Coming Up this Month.

It is not yet the end of the first week of April, and the calendar is already looking incredibly full. After an excellent series of planning meetings, we are proud to announce that one of our latest pieces, The Dream Grimoire will be premiering at Art All Night on April 27th. We are thrilled to be joining in and participating in what has quickly become a Pittsburgh arts institution. More details can be found on their website: http://www.artallnight.org/.

Before that happens, however, we still have two important projects to handle, the first of which is Soup N'at. This fundraiser involves every guest at the event receiving a bowl of soup, bread, and desert, as well as a ballot. This ballot is then used to vote on which group of artist receives the proceeds of that night's event. Theatre Sans Serif's Community Outreach is one of the eligible projects, specifically our efforts at Urban Farming, After School Programs, and a Toy Drive for children in underprivileged families during the holidays. The community has given so much, and we now have an opportunity to help out. The grant would greatly assist with out efforts. The exact details are available on their website as well: http://soupnat.wordpress.com/.

Finally, after much delay, we launch back into rehearsals for Artie Goes West, formerly the Great Big Western Show. After issues with casting, and locations, we are ready, willing, and excited for the show to begin! That will take place in May at the Kaufmann Auditorium, at Hill House.

I hope to see you soon,

Andrew 

"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

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back.

On the occasion, a show can seem cursed. One thing happens, which leads to another, and sometimes the avalanche occurs.

At this point in time, The Great Big Western Show has been (temporarily) postponed. This is unfortunately due to a combination of cast illness, and problems at the performance space. At this point, some plans have to be shifted, but a viable plan is forming.

There are contracts to be discussed, but the general plan is for the residency program at Future Tenant to be postponed until August, at which time a new script will be premiered at the residency. Meanwhile, negotiations are taking place for a venue to premiere, and we are aiming for May.

In the meantime, things are moving ahead at full speed for our reading of "8" on March 22, 2013 at the Hillman Center for Performing Arts. This is going to be especially relevant as the case in question, Hollingsworth v. Perry, formerly Perry v. Schwarzenegger, will be going before the Supreme Court 4 days after that on March 26.

This reading will be performed free to the public, in the hopes of raising awareness about the issue of marriage equality. Many strides have been made, but we still have far to go. We are hoping to raise awareness at this critical juncture. Please join us for this reading, and a discussion afterwards. For tickets, please email us at theatresansserif@gmail.com, or call (412) 523-9882.

Until next time,
Andrew

Rehearsal Log #3

Well, as the saying goes in theater, "The show must go on." And on it does. We hit a few major snags recently, but after a few hair-pulling, sleepless nights, the problem seems to be solved.

Now that the cast is mostly off book, we are really starting to have a lot of fun with the physical aspects of the show. The Commedia dell'Arte is a very physical art form, and I think we are doing it justice, ranging from the circus arts of Doc Bernie, to Artie and Bo's slapstick, to the pratfalls and girlish screaming of the not so brave Captain. While all of this is going on, Kelsey is keeping a watchful eye over the cast (myself included) to make sure no one gets hurt.

We were also pleased last Friday to do a quick preview of some of the effects in the show for the Open Mic at Future Tenant. The audience response was fantastic. I hope to see you all there.

Well, I must go back to work, it seems like the paperwork never ends to produce a show. And of course, more rehearsal photos are below.

Until next time,
 Andrew

Rehearsal Log #1

Hello there again!

So, the show has had kind of a rough start (better now than later, though!) - due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, we had to find a new rehearsal space for the first few weeks of the month. Luckily, we found a wonderful space with people who have been extremely gracious, I can't wait to start rehearsals there!

However, because of aforementioned rehearsal space complications, we had to have our most recent rehearsal/table talk at Milano's restaurant on 6th.  It was a really fun and productive time, and as promised, full of fun stories.

So FIRST, the cast ordered a large pizza to share, because nothing fuels creativity like food.  As we're divvying up the slices, someone, and I won't name names, tried to pass the entire pizza tier down to the other end of the table. One thing lead to another, and about 3/4 of the pizza slid off the tier, past someone else, and both pizza and metal plate crashed onto the floor. Not only that, but there is an open space in between the floor and window of the second floor of Milano's, and that's where much of the pizza went. So essentially, we made it rain pizza on anyone of the first floor. (You're welcome) Thankfully, our waitress wasn't angry, we cleaned up the pizza and got another, and the waitress blamed the mess on the party of children that were also upstairs. Note: I do feel slightly guilty about that, because that group of 20 or so children were about a million times better behaved than we were.

Second, we had another read-through of the script at the table, so everyone could get more comfortable with the flow of the show and address and questions/concerns. During said reading, we were probably louder than average, but it was manageable until we got to a heated part of the script and someone shouted "HELP! HEEELLP!" He was immediately shushed by the rest of the table, but not before everyone in the restaurant turned to look at our section. Indignance abounded, and rehearsal had to be paused while we got our giggles under control.

All's well that ends well, though - a combination of a truly wonderful and good-natured waitress, a large tab and a healthy tip made sure we are still welcome back, and the show has had its first round of embarrassing occurrences. At least after that rehearsal, no one should be afraid to act foolish in rehearsals, which is exactly what we'll need - this show is pretty exclusively foolish :)  That being said, if anyone's looking for a place to eat/purchase libation downtown, I recommend Milano's...Partially because I like it there, and partially because I feel like we owe them patronage :P

That's all for now, check back soon for more tomfoolery!

Kelsey


P.S. Here's a picture of the pizza carnage - it got stuck on the glass of the atrium. Thanks, Kyle for risking personal shame to get this pic

2011 Brought in with a Bang!

It's often said what you are doing at the beginning of a new year presages what will occur for the rest of the year. If that is the case, I certainly hope it is true. Theatre Sans Serif celebrated the New Year hard by performing 24 Hour Theatre with First Night Pittsburgh. Within 24 Hours, we created four brand new plays, never before seen. The shows included:

One Way to Woo by Joanna Lowe,
Directed by Lora Oxenreiter, and starring Sara Fisher and Larry Scott

Adrift by F.J. Hartland
Directed by Joanna Lowe, and starring Courtney L. Smith and Liz Pegg

5 Minute Romeo and Juliet by Andrew W. Huntley II
Directed by Tara Lyn Zynel, and starring Ivy Steinberg and David Conley

Beans, Beans, Beans by Tara Lyn Zynel and Courtney L. Smith
Directed by Vince Ventura, and Starring Kaitlin Mausser and Tara Lyn Zynel

Just as a recap for the parameters of the event, no writing was allowed on the play before 7pm on December 30. In order to make sure this didn't happen, there were two surprise elements that each play had to include, a mystery prop, and a line of dialogue. In this case, the mystery prop was a ukulele, and the line of dialogue, "What could possibly go wrong?" The writers made hilarious work of both prompts. For the three shows of the evening, all three performances were standing room only. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard on this production.

And of course, things keep rolling right into the new year on January 15th with the next installment of "My Dearest...": Thoughts From the Front- World War II. It is going to prove to be another exciting reading, and a fitting beginning to the new year, and a new era for Theatre Sans Serif. See you at the show!
-Andrew 

December and the Holidays

First of all, Happy Holidays to everyone from Theatre Sans Serif. It's been a crazy year, and it's still going strong right until the stroke of Midnight New Year's Eve. We still have one more performance of A Christmas Carol, Sunday December 19th, in the English Nationality Room at the Cathedral of Learning. Then, things kick into high gear for the 24 Hour Theatre Experiment with First Night Pittsburgh.

From the website:
"4 Directors. 4 Writers. 8 Actors. And 24 Hours to create brand new theatre art. While a play may "normally" take weeks or months of writing and rehearsals, Theatre Sans Serif will be premiering 4 brand new (literally) one act plays. At 7 pm, the writers begin writing, and have 12 hours to complete the script. At 7 am, it's pencils down, as the directors and actors have 12 hours to memorize and rehearse, all in preparation for the 7 o'clock opening of the first show. Three showings only.
Performances at 7, 8:30 and 9:45 pm."

Also this month, we had our monthly reading series at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, where we were joined by author Alan Simon.

Finally, we completed the first performance of A Christmas Carol, an original reading to benefit the food bank at this time of year.

Ivy Steinberg, Bob Scott, and David Conley

"My Dearest..." Thoughts From the Front, December 2010

David Conley, Bob Scott, Elizabeth Brinkley, and Tara Zynel

A Christmas Carol

Join us for the rest of this year's great programming, and get ready for next year! We'll be bringing you theatre like you've never seen it before!



"My Dearest..." Thoughts from the Front Cast

Andrew Huntley, Jenny Malarkey, and David Conley

November 2010, World War I

Jenny Malarkey, and Bob Scott

October 2010, The Civil War

The Cast

The Cast and Director of Romeo and Juliet.