"8" Wrap Up

The lights are off, and the theater is now dark. Theatre Sans Serif has ended it's latest show, Dustin Lance Black's 8. The phenomenal cast included Frank McAleavey, Bill Meoni, Kyle Bostian, Matthew Robinson, Laurie Mann, Kaitlin Mausser, Elizabeth Danko, Joel Ambrose, Dillon Diatlo, Kyle Bogue, Shane Conley, Danielle Winter, Stephanie Swift-Antill, Wesley Gadsden, Dan Derks, and Dave Malehorn. These 16 actors, under the direction of Kelsey Rispin, performed at the Hillman Center for Performing Arts. The show went extremely well, with both laughter and tears, as well as some thought provoking questions.

As the Artistic Director, I would like to thank the cast and director for seeing this project through, and for all of the energy and effort they put in on the project. I must also say the same for my parents, whose support and staffing made the bake sale so successful that it completely underwrote the reading. Finally, last but not least, I would like to thank the Hillman Center for Performing Arts for having us there. I look forward to seeing you at our next major project, Artie Goes West, at the Kaufman Auditorium, May 9-18.

Until next time,
Andrew

8: or The Fight for Marriage Equality

On March 22nd, 2013, 21 actors will tackle a staged reading of 8 by Dustin Lance Black. This script, based upon the real life events surrounding the testing if Proposition 8 is Constitutional. This proposition called for California to disallow gay marriage. This fundamental right is being denied to our LGBT brothers and sisters, and as a result, Theatre Sans Serif is holding this reading to both raise awareness for the issue, and to fully announce our support for the cause. Directed by Kelsey Rispin, this phenomenal cast will bring this issue home to Pittsburgh, and at an especially important time, as this case is due to be seen by the Supreme Court on the Monday following. 

The reading will take place in the Kountz Black Box Theater, at the Hillman Center for Performing Arts in Fox Chapel, at 8 pm. A talk back with the actors and several local figures will take place immediately following. For tickets, as seating is somewhat limited, please email us at theatresansserif@gmail.com. 

This reading will be performed free to the public, but we are in need of some help. We are accepting donations at this time to help cover the costs of renting the space, and to print scripts for the actors. If you would like to help in either case, please call us at (412) 523-9882 for exact details. 

I hope that I see you there, 

Andrew

Projects in Progress.

I know it has been a long time since I have updated this, and for that, I must apologize. There has been much going on with my family's health (unfortunately) but now that it seems things are settling out, I have more time to devote to the company.

There have been many things in the works for upcoming shows, and much paperwork has been settled to allow me to finally announce what will be taking place coming up this, and the beginning of next year.

First of all, Theatre Sans Serif will be taking part in Relative Positions, a performing arts residency that will create site specific work within the Union Project in East Liberty. The performance for that will be July 6th.  I am very glad to be a part of this, as it seems like the natural next step for Theatre Sans Serif to create fully experimental work.

Following that, in August, we will be producing one of the staged readings at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. The meeting to select the plays for the festival was last night, and while I can't announce the particular play we will be doing yet, I can say that I am very satisfied with the selection.

The one smaller bit of news is that we will be producing a reading of "8" with the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and Broadway Impact in March of 2013. I am really looking forward to this, as I feel this is a very important subject to be discussed right now. 8 is the theatrical version of the Perry vs. Schwarzenegger trail, written by Dustin Lance Black in response to the blackout order on the trial, over whether Proposition 8 is  unconstitutional. I wanted to produce this play very badly, as this issue is one very close to me. I think that bringing this issue to light, and discussing it in the public forum is the only way to change minds. 

Finally, in keeping with the idea of bringing the arts to the public, I have decided to launch a new project under Theatre Sans Serif, tentatively titled "Commedia for the Community." The main thrust of this project will be to construct a trailer based stage, which can be easily set up. This stage will then allow us to take a portable theater to the heart of lower income communities in the Pittsburgh area, where a wide variety of classical texts (our predominate focus includes Moliere, Goldini, Ben Jonson, and of course, Shakespeare) will then be performed. This approach of bringing the theater to the people will allow us to serve a large community which otherwise might not have the exposure to the arts. As an additional benefit, having a mobile theater will lower our operating costs greatly, so that these performances can continue to be offered free to the community. This is definitely an open ended project, and any help would be greatly appreciated. If you can offer any assistance, be it ranging from goods, (the things to build a theater, i.e. wood, a trailer base, etc...) services (actually building the trailer) or anything in between, please do not hesitate to contact me at theatresansserif@gmail.com I will keep everyone up to date here on the blog as things progress. I hope to see you all at the events coming up!
-Andrew