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Upcoming Performances

Past Performances

Vanishing Point

A new musical by Rob Hartmann and Liv Cummins

Musical and Stage Direction by Marya Spring Cordes
View Cast & Production Team

“That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.”
Mystery writer Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days. Revivalist Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared for three weeks. Aviator Amelia Earhart disappeared forever. This stunning new musical explores the ‘lost times’ of three iconic women in a rapidly changing world. Hartmann and Cummings explore their lives, chart new paths and rewrite history.

Barbarous Nights

FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA

Based on the translation by Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno,
A new adaptation by Sam Creely, Corinna Archer, and Miranda Steege
Directed by Sam Creely
View Cast

“At the rise of the moon the sea overspreads the land and the heart feels like an island in the infinite."
Written during the political and economic transitions of 1920s Spain, this reworking of a collection of short stories, poems, and playlets by Federico Garcia Lorca explores the performative nature of identity, gender, and sexuality by means of roosters, feather dusters, blind maidens locked in tall towers, talking trees that bear no fruit, and the play's protagonist, Buster Keaton

Lady Han

by ZEAMI MOTOKIYO

Directed by Katie Brook
View Cast

"His keepsake, this fan, has a front and a back, but now I know even more two-faced was his heart."
Obsessed by her lover's unrequited promise, Hanjo appeals to higher powers to cease her suffering and find personal fulfillment in this ancient and exquisite Japanese Noh play.

Blind Alley Guy: Notes from an Unfinished Play

Devised and directed by Joshua William Gelb

Text collaborator Kevin Mullins
About the New Works Series

The Wind Farmer

by Dan O’Neill

Directed by Jessica Mills
About the New Works Series

A Number

by Caryl Churchill

Directed by Lillian DeRitter
View Cast

"Don't they say you die if you meet yourself?"
Caryl Churchill gives us "the first true play of the 21st century," part psychological thriller, part scientific speculation, part exploration of the nature and responsibilities of fatherhood in an age when cloning is just as much a part of child-rearing as lullabies and bedtime stories.

American Realism

Devised & Directed By: Katherine Brook

Text Collaborator: Liza Birkenmeier
About the New Works Series

Sweets

by Elizabeth Ellison

Directed by Shannon Sindelar
About the New Works Series

Still Life with Iris

By Steven Dietz

Directed by Maggie Bridges
View Cast

“What our memory leaves unfinished, our heart completes with ache.”
Set in the fantastic world of Nocturno, Still Life with Iris is a sort of Coraline-meets-The Wizard of Oz. The play follows young Iris as she struggles to maintain her fragile memories in an inviting shadow-world. Her journey is one of hope, courage and the power of faith.

Lulu

by Frank Wedekind

Directed by Joshua William Gelb
View Cast

"When it gets dark she's my only thought - especially when it gets dark."
This 1894 German masterpiece was originally banned for its sexual content, questionable morality, and frank discussions of forbidden topics like lesbianism and prostitution. The play focuses on a young woman and her psychological downfall under oppressive, wealthy, and manipulative men.

A Dream Play

by August Strindberg

In a new version by Caryl Churchill
Directed by Sarah Krohn
View Cast & Production Team

“Who’s that? I’ve heard that voice in my dreams. It’s like a south wind. It’s like angels.”
A Dream Play is Strindberg's rich and strange vision of a divine daughter’s visit to Earth. The daughter’s adventures provide a dark mirror for humanity’s turbulent spiritual struggle. Caryl Churchill's version brings the soul of this masterpiece into the 21st century with a light hand and a celebratory spirit.

New Works Fall 2011

New Works is the cauldron in which exciting ideas, concepts and performance practices are presented to our audiences by the next generation of dramatic writers. Just as Goethe and O'Neill were once new dramatic voices, so too are our graduate writers who seek fresh ways of telling compelling stories.

November 2011

Undesirables/ Kevin Mullins

November 3, 7 pm

November 4, 10 pm

November 5, 7 pM

The Falser Heart / Jason Sebacher

November 2, 8 pm
November 4, 4 pm
November 5, 10 pm

Archaic Television Sex and Noise / Liza Birkenmeier

November 3,10 pm

November 4, 7 pm

November 5, 4 pm

 

The Learned Ladies

Molière                                                                                                                                     Directed by Shannon Sindelar

 

"A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one."

The Learned Ladies examines a family divided over conflicting views of a woman’s place not only in a household but also in the world. This 90-minute version of Moliere’s popular comedy absurdly recontextualizes traditional power relationships with a modern twist - while at the same time articulating struggles that transcend its historical setting.
 

New Works Spring 2013

New Works Spring 2013

More details coming soon!

Hair

Book and Lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni
Music by Galt MacDermot
Directed by Christian Fleming

 

“Where will they lead me, and will I ever discover why I live and die?”

This new imagining of HAIR champions the tribal quest for love, lust and liberty that defined the 1960’s. Freed from nostalgia, this version will focus on the Aquarian odyssey through its formation and evolution to its cathartic evaporation.
 

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid

Adapted from the poems of Michael Ondaatje
and directed by Sophia Schrank

A motive? Some reason we can give to explain all this violence? Was there a source for all this? Yup!

The Collected Works of Billy The Kid is a far cry from the dime novels that made the teenage outlaw into an American legend. This adaptation will explore the life of the Kid and those who surrounded him with humor, horror, and passion, reminding us that American history is stranger than fiction, full of dangerous, beautiful, hilarious and heartbreaking tales.

 

The Turn of the Screw

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the novella by Henry James
Directed by Olivia Lilley

 

“The details: a letter, a locket, a riddle, a name. The words are her own – written in her diary in faded ink on the pages of seven days.”

Miss Jessel’s job seemed like paradise; employed by a charming bachelor to be governess to two innocent children in the secluded English countryside. The only condition: she was not to contact her employer - no matter the eventuality. Miss Jessel is confident that her virtue will prepare her for anything. This gothic thriller confirms our fears that the scariest ghosts are those we conjure ourselves.

 

The Serpent Woman

Carlo Gozzi
Directed by Jessie Mills

 

“This last trial you can win only with a kiss. Didn’t I warn you that this was the hardest test of all?”

THE SERPENT WOMAN is an epic fairytale set to stage. When an immortal woman falls in love with a mortal prince, the powers that be demand balance. To win her mortality and live happily with her beloved, the woman must send her prince through a series of sadistic trials. Rooted in the grand tradition of Commedia Dell'Arte, this play has informed centuries of physical theatre. Through high physicality and riotous storytelling, this original adaptation of Gozzi's bittersweet classic will delight the eye and amaze the senses.
 

Master Harold...And The Boys

Athol Fugard
Directed by Elizabeth Nearing

 

“Lyrical in design, shattering in impact.” -Frank Rich

Set in Apartheid South Africa, Master Harold examines class and race through a microcosmic lens. Incendiary and sublime, Master Harold is a poignant portrait of the relationships between privilege and oppression. Bitter division polarizes three friends in a Port Elizabeth tea room with devastating consequences.

Slavs!

Tony Kushner
Directed by Miranda Steege

 

“Welcome to Nevermore.”

Slavs! captures the collapse of the Soviet Union in thrilling theatrical style. Part opera bouffe, part tragic satire, Slavs! holds the mirror up to the tyranny of the despot, the desperation of the voiceless, and the consequences of apathy. With the Middle East in turmoil, Slavs! is a prescient reminder that liberty may be delayed, but not denied.

Tickets are FREE and are available at the box office on the DAY OF PERFORMANCE
 

Spring 2012 New Works

Diablerie / Murphi Cook

Wednesday, May 2, 6:00 pm
Thursday, May 3, 9 pm
Friday, May 4, 6 pm

 

Bloomfield / R. N. Healey

Wednesday, May 2, 9:00 pm
Friday, May 4, 9 pm
Saturday, May 5, 3 pm

 

The Gyntish Self / Peter J. Roth

Thursday, May 3, 6:00 pm
Saturday, May 5, 6 pm
Saturday, May 5, 9 pm
 

"8" The Play One-Night Reading

Carnegie Mellon University alumnus and Tony Award nominee Rory O’Malley (A’03) is returning to his alma mater to participate in a one-night-only reading of “8,” a play chronicling the historic trial in the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8.

Tickets are free; students may obtain two per person with a valid ID and the public may obtain one per person. Tickets must be picked up in advance at the Information Desk in the University Center on campus.

Rory O’Malley was one of the original cast members of the Broadway hit THE BOOK OF MORMON and was instrumental in bringing "8" to Pittsburgh. He is a co-founder of Broadway Impact, an organization dedicated to marriage equality. In “8” he will be reading the role of Ted Olson, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

Directed by Caleb Hammond (MFA '14)  directing Fellow in The John Wells Directing program, the play “8” recounts the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the fundamental freedom to marry. The story for “8” is framed by the trial’s testimony and historic closing arguments in June 2010.

After the show, Jenny Kanelos, executive director and co-founder of Broadway Impact, will join Rory O’Malley and the cast, which will participate in a Q&A session with the audience.

CAST LIST:

Ted Olson: Rory O’Malley* (A’03)

David Boies: Cameron Knight*+

Charles Cooper: Trevor McQueen* (A’13)

Judge Vaughn Walker: Natalie Baker Shirer+

Sandy Stier: Casey Anderson (A’13)

Kris Perry: Emily Koch (A’13)

Jeff Zarrillo: Jesse Carrey-Beaver (A’13)

Paul Katami: Rodney Jackson (A’13)

Elliott Perry: Sawyer Pierce (A’15)

Spencer Perry: Steven Robertson (A’15)

David Blankenhorn: Brian Morabito (A’13)

Evan Wolfson: Jed Harris+

Maggie Gallagher: Ingrid Sonnichsen*+

Court Clerk/Broadcast Journalist: Randy Kovitz*+

Dr. Nancy Cott: Barbara MacKenzie-Wood*+

Dr. Ilan Meyer: Adam Hagenbuch (A’13)

Ryan Kendall: Austin Murray (A’15)

Dr. Gregory Herek: Dick Block+

Dr. Gary Segura: David Patterson (A’15)

Dr. William Tam: Marquis Wood* (A’13)

Director: Caleb Hammond (A’14)

Stage Manager: Brian Rangell (A’13)

 

Request Concert

Franz Xaver Kroetz

Directed by Jamie Drutman

Location: Ellis Gallery, 3rd floor of College of Fine Arts Building

Request Concert is an experimental silent monodrama examining human behavior through the prism of a single woman living out her evening routine. On this particular night, she ceremoniously decides to alter her orderly existence.

SPECIAL NOTE: Running time will be approximately 45 minutes with no intermission. Performances will be in the Ellis Gallery, room 312 on the third floor in the College of Fine Arts Building. Tickets are limited (only 15 seats available per performance) and can be picked at noon on the day of the show at the box office in the Purnell Center for the Arts.

Performances:

Monday 10/8 at 7:30 pm, 9:00 pm and 10:45 pm

Tuesday 10/9 at 7:30 pm, 9:00 pm

Wednesday 10/10 at 7:30 pm, 9:00 pm and 10:45 pm

Thursday 10/11 at 7:30 pm, 9:00 pm

Friday 10/12 at 4:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 9:00 pm

Saturday 10/13 at 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm

New Works Fall 2012

October 24 - 27

#BADSEXUNDERTHEOLDTREE

Megan Morrison

THE KILLER OF DESIRE

Brittany J. Thurman

IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE

Britain Valenti

A Murder of Crows

Mac Wellman

Directed by Stephen Tonti

A Murder of Crows is set in a surreal apocalyptic America that is part nuclear waste dump. Wellman holds a poetic and disturbing mirror up to the audience in this challenging and sexy play, showing us how we twist our own understanding of issues surrounding pollution, hypocrisy and heroics.

Macbett

Eugène Ionesco

Directed by Shannon Sindelar

December 5-8, 2012

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Macbett turns Shakespeare’s classic tale into a tragic farce that captures the insanity of war. After subduing a rebellion, the generals Macbett and Banco are promised great rewards by the Archduke Duncan. When Duncan breaks his promise, Macbett is driven to plot Duncan’s murder, take his crown, and steal his wife. Ionesco’s reworking of Macbeth will reflect on today’s ever-evolving and challenging world.

 

Four Saints in Three Acts

Gertrude Stein 

Directed by Michelle Sutherland

Gertrude Stein's Four Saints in Three Acts revolutionized how the world viewed opera when it debuted in 1934. With an emphasis on language and rhythm, this production fuses hip-hop, rap, spoken word and gospel music.

Spring Awakening

Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater

Music by Duncan Sheik

Directed by Tomé Cousin

Musical Director Thomas Douglas

 

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Spring Awakening fuses the 19th century German expressionist ideas of Frank Wedekind with the modern angst and energy of the pop-music scene. This Tony award-winning musical follows a group of adolescent students as they struggle with sexual repression and double standards from teachers and parents, leading to more confusion and pain. An ground-breaking theatrical work, Spring Awakening explores the nature of morality and sexuality with hope, reason and passion. (contains adult themes and profanity)

DYO (or Please Take Care of Me)

Adapted from the works of Haruki Murakami by Tegan McDuffie with Emily Anne | Gibson Directed by Tegan McDuffie

DYO (or please take care of me) is a vivid new work which weaves together several of Japanese author Haruki Murakami's eclectic characters from various stories. As Murakami's characters try to reach beyond the edges of their reality, we are reminded there is more to our world than what we can see and touch.

1001

Jason Grote

Directed by Paige Kiliany

1001 interweaves the familiar myth of Scheherezade with a contemporary tale of mismatche dlove. As the lines between history and story become blurred, we are forced to question our own conceptions of how facts become legends.

Mud

Maria Irene Fornes | Directed by Asia Gagnon

Mud is the story of Mae and the two men who love, need and eventually destroy her. Set in a world of rural poverty and told with deft simplicity, this play is evocative of a disturbing still-life painting.

Fireface

Marius von Mayenburg

Translated by Maja Zade

Directed by Benjamin A. Viertel

Fireface reveals how two children, Kurt and Olga, engage in a violent struggle to be seen, heard, and break free in the confines of a stable family. Using the only weapons they possess - Kurt and Olga manipulate their sexual power and pyromaniac obsession in this provocative and chilling work.

As You Like It or Make It Hurt

Adapted from William Shakepeare by the ensemble

directed by Jessie Mills

May 1-4, 2013

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“Come, come, wrestle with thy affection”

As You Like It or Make it Hurt explores this ensemble’s fascination with fetish, violence, and gender challenges in William Shakespeare's play As You Like It. Fleeing the sterile court for the lure of the wild forest, the characters are forced to wrestle with each other, and with their own violent and sexual desires.