FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Local Artists Headline Theater Performances as Theatre Communications Group National Conference Comes to Pittsburgh June 16 & 17
EAST LIBERTY, PA—As Theatre Communications Group’s national conference returns to Pittsburgh, Kelly Strayhorn Theater is proud to present a series of commissioned performances that highlight the city’s vibrant and diverse theater community. The events, which take place at venues throughout Pittsburgh, feature artists who range from theater performers to DJs to choreographers and more.
“Pittsburgh theater makers and performers will be on the national stage during the TCG conference, which attracts the country’s leading theater professionals,” says Ben Pryor, KST’s Program Director. “Through these events, KST is uplifting some of the creatives that make Pittsburgh’s performing arts community so dynamic.”
On Thursday, June 16, KST hosts an encore presentation of Lyam B. Gabel’s playful and touching piece, the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table, at the theater’s flagship venue at 5941 Penn Avenue. This poignant work slips between the past and present, becoming, interacting with, and learning from a chorus of voices from a critical moment in the queer liberation moment. In the KST lobby, attendees will experience An Archive of Queer Care, Gabel’s virtual reality installation created with Joseph Amodei. An Archive of Queer Care presents attendees with an interactive landscape where queer and trans people from Pittsburgh, San Francisco, New Orleans, and New York share their personal stories of navigating pandemics, from COVID-19 to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The installation is a companion piece to Gabel’s work, the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table.
Following the show, TQ Live! presents a dance party and performances featuring SUPA’ NxC, Remy Black, Jesse Factor, and DJ HUNY, all organized by Scott Andrew.
On Friday, June 17, KST and The Andy Warhol Museum partner to host Adil Mansoor’s heart wrenching and tender solo performance Amm(i)gone at 7:00pm at the museum, followed by a reception featuring Operation Sappho DJs. In Amm(i)gone, Mansoor exploors queerness, the afterlife, and obligation using Sophocles’ Antigone, teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations between him and his mother in a touching performance about love across faith. Amm(i)gone, which was co-commissioned by KST in partnership with The Theatre Offensive and National Performance Network, premiered at KST’s Alloy Studios in April 2022.
Following Amm(i)gone at The Andy Warhol Museum, KST and TCG present Vibes N’at, a celebration of the Pittsburgh BIPOC theater and artist community, taking place at 10:00pm at the ç Vibes N’at features performances from Alumni Theater Company, Jacquea Mae, Mita Ghosal, DJ Samira Mendoza, and more.
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), founded in Pittsburgh and now based in NYC, is a nonprofit dedicated to growing and connecting the theater community across the U.S. The TCG national conference, which welcomes hundreds of national theater practitioners for a series of professional development workshops, timely panel discussions, and performances, takes place from June 16–18 at the Westin Pittsburgh.
KST’s 2021–22 season, Welcome Home, explores the liberation and redefinition of “home” for Black and queer people and communities. Throughout the season, KST has hosted events anchored in creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action to advance the liberation of Black and queer people. As a site of community building and resistance, KST defines itself as a home for artists and a space of care for historically resilient people.
—
Tickets for the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table are available on a sliding scale, from $15 to $30 per attendee, and can be reserved at kelly-strayhorn.org or purchased at the door.
Tickets for TQ Live! are available on a sliding scale, from $0 to $20 per attendee, and can be reserved at kelly-strayhorn.org or purchased at the door.
Tickets for Amm(i)gone are available for $15 adults and $10 for students, and can be reserved at warhol.org or purchased at the door.
Tickets for Vibes N’at are available for free with RSVP.
For full season details, COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.
—
the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Chatham University, Contemporary Arts Center, and NPN. For more information www.npnweb.org. the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table by Lyam B. Gabel received developmental support as part of the 2021 Director Residency Program of The Drama League of New York. (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Artistic Director; Bevin Ross, Executive Director). A version was workshopped at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama in November 2019 and received additional support from the Carnegie Mellon University GSA/Provost GuSH Grant.
Amm(i)gone is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Kelly Strayhorn Theater in partnership with The Theater Offensive and NPN/VAN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information, visit www.npnweb.org. Amm(i)gone is additionally supported by the Frank-Ratchye Fund for Art @ the Frontier; the Point Foundation’s Andrew A. Isen Internship; The Heinz Endowments’ Small Arts Initiative; Opportunity Fund; PNC Charitable Trust; A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation; Arts, Equity, Reimagined Fund; and Dreams of Hope.