillPoint, and The War That Made America. She teaches for the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Civic Light Opera and Hope Academy.

Lissa Brennan is a Pittsburgh-based actor, director, teach and playwright  whose most recent PICT appearance  was the 2012 production of  In the Next Room or the vibrator play. Previous work with PICT includes the Beckett Festival and Salome, her first opportunity to work with Alan Stanford. She has also performed with barebones, the University of Pittsburgh, Quantum Theatre, Bricolage, and her own company, Dog & Pony Show.

Catherine Moore has performed with PICT since 2001 in Portia Coughlin, Tonight at 8:30, The Seagull, the PICT Ireland tour ofFaith Healer, BeckettFest, Julius Caesar, Salome, and Jane Eyre. She was last seen in Pittsburgh in the Quantum Theatre production of  Golden Dragon. As a fight choreographer, her work has been seen at PICT, City Theatre, and Pittsburgh Opera. She is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.

Gayle Pazerski makes her PICT debut in Don Juan. She earned her BFA in Theatre from the University of Kentucky and studied in the graduate acting program at Rutgers University under William Esper. Gayle’s previous acting credits include Chicks with Dicks (Bricolage), The Book of Liz (No Name Players), and The End of the Affair (Quantum). As a playwright, Gayle’s work has been featured with Bricolage’s Midnight Radio series, No Name Players' SWAN Day, Organic Theater Pittsburgh, and the Future Ten 10-minute play festival.

ABOUT THE PLAY:
Don Juan Comes Back from the War by Odon von Horvath in a new version by Duncan Macmillan.
The Great War has just ended. Infamous lothario Don Juan, a shell-shocked German soldier returns to a devastated Berlin, his prospects bleak. After a few days of debauchery to shed the horrors of war, Don Juan embarks on a quest to find the love he left at the altar years before. His reputation and the desires of the women he meets along the way – some who wish to love him, some who seek revenge – threaten to keep him from his goal. With dark humor, Don Juan makes his way to an uncertain fate.  Note: Appropriate for ages 18 and up. This play contains male and female full-frontal nudity and violence.

PICT Theatre (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre)  was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production.  PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh and PICT productions at The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres are presented in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.



FACT SHEET -  Don Juan Comes Back from the War by Odon von Horvath in a new version by Duncan Macmillan

Directed by Alan Stanford
The Henry Heymann Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial
4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Cast: David Whalen, Nike Doukas, Melinda Helfrich, Karen Baum, Lissa Brennan, Catherine Moore, Gayle Pazerski.

Design Team: Narelle Sissons (scenic and costume design); Allen Hahn (lighting design); Joe Pino (sound design); Johnmichael Bohach (properties)

Performance Schedule:
Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 2pm
Tuesday, August 27 at 7pm
Saturday, August 31 at 2pm and 8pm

First Week:         Thursday and Friday, August 8 & 9, 8:00 pm – Previews
                                Saturday, August 10, 8:00 pm – Opening Night
                                Sunday, August 11, 2:00 pm – Talkback following performance
Second Week:    Wednesday* – Saturday, August 14-17, 8:00 pm
                                Sunday, August 18, 2:00 pm
Third Week:       Wednesday – Saturday, August 21-24, 8:00 pm
                                Sunday, August 25, 2:00 pm
Fourth Week:     Tuesday, August 27, 7:00 p.m. (Early Tuesday** performance)
                                Wednesday-Friday, August 28-30, 8:00 p.m.
                                Saturday, August 31, 2:00 pm - Matinee performance***
Saturday, August 31, 8:00 pm – Final performance
*Pre-show lecture begins at 7:00 pm in The Charity Randall Theatre.
**Early Tuesday includes 6:00 pm happy hour – free food buffet + drink specials -- hosted at Joe Mama’s Restaurant, 3716 Forbes Ave. 15213)
***American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation available at this performance


PICT Special Events

Talkback – Free to the public
Sunday, August 11, following the 2:00 p.m. performance includes director Alan Stanford and the cast of Don Juan Comes Back from the War (Approximate start 3:30 pm)

Pre-Show Lecture – Free to the public
Wednesday, August 14, 7:00-7:30 p.m.

American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation available at one matinee performance
Saturday, August 31, 2pm -- (Must purchase ticket for performance)

Subscription Packages:                            $222 - $258 (Standard prices; flex plans available)
Single Tickets:                                               $25-$48 ($20 under age 26 with valid ID)
                                                                                Prices do not include Handling Fees      

Pick, purchase and print your tickets online at www.picttheatre.org,
or call 412-561-6000
# # #


Michelle Belan
Sales & Marketing Director
PICT
Theatre You Can't Stop Talking About
412-561-6000 x. 203
mbelan@picttheatre.org
www.picttheatre.org

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Lady Windermere's Fan at PICT

More Modern Milieu for Lady Windermere’s Fan
**Alan Stanford adapts and directs Oscar Wilde’s comic gem **
***Featuring Leo Marks, Nike Doukas, Jodi Gage and John DeMita in 17-member cast ***

Pittsburgh, PA – UPDATE July 3, 2013. Renowned Oscar Wilde expert Alan Stanford, PICT’s interim Producing Artistic Director, will direct his adaptation of the great Irish playwright’s comedy, Lady Windermere’s Fan. Wilde’s play, first produced in 1892 in London, satirizes the morality of Victorian society. Stanford has moved the setting forward in time to 1947; in post-World-War II London, Wilde’s language and ridicule of high-society still resonate. Oscar Wilde was not so much a writer of polite English comedy, but rather a biting Irish satirist who lampooned the social absurdities and prejudices of the English upper classes, prejudices that lasted well into the Twentieth Century. This production, which runs July 11 through July 27, is PICT’s third show of the season, and features a cast of 17 actors.

Stanford continues to build his reputation as a skilled interpreter of the plays of Oscar Wilde. He has been the principal interpreter of Wilde at the renowned Gate Theatre of Dublin as both an actor and director. He has, at various times, directed and appeared in all of the major plays of Wilde, including the role of Lady Bracknell at Ireland’s Abbey Theatre and here at PICT.  Stanford just finished directing PICT’s second show of the season, The Kreutzer Sonata. His previous directing credits include works by Shakespeare, Molière, Noel Coward, Shaw, and Brecht. He directed PICT’s record-breaking production of the Sherlock Holmes’s mystery The Mask of Moriarty in 2011. Following Lady Windermere’s Fan, he will direct Don Juan Comes Back from the Warwhich PICT will present in August.

Nike Doukas returns to PICT to play Mrs. Erlynne, a mysterious woman whom Lady Windermere believes is seducing her husband. Doukas most recently appeared on the PICT stage in David Ives’ The School for Lies in December 2012. She played Anna inIvanov as well as directing and acting in the short plays of Funny Chekhov during PICT’s Chekhov Celebration last summer.

Also returning from the Chekhov Celebration is Leo Marks, who is playing Lord Windermere in his fourth season at PICT. His past PICT credits include Betrayal, The Hothouse, The Importance of Being Earnest, House and Garden and Three Sisters. His 2012 PICT performances in The Bear, Ivanov and The School for Lies were recognized with a Post-Gazette Performer of the Year award.

John DeMita returns to PICT to play Lord Darlington after his 2011 performance in Race.  Other theatre credits include the Andak Stage Company, The Hollywood Bowl, Geffen Playhouse, American Conservatory Theater, Intiman Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Pacific Resident Theatre, where he is a founding member. DeMita is a graduate of Yale University and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Jodi Gage will begin her first season with PICT playing the suspicious Lady Windermere, who believes her husband is having an affair. Other Pittsburgh credits include The REP, Pittsburgh CLO and the Theatre Factory.  Gage is a Performing Artistic Affiliate, as well as Managing Director of Mozawa, an international company that creates original works of interdisciplinary art.

PICT welcomes back Martin Giles, Helena Ruoti, James FitzGerald and David Whalen.

Martin Giles is in his 12th season with PICT, with credits including The School for Lies, Ivanov, The Mask of Moriarty, House & Garden, The Importance of Being Earnest, The History Boys, What the Butler Saw and The Gigli Concert, which helped earned him a Post-Gazette Performer of the Year award. Most recently he wowed audiences with his one-man tour de force performance in PICT’s The Kreutzer Sonata. Giles will direct A Skull in Connemara for PICT in September, and in December, he’ll reprise his role as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes & The Crucifer of Blood.

Helena Ruoti is in her seventh season with PICT.  Previous PICT credits include Ivanov, School for Lies, Afterplay, House and Garden, Antony & Cleopatra, The Seagull, Hamlet, Heartbreak House, King Lear, Rock N Roll and What the Butler Saw.

James FitzGerald is in his 6th season with PICT. Other Pittsburgh credits include the Pittsburgh Public Theater, Quantum Theater and Bricolage. He was acknowledged by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for his work in the Best of Pittsburgh 2011 and 2012. With many credits in Chicago, FitzGerald is also the recipient of Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award, a Jeff Citation and an After Dark Award.

David Whalen is in his 8th season with PICT. He has performed in more than twenty productions for PICT, including the Chekhov Celebration, Pinter Festival, Julius Caesar, Stuff Happens, Doubt, Salome, King Lear, Pride & Prejudice and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, a role he reprised at The Repertory of St Louis, winning the Kevin Kline Award for Best Actor.  His Pittsburgh credits include Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theatre, Quantum, The REP and Barebones Productions. In 2012, he was named the MVP Performer by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as well as being recognized as Performer of the Year for 2007.  Whalen will be appearing in PICT’s productions of Don Juan Comes Back from the War in August, and he will reprise his role as Sherlock Homes in Sherlock Holmes & The Crucifer of Blood in December.

Returning after her PICT debut last year, Colette Freiwald performed in Three Sisters and Ivanov. A graduate of Point Park University, she performed in Room Service and The Hostage, and she recently performed with Prime Stage in Walk Two Moons.

Lisa Ann Goldsmith was last seen on the PICT stage in Jane Eyre, and other PICT credits include The Shaughraun and Pride & Prejudice. Pittsburgh credits include Unseam’d Shakespeare, Pittsburgh CLO, Quantum Theatre and The REP.

Dylan Marquis Meyers is returning to PICT after his performance in The Importance of Being Earnest in 2011. He is in his junior year in the drama department at the University of Pittsburgh.
Six actors will be making their PICT debuts: Lily Davis, Jordan Ross Weinhold, Heidi Friese, Casey Jordan, Hannah Morris, Luke Halferty.

Lily Davis is a recent graduate of Point Park University this May, where she performed in The School for Scandal and TheCrucible. Her performance as Jane in 800 Words: The Transmigration of Philip K. Dick with Caravan Theatre Group earned her a mention in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2012.

Jordan Ross Weinhold is recently graduated with a BA in Musical Theatre at Point Park University, where he performed in The Producers and played opposite Lily Davis in The School for Scandal. Lily and Weinhold play opposite each other again in Lady Windermere’s Fan.

Heidi Friese is also a recent graduate of Point Park University, where her credits include Evita, Peter and the Wolf, A Chorus Line, M33 and The Producers.
A recent graduate of Wright State University, Casey Jordan’s university credits include The Merchant of Venice, Anything Goes,and The Phantom of the Opera.

Hannah Morris is in her junior year at Point Park University.
Also in his junior year at Point Park University, Luke Halferty appeared there in The School for Scandal, and he just completed his debut performance with the St. Vincent Theatre in Latrobe.

ABOUT THE PLAY:
Lady Windermere’s Fan
The play, the first of Wilde’s quartet of social satires, was first presented in 1893. It proved an instant success and established Wilde as a major playwright. Although greeted as a delightful comedy by the West End society of late Victorian London, it is in fact a thinly-veiled attack on the hypocrisy of what was called Good Society.

In this play, as in others from his pen, Wilde took the relatively unusual step of centering the plot around two female characters and proved himself every bit as adept at this as his contemporaries, Shaw and Ibsen.
The plot is simple enough. A young wife, married to an aristocrat of previously blameless character finds that he has been financially supporting a woman of dubious reputation. His refusal to explain drives her to take desperate steps. And yet, the safety of her own reputation in this world of privilege and prejudice and the avoidance of a scandal that could ruin her life hangs on the behavior of the very woman she suspects.
PICT Theatre (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre)  was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production.  PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh and PICT productions at The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres are presented in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.

FACT SHEET -  Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde
Adapted by Alan Stanford

Pittsburgh Premiere
Directed by Alan Stanford
The Charity Randall Theatre in the Stephen Foster Memorial
4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Cast: John DeMita, Nike Doukas, Jodi Gage, James FitzGerald, Martin Giles, Leo Marks, Helena Ruoti, Lily Davis, Colette Freiwald, Heidi Friese, Lisa Ann Goldsmith, Luke Halferty, Casey Jordan, Dylan Marquis Meyers, Hannah Morris, Jordan Ross Weinhold, David Whalen


Design Team: Michael Essad (scenic design); Joan Markert (costume design); Cat Wilson (lighting design); Steve Shapiro (sound design); Johnmichael Bohach (properties)

Performance Schedule:
Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 2pm
Tuesday, July 23 at 7pm
Saturday, July 27 at 2pm and 8pm

First Week:         Thursday and Friday, July 11 & 12, 8:00 pm – Previews
                                Saturday, July 13, 8:00 pm – Opening Night
                                Sunday, July 14, 2:00 pm – Talkback following performance
Second Week:    Wednesday* – Saturday, July 17-20, 8:00 pm
                                Sunday, July 21, 2:00 pm
Third Week:       Tuesday, July 23, 7:00 p.m. (Early Tuesday** performance)
                                Wednesday-Friday, June 24-26, 8:00 p.m.
                                Saturday, July 27, 2:00 pm - Matinee performance
Saturday, July 27, 8:00 pm – Final performance
*Pre-show lecture begins at 7:00 pm in The Charity Randall Theatre.
**Early Tuesday includes 6:00 pm happy hour – free food buffet + drink specials -- hosted at Joe Mama’s Restaurant, 3716 Forbes Ave. 15213)


PICT Special Events   (Free of Charge)

Talkback
Sunday, July 14, following the 2:00 p.m. performance includes director Alan Stanford and the cast of Lady Windermere’s Fan

Pre-Show Lecture
Wednesday, July 17, 7:00 p.m.


Subscription Packages:                            $222 - $258 (Standard prices; flex plans available)
Single Tickets:                                               $25-$48 ($20 under age 26 with valid ID)
                                                                                Prices do not include Handling Fees      

Pick, purchase and print your tickets online at www.picttheatre.org,
or call 412-561-6000

# # #

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Our Class at the PICT

PICT Theatre Announces Full Company for Our Class
**Irish-American Aoife Spillane-Hinks will direct**
***Post-Gazette’s Breakout Performer of 2012 Vera Varlamov returns to PICT***

Pittsburgh, PA – March 12, 2013.  PICT Theatre (aka Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre) announces the full cast for Our Class, the powerful Nike award-winning play by Tadeusz Slobodzianek and translated by Ryan Craig. Irish-American Aoife Spillane-Hinks will direct. Our Class opens with a student matinee on April 10th, and runs through May 4th.

Aoife Spillane-Hinks is pleased to make her PICT directorial debut with Our Class. She is currently the co-artistic director of Then This Theatre Company in Dublin Ireland, as well as the  co-curator and co-producer of the TEXT|messages Shakespeare project. Her directorial credits include Broken Promise Land (Lanigan’s Theatre Upstairs); The Yellow Wallpaper (Project Arts Center/Dublin Fringe); Plaza Suite (Rough Magic/Gaiety Theatre); Hamlet (Second Age); and Boston Marriage (Gate Theatre/Dublin). Aoife Spillane-Hinks joins the production following PICT’s recent leadership change.

ABOUT THE PLAY:
Our Class is inspired by the atrocity of Jedwabne, a Polish village where, in 1941, as Russian and German forces pressed in, almost all of the local Jews were tortured and killed. This horrific crime was originally blamed on the Nazis, but historians and journalists more recently revealed that the perpetrators may have been their own neighbors. Slobodzianek used, among other sources, the book Neighbors by Dr. Jan Gross, which has been regarded as controversial for its interpretation and accounting of the facts.

In this play, we meet each of the characters as school children, innocent and unaware of their futures as villains and victims; each actor portrays the character from age 8 into adulthood. Our Class is the first Polish drama to receive Poland’s prestigious Nike Literary Prize.

ABOUT THE CAST:
Vera Varlamov returns to PICT for a second season. She earned the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s acclaim as a Breakout Performer of 2012 for playing Irina in Three Sisters as part of PICT’s Chekhov Celebration. Varlamov also appeared in The Proposal in PICT’s Funny Chekhov production. Most recently, she has made Miami her home, appearing as Julia in The Birds at Mosaic Theatre. She is a recent graduate of Rutgers MFA-Acting program.

Also returning to PICT from the 2012 Chekhov Celebration are Katya Stepanova and Jonathan Visser. Stepanova, a senior acting major at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama played Sasha in Ivanov. Born in Minsk, Belarus, her family immigrated as Jewish refugees to the United States in 1992, so she feels a particular connection to this play.

Jonathan Visser played three roles in last year’s Chekhov Celebration: Solyony in Three Sisters, Kosyk in Ivanov, and Dmitri in Yalta Game by Brian Friel, part of the After Chekhov program. Other Pittsburgh performances include work with Bricolage, City Theater, The Rep, and CLO. He is a proud graduate of the Masters program at the University of Tennessee, 2010.

PICT also welcomes the return of Bernard Balbot, who played Young Lad in 2012’s hit The Pitmen Painters. A native of Pittsburgh, Balbot’s credits include Rich and Famous (Jackalope Theatre Company); Far Away (Winterfall Chicago); We Are Proud to Present a Presentation…(Victory Gardens). Additional credits include work for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers' Theatre, American Theater Company, Asolo Repertory Theater, Farmers Alley Theater, Utah Shakespearean Festival and Hangar Theater.  His film credits include Warrior and Sleepers of the City. Balbot received his BFA at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama with additional training at the Moscow Art Theatre School.

Aaron White was last seen on the PICT stage in 2011’s Antony & Cleopatra. In addition to performing, White teaches at Susquehanna University in Central Pennsylvania.  His performance credits include  Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble, Adirondack Shakespeare Company, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, Nebraska Theater Caravan. Aaron is originally from Dalmatia, Pennsylvania.  He holds a B.A from Susquehanna University, attended Ohio University and received his MFA from the PATP at the University of Houston.

Five actors will be making their PICT performance debuts: Justin Fortunato, Rafael Goldstein, Jimmy Mason, Caroline Shannon, Quinn Patrick Shannon.

Justin Fortunato has performed with Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh CLO, The REP, Prime Stage Theater and St. Vincent Theatre. He is a graduate of Point Park University, where he earned his BFA in Musical Theatre.  He is also the co-founder and artistic director of Carnivale Theatrics, which will be producing In The Heights this upcoming August at the New Hazlett Theater.

Rafael Goldstein’s performance in Hamlet for Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre earned him a nomination by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for Lead Performance. Additional theatre credits include A Noise Within Theatre; Mechanicals Theatre Group; Atlantic Theater Company and La MaMa Theater. His education includes Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and Atlantic Acting School.

Jimmy Mason is an actor and singer currently pursuing his BFA at Carnegie Mellon University. His performance credits include productions at Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon. He is a finalist in the Campus Superstar Pittsburgh competition, scheduled for March 21, 2013.

Caroline Shannon recently graduated with a BFA from University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and teaches stage combat with the Shakespeare Society. Her regional theatre credits include Hangar Theatre, Accademia dell ‘Arte, Cincinnati Outdoor Classics, and the NYC Strawberry Festival.
Quinn Patrick Shannon has performed with CLO Cabaret, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, The REP and Theatreworks USA.

The creative team for Our Class includes Set Designer Gianni Downs, Costume Designer Rachel Parent, Lighting Designer Jim French, Sound Designer Elizabeth Atkinson, Original Composition by Doug Levine & Susanne Ortner-Roberts, Dialect Coach Natalie Baker-Shirer, Choreographer Mark Conway Thompson, Stage Manager Cory Goddard, and Assistant Stage Manager Caitlin Roper.

PICT Theatre (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre)  was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production.  PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh and PICT productions at The Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres are presented in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

The School for Lies is Now in Session!

The School for Lies is now in session!
Meet Frank, who rejects the false decorum of Paris and speaks his mind no matter what, and Celimene, who finds Frank boorish -- until she thinks he can help her out of a ruinous lawsuit. Throw in three outrageous suitors vying for Celimene's hand, a lovesick man who may or may not like to cross-dress and the lovestruck woman he loves (who, of course, loves another), the morally upstanding matron who delights in "reporting, not gossiping..." and you've got a farce ala Moliere but cleverly updated in language and tone - 21st century humor in Paris 1666-syle.

Real-life husband and wife Leo Marks & Nike Doukas play the leads. 

  

 
 
Who will prevail in this battle of wills - Celimene (Nike Doukas) or Arsinoe (Helena Ruoti)?

David Ives' clever update of Moliere'sThe Misanthrope mixes witty wordplay with high-brow and low-brow humor -- all performed by PICT's stellar cast with a kick-butt soundtrack that will make you want to get up and dance.

Don't laugh so hard you miss all the good jokes! When Arsinoe (Helena Ruoti) comes by Celimene's home to tell her what all of Paris is saying about her, you won't want to miss a moment of the pyrotechnics that ensue!

 
    
Celimene (Nike Doukas) receives proposals from three suitors on bended knee - Oronte (Martin Giles) Acaste (Ben Blazer) and Clitander (James FitzGerald)

Directed by Andrew S. Paul
Leo Marks as Frank
Nike Doukas as Celimene
Joel Ripka as Philinte
Robin Abramson as Eliante
Helena Ruoti as Arsinoe
Martin Giles as Oronte
James FitzGerald as Clitander
Ben Blazer as Acaste
Matt DeCaro as Dubois/Basque

Want to catch a bite before the show? Don't forget about our Dinner + Show package for $60/person! Enjoy delicious food and cocktails at our newest neighbor, The Porch and then walk across the street to the show!

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh