ALCStudies Journal

Advanced Labor & Cultural Studies Web Site & Blog

Tag Archives: New Plays

‘Virtually Yours’ Pre-Production Week Two

We started Virtually Yours rehearsal May 31st with a partial read-through. I had only completed typing the first 103 pages of the script. I have worked with the cast before. Chris, Mark, Caitlin and Ms. Swanheart did  great job beginning to turn words on the page into characters and dialogue.

The following Monday I ran over to Penn Avenue at lunchtime to meet Randy Kirk at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, who booked us for a live read at the Cabaret at Theater Square August 2nd. No selfies, but I snapped a couple of photos of the stage as it is set up for CLO’s  Ring of Fire, and as it will be when we perform.

 

Using the photos, I made quick sketches of the stage with characters in certain scenes. In addition, I started creating rough drafts of images for posters and announcements.

 

These are not fine art by any stretch. But they help me imagine how the show will look and feel.  As a director (and producer, and writer) embarked on a second creative career  I sometimes feel like I’m making things up as I go along. But the sketches seemed a useful exercise while I’m still revising the script and when we’ll have limited time to rehearse in the Cabaret space. And it’s a fun and different way to use my brain. You’ll see a selfie of me in one of the slideshow drawings. I’m the guy with the beard and mustache. ; – ) — CDL

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Two Events Booked in Late 2014

‘The Thin Man’ Comes to Pittsburgh live radio returns to the Omni William Penn November 22nd and 23rd after a sold-out performance in 2013.  As with last year’s show, this year’s event coincides with Pittsburgh’s kickoff to the holiday season.  It includes dinner in the hotel’s Terrace Room, a drink in the Speakeasy and live performance. The show is an adaptation of the original Thin Man film, and features a local cast and live music.

Preceding Thin Man, Advanced Labor & Cultural Studies will present a new play August 2nd at the Cabaret Theater in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.  The show, with a title TBD, is inspired by one of the first and best screwball comedies of the 1930s, with a story updated for the New Millennium. An entitled heiress runs away from her wealthy CEO  father and member of the one-percent to reunite with her fiancé, a media celebrity and reality show star.  On the way she meets a newspaper reporter who has quit his job to become a blogger and aspiring social media guru. As the two travel together, the reporter is determined to exploit the celebrity couple’s story for his own ends. Hijinks ensue when he and the heiress fall in love.

The show will appeal to Gen Y, Gen X, Baby Boomers and anyone else navigating fifteen minutes of fame on the way to romance and relationships in the 21st Century.  Can true love prevail amidst unmitigated wealth, blocked roads and daily tweets?

Advanced Labor receives fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas,  a non-profit arts service organization. For more information on these events,  please e-mail outreach@alctudies or call (412) 353-3756.

 

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