Pittsburgh’s City Theatre collaborates on spring online offerings
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Spring virtual offerings from Pittsburgh’s City Theatre Company include collaborations with local artists and theater groups in other cities.
The season will open with the world premiere of a work about virologist and epidemiologist Nathan Wolfe, an early proponent of pandemic insurance, created by his playwright wife, Lauren Gunderson.
“With this spring season, I am excited to share a mix of digital content that features both local voices as well as collaborators from City Theatre’s history, such as Lauren Gunderson and my dear friends at SITI Company,” said Artistic Director Marc Masterson. “We continue to find new ways to meet our mission, invest in artists and provide opportunities to nourish hungry audiences.”
“As we reach the one-year mark of covid-19 and still unable to invite audiences into our theaters on Bingham Street, we’re bringing our next exciting chapter of digital offerings to them,” said Managing Director James McNeel. “While nothing can replace the feeling of live performance, this is the safe and responsible approach to help ensure the pandemic is soon behind us.”
The spring streaming schedule includes:
‘The Catastrophist,’ March 15-April 4
Based on the life of scientist Nathan Wolfe, City Theatre calls the work a “deep dive into the profundities of scientific exploration and the harrowing realities of facing your own mortality.” Wolfe, an early proponent of pandemic insurance policies, was on the 2011 TIME 100 list of most influential people in the world for his work tracking emerging infectious diseases.
Gunderson’s time-jumping work is directed by Jasson Mindakis and is a co-production with Marin Theatre Company of Mill Valley, Calif., and Round House Theatre of Washington, D.C.
‘ROOM,’ April 19-May 11
In the 2000-01 season, City Theatre presented the world premiere of the one-woman play, “ROOM,” based on the writings of Virginia Woolf, in collaboration with SITI Company. For spring, Ellen Lauren stars in the film adaptation, conceived and directed by Darron L. West.
City Theatre says the show is “about the room to move, the room to breathe, the room to imagine. Virginia Woolf wrote with delicacy, humor, anger, outrage, and passion from the point of view of a highly creative woman in the first half of the 20th century. Many of her issues are still contemporary.”
Founded in 1992, SITI Company had an occasional home at City Theatre throughout the 1990s. In October 2020, it was announced that SITI Company would stop producing shows in 2022 and would embark on a farewell retrospective.
‘Homegrown Stories 2,’ May 25
In this co-production with Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse, Pittsburgh playwrights Patrick Cannon, Gab Cody, Kim El, Monteze Freeland and Molly Rice were commissioned to write 10-minute plays in response to the current world. Their works will be performed live at 7 p.m. May 25 in partnership with City of Asylum, streaming on the virtual platform COA @ Home.
Viewing is free, but reservations are required. Digital recording will be available for four days after the performance.
‘Spotlight: Performer Creations,’ June
The new creative initiative, celebrating “six unique voices and stories that show the artistic spirit is alive and thriving in Pittsburgh,” will feature short digital performances by Julianne Avolio, Martin Giles, Laurie Klatscher, Treble NLS, LaTrea Rembert and Bria Walker. There will be six performances releasing individually during the month.
Free viewing will be available through City Theatre’s social media channels.
In addition to these new offerings, City Theatre will bring back CT Live, a monthly Facebook Live session with updates on the theater’s calendar and programming, featuring special guests from the artistic community. Meanwhile, City Theatre’s production of a world premiere concert film featuring singer/songwriter Jill Sobule’s take on middle school, is available to stream on demand until June 30.
City Theatre says it anticipates announcing its 2021-22 season schedule in late spring or early summer, once health authorities provide theater reopening guidelines.
Details: citytheatrecompany.org