FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Welcome to Pumpkin Palooza, An East Liberty Halloween Adventure at Kelly Strayhorn Theater on Saturday, October 28, 2023

EAST LIBERTY, PA, September 27, 2023 — Kelly Strayhorn Theater cordially invites all local community members to one of our most beloved annual family programs, Pumpkin Palooza! This year, we are thrilled to offer candy, crafts, and performances from our fantastic community partners. From 1:00pm – 4:00pm, The Alloy School, Assemble, Phase 4 Learning Center, Youth Enrichment Services, Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, and Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation offer family friendly activities in the KST lobby. From 2:00pm – 3:00pm, DS Kinsel hosts performances on the KST mainstage from K-Theatre Dance Complex, Alumni Theater Company, The Obama Marching Band, and Afro-American Music Institute’s Jazz Lab. Celebrate a fun, spooky, and costume-filled Halloween with KST on Saturday, October 28, 2023 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm. Join us in your favorite costume, or come as you are!

We have celebrated Halloween with our East Liberty community for over a decade. Compared to previous iterations, “this year, we’ve renamed KST’s annual Halloween event from ‘Halloween Mayhem’ to ‘Pumpkin Palooza’ to make sure folks know it’s fun for the whole family,” said Programming Manager Sarah Gilmer.

On the date of the event, our cause-driven community partners come together to provide an array of Halloween-themed activities for children and caretakers of all ages. These include candy distribution, pumpkin decorating, face painting, and even a DIY station for trick-or-treat bags.

Everyone can immerse themselves in the Halloween spirit by participating in the costume contest. Come and capture memorable moments in front of an interactive green screen, and vote for your favorite costumes. There are plenty of boo-tiful opportunities for children to create, interact, and discover. 

During the performances, Afro-American Music Institute’s Jazz Lab introduces a rising six-piece student bands while Alumni Theater Company captivates the audience with a blend of dance and original writings. K-Theatre Dance Complex creates a Ghostbusters-themed dance for this special occasion, transforming the stage into a mysterious alleyway. We are delighted to have The Obama Marching Band conclude the day with boisterous celebratory energy. 

Our Development and Communications Director, Liz Rudnick, fondly recalled her memories from last year: “The lobby was full of tables with unique activities. The children moved in excited groups, hurrying from one table to another with high energy — Taking photos with friends and showing off their costumes, everyone had a great time!”

We can’t wait to see little spidermen, unicorns, and pumpkins gather in the theater for a spooktacular trick-or-treat!

Download the .pdf HERE.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Founded by Dr. James Johnson and Mrs. Pamela Johnso in 1982, the Afro-American Music Institute (AAMI) provides music programs of excellence under the guidance and tutelage of its committed, professional staff and board members. Under the supervision of Howie Alexander III, the ensemble provides performance opportunities for youth who have studied instruction in composition, improvisation, basic theory, chart reading and ear training. With a foundation of jazz, the Jazz Lab explores Gospel, R&B and Pop and the way in which jazz traditions contribute to modern musicality. afroamericanmusic.org

Alumni Theater Company (ATC) is a year-round program providing talented Black youth in grades 6-12 with high quality performing arts training and a platform to express their ideas. ATC is currently in its 15th season of creating bold theatrical work that gives fresh voice to the experience of young Black artists and highlights their rich contribution to our community. alumnitheatercompany.org 

DS Kinsel (Host) is an award-winning creative entrepreneur and cultural agitator who expresses his creativity through various mediums, including painting, printmaking, curating, and public art. D.S. is a former AmeriCorps Public Ally member and Awardee of the Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40. D.S. is also the co-founder of BOOM Concepts, a Pittsburgh-based creative hub dedicated to advancing black and brown artists. Since its establishment in 2014, BOOM Concepts has curated 50 on-site exhibitions, paid over $150k in artist fees, and produced 200+ events across the country. BOOM Concepts is recognized as a Pittsburgh Cultural Treasure through The Heinz Endowments and The Ford Foundation. boomuniverse.co

K-Theatre Dance Complex (KTDC), is a dance academy that provides quality dance instruction in several major areas of dance, which include Ballet, Contemporary, Modern and Hip Hop. Led by Artistic Director Kontara Morphis, and Arts Education Director Rickia Davenport, KTDC curriculum incorporates dance theory, terminology and dance theater. KTDC has largely impacted the physical, academic, creative, and personal development of its students. facebook.com/ktheatredancecomplex 

The Obama Marching Band (OMB) was first established in 2011. The band is comprised of interested music students in grades 7 through 12. Student musicians represent the high-achievement and excellence modeled by our school Pittsburgh Obama Academy. In 2023, OMB represented the City of Pittsburgh as ambassadors in the 2023 National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, DC. We collaborated with Pittsburgh Allderdice HS, Pittsburgh Brashear HS, and Pittsburgh Obama Academy to form Pittsburgh’s “One Band One Sound” All-City Marching Band. The marching band performs at parades, pep rallies, football games, and other community-wide events. Visit our website to learn more: pghobamaband.com

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Youth Enrichment Services (YES), based in East Liberty, provides socially and economically at risk youth the opportunity to achieve success through participation in mentorship, education, and enrichment programs. Through mentoring partnerships, peer assisted tutoring programs, and — when needed — monitoring and mentoring programs for juvenile offenders, YES invests its talent, energy, time, and resources in empowering and enriching the lives of children and teens. YES provides responsive, innovative, and youth-designed programs that offer young people unique academic, enrichment, and employment experiences. Youthenrichmentservices.org 

Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation raises health with LGBTQ+ and HIV communities in and around Western Pennsylvania. Our team offers a variety of resources and supports including youth and family services, school based programming, Hugh’s Kitchen pantry program, civil legal aid, wellness programming and all ages special events, as well as training and consultation for organizations to improve their skills and capacity to serve LGBTQ+ clients and staff. Some of our most popular programs for youth and families include our youth AFFIRM series, parent mentoring & support groups, Big Sibs mentoring, student LGBTQ+ groups, online QChats and Discord server, social activities, and so much more. hughlane.org 

Assemble envisions a world where learning and creating are transformative experiences and where all people are equipped with the tools to make a difference, together. At Assemble, we use learning as a tool to create a more equitable future for youth and learners in the Pittsburgh region and beyond. We build confidence through making; connect learners, makers, technologists, and artists; and nurture agency in learners. We offer free afterschool, Saturday programs, camps, and more for kids as well as adult programs. Visit us at Assemble 4824 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. assemblepgh.org  

Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse is a non-profit that inspires creativity, conservation, and community engagement through reuse: We operate a non-traditional art supply shop located at the intersection of Wilkinsburg, Homewood, and Point Breeze, where people can donate used art and craft supplies, as well as shop for these unique items all in the same location. We also facilitate hands-on creative programming that educates the public about the benefits of reuse for the environment, community, and self. We see reuse as a vehicle for boosting self-confidence, learning new skills, and creating opportunity for all. For more information, visit our website at pccr.org.

Phase 4 Learning Center offers a safe and caring learning environment for historically underserved students in grades 6 – 12 to earn a high school diploma and gain work experience. Phase 4 focuses on four phases of development: academic, social, behavioral, and future employment. Although based in Pittsburgh, Phase 4 operates at six locations in Allegheny and Beaver County including The Best Buy Teen Tech Center (BBTTC) located at 5850 Centre Ave. The BBTTC is a member of The International Clubhouse Network and winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in STEM Mentoring. To learn more about Phase 4 visit their website at phase4learningcenter.org.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its namesakes had for the arts. Today, KST carries their legacy by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. 

KST has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of Friendship, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district of East Liberty. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

PC: Liz Rudnick

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents Pria Dahiya’s You and Me and The End of the World, A Freshworks: New Performance in Process

EAST LIBERTY, PA, September 14, 2023 — Kelly Strayhorn Theater presents You and Me and the End of the World, a devised theater piece by Freshworks: New Performance In Process artist in residence Pria Dahiya. The work is presented as a 30-minute showing followed by a Q&A with the audience at KST’s Alloy Studios on Friday and Saturday, October 6 and 7, 2023 at 7:30pm. This digitally sick, nauseatingly young, and fearfully queer performance project explores first love, first loss, and coming of age online.

“At a certain point I realized that so many people had experienced things associated with coming of age — falling in love, processing loss, and finding the work of art that changes your life forever — online. In the past, it may have meant going to a concert and seeing someone across the room, but now it is just between you and your phone or computer. For several years I’ve wanted to do a project that would physicalize, through theater, these isolating and alienating experiences I’d experienced firsthand” — Pria Dahiya

Embodying the disconnect between the bewildering psychological excess of living online and the frightening reality of living offline, the performance in progress explores the relationship between alienation, desire, mortality, and the internet. In an isolated corner of the world, on an isolated corner of the internet, two teenagers seek understanding through imperfect screens, confessional posting, and constant communication.

Pria Dahiya is in the last phase of her undergraduate career in Carnegie Mellon University’s John Well’s Directing Program. Her relationship with KST started when she assistant-directed Adil Mansoor’s Am(i)gonne at KST’s Alloy Studios in 2022.

“I was blown away by the amount of freedom the rehearsal process had and by the amount of time we were able to build in the space. The production was relatively simple, yet so much time and so much support was given to it. I had also seen Lyam B. Gabel’s performance, the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table at KST and again was blown away by the amount of resources and support for these fascinating, hybrid, boundary-pushing pieces” — Pria Dahiya

As a part of the Q&A, the artist welcomes a myriad of reactions to the themes presented by the performance in progress. Dahiya hopes that audiences who have grown up online will see their experiences reflected onstage, and audiences who have not will gain a deeper understanding of how growing up online influences our perception of the world and ourselves.

Download the .pdf HERE.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Pria Dahiya is a director, visual artist, and writer exploring internet culture through literary adaptation, movement, and media design. Pria has spent twenty-one years being biracial, bisexual, and chronically online. Her work touches on the absurd code-switching and constant alienation of this duality, and how the internet can hide, broadcast, and manipulate these conflicting identities. Her recent work, Anything Good Makes Me Want to Die, was an evening of two surreal plays adapted from Otessa Moshfegh’s short stories. These self-produced plays inaugurated her theater company, the New Modern Product Theatre, an avant-garde company centering the realities of being raised online.

Yin Raquino (they/them) writes sonnets with their right hand and cracks the knuckles of their left. They return to Pittsburgh bruised, sober, and eager to devise art that is aligned with their integrity, intuition, and newfound definition of inquisitiveness. They believe it is imperative that we refuse to assemble a museum exhibit of loose threads in our denim pockets. We cannot afford to tear each other down anymore when ecstasy does the unraveling for us. They’ve made an oath to their Filipino ancestors to sustain virginity in their drinks, but never their mouth.

Rory Janney (she/her) is a writer, actor, playwright, costume designer, theatre & community maker based in Pittsburgh. Her work explores alienation, community, trauma, loneliness, and grief through all things human, fantastic, absurd, and grime. She likes tchotchkes, bric-a-brac, knick knacks, women, horror stories, sunscreen, monsters, soft-yolky insides of hard and ugly things, hard-snarly insides of pretty polite things, chasing grace, embracing ugly, pirates, bats, and therapy. Having been a part of New Modern Product Theatre’s baptismal piece, she is excited to continue the work to make this happen.

Rowan Acadia Dunlop is a proud Cajun from the back pastures of Vermont. As a writer, dramaturg, visual artist, and founding member of New Modern Product Theatre, Rowan’s work revolves around the rural experience, the study of the past for the sake of the future, and holding hands. Rowan works on war dramas and good old fashioned love stories, and has worked with the DOD as a scriptwriter for President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition, with the U.S. Army War College, researching/devising WWII case study exercises, and with StoryWarrior Media Capital, producing children’s animation. Rowan also enjoys working with goats.

davine byon (she/her) is a performance artist, theatre designer, and digital hoarder. her work visualizes the media landscapes that hold our silly and shameful collisions, offering that they might also be precious, even sublime. she is traumatized by brutal anonymous internet behavior and charmed by the hope that none of it matters.davine’s recent work has been featured at Kelly Strayhorn Theatre, Rivers of Steel, Quantum Theatre, the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, Pao Arts Center, Lenfest Center for the Arts, the New Hazlett Theater, City Theatre Company, and The Andy Warhol Museum.

ABOUT FRESHWORKS: NEW PERFORMANCE IN PROCESS

Freshworks is KST’s creative residency for artists and collaborators based in the greater Pittsburgh region. Freshworks made its debut in 2013 and supports playful exploration in performance through interdisciplinary work in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia.The program provides artists with planning support and guidance, studio space, production staff, lighting and sound design and encouragement for creative risk taking. Artists are invited to apply either as an individual or as a collaborative group.

Freshworks artists are provided a $1,000 honorarium and $1,500 resource budget during the residency. This is to help offset the costs of creating new work. Each residency will take place over a two-month period. During these two months, artists will develop a 30-minute live showing that is a first draft of an original artistic project. The first month is intended for planning; this includes what form the project will take, securing collaborators, and brainstorming design. During this time, artists will meet weekly with KST Programming and Production Staff to chart out production and scheduling needs as well as utilize their outside perspectives. The intention is that KST Staff is present to pose questions that can help the artist think through various aspects of ideas.

The second month is focused on in-studio rehearsal and creation of a 30-minute draft of their project. Weekly meetings with KST Staff continue and shift focus towards actualizing production needs.The goal of the residency is for the artist to experiment and explore early iterations of ideas and share a draft of these concepts in front of an audience. At the end of the process, they will have valuable insight into further developing their project.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Meg Foley Comes to KST with Blood Baby, a Week of Events Centering Radical Gender Expression, Queer Kinship, and Belonging

EAST LIBERTY, PA — The KST Presents Fall 2023 season, Brave Actions Bold Voices, kicks off with Blood Baby, a body of work by interdisciplinary artist Meg Foley. The week-long program begins on September 18 with a Welcome Dinner & Artist Talk celebrating the opening of Eternal Maternal, a visual art exhibition curated by DS Kinsel featuring Foley and Fran Flaherty. Then, on September 20, Foley and KST mutual-aid resident PearlArts co-present The Embodied Imaginary, an improvisational dance workshop. Later that evening, Foley leads a Queer Parent Convening, a free dinner where queer and trans parents can connect and share their experiences. The week comes to a crescendo on Friday and Saturday, September 22-23 when Foley presents Blood Baby: Communion, an evening-length performance piece celebrating queer kinship, radical gender performance, and belonging.

“For the past 20 years I have made performance projects with radical self-determination as subject, crafting body-based explorations of identity, belonging, and time from a queer perspective. In a loving tumble with formalism in dance and what constitutes performance and influenced by my identity as a queer mom in a trans family, I work on a continuum of research that centers the 24hr body and asks how identity is occupied: an all-the-time, ever-shifting self, a sacred site, a portal, a prism.” — Meg Foley

Eternal Maternal, a visual art exhibition in KST’s historic lobby, puts Foley’s creative practice in conversation with the work of Fran Flaherty, an artist, curator, and educator who centers issues of migrant family relationships, maternal feminism, and disability aesthetics (Flaherty happens to be Deaf). Flaherty is the founder of Anthropology of Motherhood, a project inspired by the care paradigm — the premise that human beings cannot survive alone, and that the progress of human beings as a species flows from our ability to connect to each other. In works from the Alchemy series, Flaherty scanned unusable breast milk with a flatbed scanner. The resulting silk-mounted images and 3D printed objects evoke bodily topography, subterranean organs, and pressed flowers. Foley’s contribution to the exhibition is the collaborative Blood Baby: Primordial, an otherworldly, sensual video and sound installation by visual artist (and Foley’s co-parent) Carmichael Jones. Primordial’s “rock drag” captures Foley dancing with the landscape, connecting geology, transformation, and queer gestation. The opening will take place with a reception and artist talk with ASL interpretation at Kelly Strayhorn Theater on Monday, September 18 at 6:00pm.

On Wednesday, September 20 at 9:00am, Foley asks participants of The Embodied Imaginary, an improvisational dance-making workshop: What does it feel like to be a rock? The hour-long exploration invites members to reframe their relationships to movement, inhabit the moment where feeling meets form, and use textiles as body-building tools. The workshop is co-presented with KST mutual-aid resident PearlArts and will take place at KST’s Alloy Studios in Friendship. That same evening, Foley hosts a gathering for queer and trans parents to share their experiences of family-building in an intimate home setting, complete with dinner and childcare.

Finally, KST presents Megan Foley’s Blood Baby: Communion on Friday and Saturday, September 22 – 23. The piece is participatory and audiences will experience the work in the round and in close dialogue with Foley. Exploring the relationship between body and language, the event involves shared reading, facilitated embodiment, and conversation between Foley and the audience. Overlapping geology, gestation, and parenting, Communion explores the shape and feeling of language on and against our bodies, demonstrating how language extends, represents, and ruptures our corporeal identities. Friday night will also feature a post-performance discussion with ASL interpretation.

Blood Baby is supported by a National Dance Project Award from New England Foundation for the Arts and National Performance Network Creation Fund and Development Fund grants, with additional support provided by Leeway Foundation, Indiana University-Bloomington Arts & Humanities Council, a mini-Roser grant, and a USC Visions & Voices grant.

Additional research support provided by ATLAS Institute B2 Center for Media, Arts & Performance (CU Boulder), Redline Gallery, Kinsey Institute, Velocity Dance Center, ONE Archives at USC, National Center for Choreography Akron, SPACE Gallery, and CounterPulse.

Download the .pdf HERE.

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
Welcome Dinner & Artist Talk
with Fran Flaherty & Meg Foley

Monday, September 18*
6:00pm
*with ASL interpretation

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

Click for more details…

BOOM GALLERY | VISUAL ART
Eternal Maternal
Fran Flaherty & Meg Foley

Monday, September 18 – Sunday, December 17, 2023
Opening Reception: Monday, September 18, 6:00pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

Click for more details…

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | WORKSHOP
The Embodied Imaginary
with Meg Foley
Co-Presented with PearlArts

Wednesday, September 20
9:00am – 10:15am

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click for more details…

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
Queer Parent Convening
with Meg Foley

Wednesday, September 20, 2023
7:00pm

RSVP for Location
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

Click for more details…

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | DANCE
Meg Foley
Blood Baby: Communion

Friday & Saturday, September 22* – 23, 2023
7:30pm
*Post performance discussion with ASL interpretation

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $15 – $35

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kelly Strayhorn Theater Announces Fall 2023 Season: Brave Actions Bold Voices

The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is –
it’s to imagine what is possible.

– bell hooks

EAST LIBERTY, PA— The KST Presents Fall 2023 season is about celebrating the brave actions and bold voices of the artists, audiences, and communities who call KST home. The season features new offerings from Mutual Aid Residents Dreams of Hope and PearlArts, a visual art exhibition in the BOOM Gallery, two Freshworks Performances in Progress, and premieres of Local and Global Performances from longtime Pittsburgh favorites and returning faces.

Our Mutual Aid Residencies continue to support Dreams of Hope and PearlArts with administrative facilities and space for ongoing classes and events. This fall, Dreams of Hope hosts the theatriQ educational workshop series, offering queer creatives ages 13 – 26 a space to learn, discuss, and connect through a plethora of topics pertaining to theater and the performing arts. PearlArts brings together Soy Sos and Ali Berger, and later Soy Sos, James Johnson III, and Erik Lawrence for two editions of the music and dance staple, Synchronized with Soy Sos. Later in the season, a dance-focused PearlPRESENTS will feature SPdp&SS founder Staycee Pearl alongside choreographers Raphael Xavier and Chitra Subramanian.

Curated by DS Kinsel, the BOOM Gallery, located in KST’s historic 1914 lobby, presents Eternal Maternal. Featuring artworks from interdisciplinary artists Fran Flaherty and Meg Foley, the exhibition centers motherhood both as an active pursuit and a fundamental state of existence, irrespective of and subject to gender. Visit the gallery before performances from the opening on Monday, September 18 and Sunday, December 17 to experience the artists’ unique interpretations of the sacred practice.

Our Fall 2023 Freshworks Residencies support exciting new performance works in process. On October 6 and 7, Pria Dahiya shares a “play-adjacent performance work” You and Me and The End of the World” that touches on loneliness and coming of age through a pandemic. On December 1 and 2, Andraya Rand-Mathis presents dance, music, and drag in Diving Within, part of a healing process from grief, heartbreak, and childhood trauma.

KST’s Youth and Family programs feature a revamped Halloween celebration. Bring the whole crew to join us for Pumpkin Palooza, An East Liberty Halloween Adventure! There will be tricks, treats, performances, and crafts from community partners. Tune in August 10 for our complete Fall 2023 offerings from The Alloy School.

The KST Presents Local and Global Performance series welcomes Blood Baby from Detroit/Philadelphia-based artist Meg Foley, featuring four works from the series (Primordial, Queer Parent Convening, Communion, and Touch Library). Foley shares the performance Communion on Friday and Saturday, September 22 – 23. Don’t miss the Welcome Dinner & Artist Talk on September 18, where Foley will be in conversation with Fran Flarety; The Embodied Imaginary, a workshop with Foley on September 20; and a Queer Parent Convening later that evening. On December 8 and 9, Pittsburgh’s own superduo slowdanger takes to the KST mainstage with SUPERCELL, a new work addressing climate change and media sensitization. Join artists anna thompson and taylor knight for a Welcome Dinner & Artist Talk on December 4, and their workshop Demystifying the Box on December 6.

Finally, the Fall season wouldn’t be complete without Suite Life, our annual celebration of KST namesakes Billy Strayhorn and Gene Kelly! Join us on Saturday, November 25 for a VIP reception and eclectic performance celebrating these Pittsburgh legends and artistic champions.

There is so much to be explored in the voices and actions of artists across the KST Presents programs. We hope you will add your bravery and boldness to the mix by coming out to share in the work!

Download the .pdf here

MUTUAL AID RESIDENCY | MUSIC | DANCE
Synchronized with Soy Sauce
Featuring Ali Berger

Friday, September 15
7:30pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click to Learn More…

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
Welcome Dinner & Artist Talk
with Fran Flaherty & Meg Foley

Monday, September 18*
6:00pm*with ASL interpretation

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

Click for more details…

BOOM GALLERY | VISUAL ART
Eternal Maternal
Fran Flaherty & Meg Foley

Monday, September 18 – Sunday, December 17
Opening Reception: Monday, September 18, 6:00pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

Click for more details…

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | WORKSHOP
The Embodied Imaginary
with Meg Foley
Co-Presented with PearlArts

Wednesday, September 20
9:00am – 10:15am

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click for more details…

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
Queer Parent Convening
with Meg Foley

Wednesday, September 20
7:00pm

RSVP for Location
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

Click for more details…

LOCAL & GLOBAL PERFORMANCE | DANCE
Meg Foley
Blood Baby: Communion

Friday & Saturday, September 22* – 23, 2023
7:30pm
*Post performance discussion with ASL interpretation

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $15 – $35

Click for more details…

MUTUAL AID RESIDENCY | THEATER
THEATRIQ
Creative Sessions for Queer Youth
Co-Presented with Dreams of Hope

Wednesdays, October 4 – November 6
5:30pm – 8:00pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Registration Coming Soon!

Click to Learn More…

FRESHWORKS | THEATER
Pria Dahiya
You and Me and The End of the World

Friday & Saturday, October 6 – 7
7:30pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click for more details…

MUTUAL AID RESIDENCY | MUSIC | DANCE
Synchronized with Soy Sos
Featuring Erik Lawrence and James Johnson III

Friday, October 20
7:30pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click to Learn More…

YOUTH & FAMILY | MUSIC | DANCE | THEATER
Pumpkin Palooza
An East Liberty Halloween Adventure

Saturday, October 28
1:00pm – 4:00pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

Click for more details…

MUTUAL AID RESIDENCY | DANCE
PearlPRESENTS
Featuring SPdp&SS, Raphael Xavier and Chitra Subramanian

Saturday, November 11
7:30pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click for more details…

BENEFIT | MUSIC | PARTY
Suite Life
A Celebration of Billy Strayhorn & Gene Kelly

Saturday, November 25
5:30pm VIP Reception
7:30pm Concert

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $35 – $200

Click for more details…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: House Party Returns with a Night of Interactive Performance and Celebration

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater is pleased to announce that House Party, the organization’s annual summer benefit, will come to East Liberty on Saturday, July 22, 2023. House Party celebrates the legacy of KST with a night of entertainment and unforgettable flavor from local artists, including music and dance artists anna thompson and taylor knight of slowdanger with lighting and visual effects artist Cornelius Henke III, also known as ProjectileObjects, and multimedia queer-oriented video, installation, and performance artist Scott Andrew. Funds raised through House Party will support the KST Presents Fall 2023 season.

Inspired by the theatrics of Studio 54 and the iconic fashion of the Met Gala, House Party brings the mood with an immersive atmosphere and live performance. From the instagram-worthy VIP Reception to the rapturous Dance Party, you can expect a night of cool fantasy in the thick of Summer.

Beginning at 7:00pm, VIP guests will arrive to encounter an installation in the KST lobby of digital portraits featuring the House Party Host Committee and KST Board of Directors created by Scott Andrew. Andrew has been a Pittsburgh resident for seventeen years, where he is a professor of digital media at University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. Andrew co-founded the group Fail-Safe, a reoccurring frame for experimental performance, with artists Angela Washko and Jesse Styles, which was presented in the Fall 2022 season at KST. Andrew has also created media design and installations for House Party ‘22, last year’s Suite Life, and the March 2020 Freshworks presentation of I am a Haunted House in collaboration with dance artist Jesse Factor.

Moving through the lobby, VIPs will encounter a transformed Theater, with the reception occurring on the main stage and throughout the auditorium. There, attendees will hear from Executive Director Joseph Hall and Board Chair Adam Golden, enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, and have exclusive access to an open bar. From the stage and the loge seating, VIPs will enjoy a performance from Pittsburgh staple slowdanger. Featuring their signature blend of electronic music, slithering and undulating movement vocabulary, and sharp eye for riveting and evocative aesthetics, slowdanger in collaboration with ProjectileObjects will present a short performance on a uniquely installed temporary stage constructed over the theater’s orchestra seating.

Presented in the round for VIPs to experience from anywhere in the auditorium, the performance will give patrons a taste of the artists’ special brand of movement. slowdanger will be back at KST as a part of the Fall 2023 season, supported by House Party, with a new evening-length work to be announced later this summer. The project currently in development with support from KST was recently awarded $101,500 from New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project program.

Additionally, VIPs can have their fortune told to them through tarot card readings by Amber Eps a.k.a. Hollyhood and get custom House Party temporary tattoos from artist Zhen Lee.

Following the VIP reception, guests move to the KST lobby for a signature dance party with disco vibes! Dance Party guests can join from 9:00pm – 12:00am to get down and celebrate KST with the East Liberty community, and will receive one drink ticket after which they can purchase signature House Party cocktails from the KST bar!

“House Party is our summer blow-out party that showcases the work we do to support artists throughout the year,” said KST Executive Director Joseph Hall. “We invite you to join us for this once a year spectacular event! We encourage guests to dress to impress and get ready to sweat it out on the dance floor as only one does at KST.”

House Party is supported by our Host Committee: Kenya T. Boswell, Dana Bishop-Root, Anne Chen, Gina & Idris Evans, Sherree Goldstein, David Finegold, Kenya Matthews, Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, Khari Mosley, Jessica Gaynelle Moss, Richard Parsakian, Barb Pugh, Hon. Erika Strassburger, Kannu Sahni, Gina Winstead & Donny Donovan. Thanks to our generous sponsors, Duolingo, Pittsburgh City Paper, FHL Bank, UPMC Health Plan, and Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield & Allegheny Health Network for supporting House Party and the Fall 2023 KST Presents Season. You can support KST HERE

Download the .pdf HERE

Join KST for House Party on Saturday, July 22. Immersive VIP Reception 7:00pm – 9:00pm and Dance Party 9:00pm – 12:00am at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn. Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You: $50 – $250 For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, visit kelly-strayhorn.org.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

taylor knight and anna thompson are co-founding artistic directors of the Pittsburgh-based multidisciplinary performance entity slowdanger. Founded in 2013, slowdanger uses movement, integrative technology, found material, electronic instrumentation, vocalization, physiological centering, and ontological examination to produce their performance work. The more they engage in this collaborative work, the more they recognize the manifestation of their work as a non-binary entity that is one body amassed of multiple bodies in space. Each work seeks a deeper understanding through the practice of making. This ever evolving process is akin to the construction zone where inspiration was drawn for the name, slowdanger. anna and taylor have worked with Sidra Bell, Francesca Harper, Roderick George, Bill Shannon, MICHIYAYA Dance, Nile Harris, Jasmine Hearn, Maree Remalia|merrygogo, CorningWorks, Mark C. Thompson, The Pillow Project |Pearlann Porter, Jil Stifel, Shantelle Courvoisier Jackson and more.

Cornelius Henke III, a.k.a. ProjectileObjects, is a multi-talented creative with a passion for video production and performance art. His work spans various mediums, including music videos, motion graphics, live events, and interactive installations. As a former fellow and artist in residence at the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University, Cornelius has had the opportunity to showcase in venues including 9:30 Club, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Carnegie Museum of Art. He has participated in residencies at MANCC, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, The Yard Martha’s Vineyard, and Catskill Mountain Foundation. Cornelius is a contributing writer for VIDVOX and a partner at Merging Media, a boutique digital media production company based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Scott Andrew is a multimedia queer-oriented video, installation,  and performance artist. He creates speculative fantasies that peer into otherworldly portals and voids. He has exhibited at MoMA’s PopRally Performance Series (NYC), Ballroom Marfa (Marfa, TX), the Hammer Museum (LA), and the J. Paul Getty Museum (LA), among others. Scott co-curates TQ Live! a yearly LGBTQ+ variety series that has been presented at the Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art. Along with Angela Washko and Jesse Stiles, Scott organizes a National Endowment for the Arts funded performance series called Fail-Safe, which seeks to provide a supportive space for the presentation and potential failure of performative works-in-progress. Other previous curatorial projects include the drift and the Institute for New Feeling’s Felt Book.

Dr. Amber Epps a.k.a. HollyHood a.k.a. Amber the Witch is a hedge witch, psychic, trance medium, root worker, and daughter of Oyá. As co-owner of Arts & Crafts: Botanica & Occult Shop, she and her partners were voted #1 psychics/tarot readers in the 2022 Pittsburgh City Paper’s Best of Reder’s Poll. Amber is also a curator, advocate, educator, musician, mom, and inter and transdisciplinary artist. She loves cats, tacos, and collard greens.

Yang Zhen Lee is a comics and tattoo artist who likes to dabble in many things. Zhen was in Teresa Martuccio’s Pink Potatoes, and in some City of Play events such as Emotional Landscapes, Intimate Subjects and Fantastic Adventure: Greenfield Bridge. When not rehearsing, Zhen likes playing games, moving through the world in new ways, petting animals, and seeing what art peeps have been making. 

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today, Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.
Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Announcing KST Presents: Summer 2023 Season

I have only to break into the tightness of a strawberry, and I see summer—
its dust and lowering skies. 

– Toni Morrison

EAST LIBERTY, PA — The KST Presents Summer 2023 Season is all about building momentum toward Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s immersive summer celebration and dance party, House Party, A Benefit for KST. On Saturday & Sunday, June 10 – 11, KST goes on the road to the Three Rivers Arts Festival, hosted by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. There, at the Trust Oasis @ 7th Street, stop by the House Party Pop-Up Photo Booth and Box Office to snap a selfie and get your tickets to the hottest event of the summer! Then, on Saturday, July 1, KST takes over the Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture Court as part of Inside Out: Carnegie Museum of Art’s free summer concert series. Join KST for (Out of the) House Party, an afternoon of performances and beats featuring lys scott, Supa NxC, Erika Denae J, Livefromthecity, YS1 and Le Siren FKA Childlike Empress, that gives museum-goers a taste of the House Party to come!

Our Six-Week Summer Session of The Alloy School offers a refreshed slate of classes from July 8 through August 12. The session kicks off with an Open House on Saturday, July 8 and includes new offerings: Arts & Crafts, co-taught by Jen Gallagher & her daughter Isabella Papucci, and Acting & Improv with Tru Verret-Fleming. The new classes join Alloy School favorites: West African: Dance & Drum with Yamoussa Camara, Creative Play with Taylor Couch, Kids Jazz with Indira Cunningham, and Hip Hop with Jazmine Bailey to keep everyBODY moving this summer. Don’t forget to join in for the Showcase and Let’s Move! Family Dance Party on Saturday, August 12.

KST mutual aid resident PearlArts is extending their popular class offerings through the summer! Adult Ballet Club with Andrew Blight and Adult Jazz-Heels Club with Arnita Thompson will run from the weeks of June 6 – August 2 with a break for the 4th of July. SPdp&SS will also be taking over the Carnegie Museum of Art sculpture court with Inside Out– INTERIM: Amplified Ecoustics, an immersive performance on Saturday, July 17, and Inside Out Night on Saturday, August 19. 

Finally, on Saturday July 22, join us at Kelly Strayhorn Theater for our signature benefit supporting the upcoming fall season of programming! House Party celebrates the legacy of KST with a night of spectacular entertainment and unforgettable flavor. Featuring a performance from slowdanger and immersive art by Scott Andrew, partiers will enjoy catered bites and curated cocktails. From the VIP Reception to the Dance Party, expect a night of cool fantasy on the hottest block in East Liberty. 

For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Joseph Hall, Executive Director

Access the PDF HERE

COMMUNITY
House Party Pop-up
Three Rivers Arts Festival

Saturday & Sunday, June 10 – 11
12:00pm – 6:00pm

Trust Oasis @ 7th Street
FREE

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
Sound Series: Dub Corridor
PearlArts @ The Warhol

Thursday, June 15
8:00pm

The Andy Warhol Museum, Silver Street | 117 Sandusky Street
Tickets: $5 – $8

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
INTERIM: Amplified Ecoustics 
PearlArts @Carnegie Museum of Art: Inside Out

Saturday, June 17, 2023
12:00pm – 5:00pm

Carnegie Museum of Art, Sculpture Court | 4400 Forbes Ave.
FREE

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
(Out of the) House Party
KST @Carnegie Museum of Art: Inside Out

Saturday, July 1
12:00pm – 5:00pm 

Carnegie Museum of Art, Sculpture Court | 4400 Forbes Ave.
FREE

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | COMMUNITY
The Alloy School Open House  
Learn About The Alloy School

Saturday, July 8
10:00am – 11:00am

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
FREE

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | COMMUNITY
The Alloy School 
Six Week Summer Session

Saturdays, July 8 – August 12
Times Vary

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $110

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | COMMUNITY
The Alloy School Showcase
and Let’s Move! Family Dance Party

Saturday, August 12
10:00am Showcase
11:00am Dance Party

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $5 – $20

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
Sound Series: Dub Corridor 
PearlArts @ The Warhol

Thursday, July 13
8:00pm

The Andy Warhol Museum, Silver Street | 117 Sandusky Street
Tickets: $5 – $8

Click here to learn more…

FUNDRAISER | COMMUNITY
House Party
A Benefit for Kelly Strayhorn Theater

Saturday, July 22
7:00pm – 9:00pm VIP Reception
9:00pm – 12:00am Dance Party

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $50 – $250

Click here to learn more…

DANCE
Adult Ballet Club
with Andrew Blight
Presented by PearlArts

Tuesdays, June 6 – 27 &
July 11 – August 1
6:00pm – 7:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
$10 Suggested Drop In

Click here to learn more…

DANCE
Adult Jazz Heels Club
with Arnita Thompson

Wednesdays, June 7 – 28 &
July 12 – August 2
7:00pm – 8:00pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
$10 Suggested Drop In

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
Sound Series: Dub Corridor
PearlArts @ The Warhol

Thursday, August 17
8:00pm

The Andy Warhol Museum, Silver Street | 117 Sandusky Street
Tickets: $5 – $8

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | MUSIC | PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY 
Inside Out Night
SPdp&SS @ Carnegie Museum of Art: Inside Out
Presented by PearlArts

Saturday, August 19
7:00pm – 10:00pm

Carnegie Museum of Art,
Sculpture Court | 4400 Forbes Ave.
FREE

Click here to learn more…

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Kelly Strayhorn Theater is a non-profit community performing arts center in East Liberty, advancing live art through strategic vision and community collaboration with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after its founding, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community. KST’s mission is to be a home for creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people. Welcome to The Soul of East Liberty!

Photo Credit: Beth Barbis, Liz Rudnick, Delaney Greenberg, Heidi Wiren Bartlett

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents: Or Forever Hold Your Peace, from Big Storm Performance Company

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater is pleased to announce Or Forever Hold Your Peace, a 75 minute theater experience from Big Storm Performance Company. Based on the real-life experiences of the creators, this show explores the B plots, uncomfortable interactions, and opportunities for personal discovery that occur at weddings.

Or Forever Hold Your Peace takes place at a Pennsylvania wedding in the late 2010s, where the sister of the bride is about to snap, the only guest who believes in love is a wedding crasher, the 13-year-old ring bearer has a secret mission, and everyone needs a change. Big Storm co-founder and artistic director José Pérez IV developed the show with co-founder and Team Health Specialist Taylor Couch. Both Couch and Pérez IV have built long standing relationships with Kelly Strayhorn Theater as teachers at The Alloy School. There, Couch teaches Creative Play, a “Parent & Me” style dance class for children six years old and younger, and Pérez IV is teacher emeritus of Capoeira, a dancelike martial art originating in Brazil. As one might expect from two dance teachers, movement and music are key elements in Or Forever Hold Your Peace.

“I like the phrase ‘musical without singing’ because it describes how significant a role the dances play in this show,” says Couch. “If we called Or Forever ‘a play with dancing,’ it’s easier to imagine maybe one or two dance numbers that mesh into the play instead of the very musical-like spectacle that dance is in this piece.” In an interview with Pittsburgh City Paper’s Tia Bailey, Pérez adds, “You’ve probably not seen a show like this before. It’s very modern, physical, fun… We say ‘theater experience’ because, with a lot of the things we make, it’s not really accurate to just say, ‘It’s a play.’ We don’t feel bound to strictly traditional modes of performance, and that leads us to experiment with where we perform, how we interact with the audience, and the types of performance we combine in one show.”

It’s by design that Big Storm productions like Or Forever Hold Your Peace defy categorization. The company was created as a response to an industry that often alienates and excludes, and their philosophy focuses on mental health, accessibility, and passing on what the company refers to as “The Groove.” To quote their mission statement, “The Groove is our name for the good feeling you get when you’re jamming to music — that enlivening ‘under your skin’ feeling of rhythm and movement, and we aim to spread it with everything we do. From our mindful rehearsal and performance processes to our aim to create works that connect with as many people as possible, regardless of their previous arts experience, Big Storm brings joy.”

Join KST and BIG STORM for Or Forever Hold Your Peace on Friday & Saturday, May 19 – 20* and Wednesday – Saturday, May 24 – 27 at 8:00pm at KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. *Post Performance Discussion to be held on Saturday, May 20. Tickets are Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Taylor W Couch (she/her) is an Early Childhood Teaching Artist, Pittsburgh native, and Co-Founding Director of Big Storm Performance Company. When not performing with Big Storm or teaching with organizations such as Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Education and The Alloy School, Taylor enjoys working as a stylist for her mental health and sustainability-focused company Style For Good PGH, listening to records, and enjoying the wonderful restaurants around Pittsburgh

E Forney (she/they) works in higher education administration, organizes with leftists, and dabbles in many other things. When she is not at rehearsal, Forney is recording with her podcast co-hosts for One More Thing, coordinating events for Puzzled Pint, playing video games, or dabbling in some new hobby (right now it’s rug tufting). Forney has worked as support or tech for multiple Big Storm productions (“Quest”, “Portals on Penn”, “Say That to My Face”, “Dance Show: A Dance Show”) and looks forward to more!

Phillip Fry (he/him) graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 with a BS in Mathematics and a Minor in Theater Performance. When not rehearsing, Phil enjoys playing video games, reading, discovering new breweries in the area, and visiting with his family. His previous works include, Stage: Portals on Penn, Say That to My Face (Big Storm PC); Film: Tributaries (Crazy Pants Productions); Voice Over: No Exit, Cave of the Green Light (Play on Words Podcast). Phil would like to thank his fiancée, mom, dad, brother, and sister for pushing him to keep doing theater and to his cats that keep them company during the down time.

Yang Zhen Lee (They/Them) is a comics and tattoo artist who likes to dabble in many things. Zhen was in Teresa Martuccio’s Pink Potatoes, and in some City of Play events such as “Emotional Landscapes,” “Intimate Subjects,” and “Fantastic Adventure: Greenfield Bridge.” When not rehearsing, Zhen likes playing games, moving through the world in new ways, petting animals, and seeing what art peeps have been making. Zhen says “Thank you to the fun and warmhearted folks of Big Storm for being absolute sweeties. Thank you Forrest for helping me go through lines many many times.”​

Jess Malandro (she/her) currently works at the University of Pittsburgh’s Big Idea Center as manager for student programs. When she isn’t working at Pitt, Stick City Brewing Company, or rehearsing with Big Storm, you can find her reading and/or furiously snuggling her two cats (Dae and Bucky). Over the past few years, Jess has performed with Big Storm in productions such as Say That To My Face and Portals on Penn. She would like to thank her fiancé, Phil Fry, for getting her to rehearsals on time and being a major support system over the past couple of months. Lastly, she would like to thank José and Taylor for being so awesome throughout this process (and every other time, really).

José Pérez IV (he/him) Julio/Dance Core, Dance Captain, Choreography, Playwright – is a fight choreographer and theater maker. Artistic Director of Big Storm Performance Company. MFA in Performance Pedagogy from the University of Pittsburgh, BFA in Drama from NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing. When not making new theater, he likes to read in cafes and wave at dogs. José’s original work has been seen in New York City venues, on the hills of the Smoky Mountains, and in a moving car.

Olivia Devorah Tucker (they/them) is a transfemme Jewish demonologist with an affinity for vibrant theater and baking thematically-shaped challah. Professionally, Olivia serves as Program Coordinator for SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva (founders of Queer Talmud Camp), where they study as a teacher-in-training. Olivia Devorah has variously performed, puppeteered, sang, danced, devised, and dramaturged for FOLKLAB’s QUEER (2018), Moriah Ella Mason’s Queer Jewish: Dancing In Diaspora (2019), Teresa Martuccio’s Pink Potatoes (2019) and Gunner LaBuff’s Hatena, A Guinea Pig Play (2019) at the Glitterbox. Olivia sends thanks to friends, family, the Highland Park pool, and the Phantom of the Attic comic book store for getting them through the tough times!

Matt Vitullo (he/him) is thrilled to be in yet another Big Storm production! Matt graduated from the University of Pittsburgh for theater and has been performing in the city ever since. Previous roles include Benvolio in Romeo & Juliet (Pittsburgh Classic Players), a tea shop fighter in Portals on Penn (Big Storm), and a lovesick bard in Quest (Big Storm). When not performing, Matt can be found playing Dungeons & Dragons, gaming, reading, writing, or spending time with friends (as safely as possible, of course). “Thank you to Big Storm, especially José and Taylor, for making so much cool art that I get to participate in, and to my incredible friends who always give me support and lend me an ear while I talk about this show endlessly. Thank you!! :^)

Ariel / (they/them) is an interdisciplinary performance artist dancing onto the scene from underground art spaces in Pittsburgh, New York, Shanghai, the Bay, and Hong Kong. With roots in butoh, martial arts, and street dance, they are thrilled to be performing with Big Storm for their funky and athletic choreography. Notable venues where they have performed and displayed works include SPACE Gallery, The Space Upstairs, GPAC Center, Baryshnikov Dance Center, Alloy Studios, New Hazlett Theatre, and Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. They are concurrently making films as part of the Spring 23′ cohort in the Digital Documentary Filmmaking Fellowship at the Warhol Academy.

Charlie Left is a nonbinary screenwriter, competing slam poet, and performing artist in Pittsburgh, PA. Their work has appeared in Pretty Owl Poetry, Medium, and elsewhere. They’re in the Pittsburgh Prison Book Project’s leadership group, a volunteer non-profit organization based in Pittsburgh that sends reading and educational materials to prisoners across PA. They formerly curated and emceed The Bantha Readings in Pittsburgh, a series dedicated to showcasing local writers. Their work, best described as creative nonfiction with a surrealist twist, focuses on the role of gender and masculinity in our everyday lives. Find them online @charlie_left or charlieleft074@gmail.com

Jade Young (they/she) is a trans/non-binary dancer, singer, actor and writer. They have been training in dance since the age of three years old. They are a dancer in the styles of jazz, tap, hip hop techniques, jazz funk and contemporary dance. They graduated in 2021 from Full Sail University with a certificate in Creative Writing. Most recently Jade has done stand-in/photo double work for actress Andra Day in the Lee Daniels directed film “The Deliverance” and acted in City Theatre’s 2022 Young Playwright’s Festival. When Jade isn’t dancing or performing she is studying piano and voice under the amazing Cathie Crocker, plays their Taylor acoustic guitar and enjoys spending time with their family and orange tabby cat Simba. “Thank you to the cast members and team of Big Storm. It’s been an absolute joy working with all of you. Thank you to my Mom, my brother Mason and best friend Rebekah Davis for your love and support”. Follow them on Instagram @jadenjewel13.

Lucy Jaffar (she/her) is a dancer and arts administrator from San Francisco. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BS in psychology and a BA in dance and has had the opportunity to dance and train with amazing organizations including San Francisco Ballet, Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, ODC, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and DancEsteem San Francisco. Lucy can normally be found adventuring in nature, playing guitar, or spending quality time with her family, friends, and two boxer dogs. She would like to thank Dylon for being the best support system to her through everything.

Sarah Hoy (she/they) is a current student at Point Park University studying Theatre Arts with a minor in musical theatre! They are very excited to be doing their first show with Big Storm Performance Company and have loved the process with this amazing group. Previous works include Coping with COPA (flash dancer), Men On Boats (swing/Mr. Asa), and the RLM One Act Festival. She’d like to thank her friends and family and amazing coworkers for supporting her in all the work! @sarahhoyarts

ABOUT BIG STORM PERFORMANCE COMPANY 

By only presenting original works, Big Storm Performance Company creates and performs only what they connect with and makes them feel The Groove through highly physical, movement based pieces. Big Storm loves incorporating safe, responsible moments of interaction as well as pieces that pull from multiple stage combat, dance, and theater disciplines to deepen the experience without jeopardy.
This desire to provide meaningful, positive experiences stems from Big Storm’s founding drive to create a company that meets performers and audience members where they are. In an industry that often alienates and excludes, Big Storm offers a space where all are welcome, and those who want to participate can. Along with our sustainable processes, Big Storm is a zero judgment, body positive zone that elevates the strengths of each of our performers and knows that movers come in all shapes, sizes, and with all kinds of needs. Rather than force our performers to fit into a mode and model, we embrace the outside lives and struggles of everyone who works with us and reward honest communication with change.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today, Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents: B Kleymeyer Freshworks Presentation

i’m not done with this body (and i never will be)

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater is pleased to announce the final Spring 2023 Freshworks performance in process presentation, B Kleymeyer, i am not done with this body (and i never will be). Join us on Friday & Saturday, May 5 – 6, 8:00pm, at KST’s Alloy Studios for a look into this new work in development followed by a Q & A with the artist. Part archive, part resource guide, and part celebration, i’m not done with this body (and i never will be) is a multimedia performance about trans women and the sex hormone estrogen. In a time where access to trans healthcare is becoming ever more politicized, the multidimensional performance uplifts Pittsburgh’s trans community and gives shape and sound to the things trans women have felt and been unable to name: The truth that hormones change more than your appearance, and that the most shocking shift is in your brain. 

“You start to think differently. Your whole perception of the world around you changes, little by little, until you can’t remember what it was like before.” — B Kleymeyer

Trans healthcare saves lives. Right now, the red tape, the waitlists, and the lack of accessibility makes transitioning in Pittsburgh without a strong support network a daunting task. i’m not done with this body (and i never will be) shouts the truths that doctors hide from and cis family and friends are afraid of. The work celebrates every part of transition, preserving the collective knowledge and experience of hormones toward collective understanding and, ultimately, protected access to life-giving care. 

“I think we see transition as this deeply personal, individual experience. And it can be, it can definitely be a time of great inner reflection, growth, and change. But it could also be a time of celebration and community. What if we were to honor transition as another milestone of life?” — B Kleymeyer

Over the course of her residency, B has reached out to trans women living in Pittsburgh for their stories and experiences. About this communal writing process, B shares, “It’s an incredible experience to have a creative space with other trans women. This project started with a desire to share the stories of trans women in Pittsburgh. And as a result, I’m watching these really beautiful conversations between multiple generations of trans women occur. It’s become really clear to me that trans women have always kept each other safe, informed, and loved. My hope is that this project can be another link in that history.” — B Kleymeyer

This project was supported in part by funding from the Carnegie Mellon University Frank-Ratchye Fund For Art @ the Frontier. Join KST and B Kleymeyer for i’m not done with this body (and i never will be) Friday & Saturday, May 5 – 6 at 8:00pm at KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25. For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org. 

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTIST

B Kleymeyer is a white, Jewish, trans woman. She is a current MFA Candidate at Carnegie Mellon University’s John Wells Directing Program. She is a director and generator working at the intersections of theater, dance, multi-media installation, and film. B is a resident artist at Single Carrot Theatre where they facilitate the creation of community-based, site-responsive performances. Upcoming work includes; Kiss Me Mr. Musk (Single Carrot Theatre, August 2022), i’m not done with this body (and i never will be) (Kelly Strayhorn, November 2022), and Adult Things (Carnegie Mellon University, March 2023). B works to create sacred space through the communal witnessing of performative events. Her work is a collective prayer, a model of the world we wish to build, and a place of transformation.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today, Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

ABOUT FRESHWORKS

Freshworks is KST’s creative residency for artists and collaborators based in the greater Pittsburgh region. Freshworks made its debut in 2013 and supports playful exploration in performance through interdisciplinary work in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia.The program provides artists with planning support and guidance, studio space, production staff, lighting and sound design and encouragement for creative risk taking. Artists are invited to apply either as an individual or as a collaborative group. 

Freshworks artists are provided a $1,000 honorarium and $1,500 resource budget during the residency. This is to help offset the costs of creating new work. Each residency will take place over a two-month period. During these two months, artists will develop a 30-minute live showing that is a first draft of an original artistic project. The first month is intended for planning; this includes what form the project will take, securing collaborators, and brainstorming design. During this time, artists will meet weekly with KST Programming and Production Staff to chart out production and scheduling needs as well as utilize their outside perspectives. The intention is that KST Staff is present to pose questions that can help the artist think through various aspects of ideas.

The second month is focused on in-studio rehearsal and creation of a 30-minute draft of their project. Weekly meetings with KST Staff continue and shift focus towards actualizing production needs.The goal of the residency is for the artist to experiment and explore early iterations of ideas and share a draft of these concepts in front of an audience. At the end of the process, they will have valuable insight into further developing their project.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents: Shamel Pitts | TRIBE

BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater is pleased to announce the return of 2020 Guggenheim Fellow in Choreography Shamel Pitts. Last seen at the newMoves dance festival in 2018, Pitts is back in the burgh with his arts collective TRIBE for a presentation of the artist’s evening-length multidisciplinary performance work BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon on Friday & Saturday, April 14 – 15 at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. KST will host a week of special events leading up to the performance, including a Welcome Dinner and Artist Talk at KST’s Alloy Studios on Tuesday, April 11 at 7:00pm, a GAGA movement session at KST’s Alloy Studios co-presented by KST mutual-aid partner PearlArts Wednesday, April 12 at 9:00am, and a special post-performance conversation with artist Alisha Wormsely at Kelly Strayhorn Theater on Friday, April 14 (performance to start at 8:00pm).

In BLACK HOLE, a trio of Black performers (all of African heritage) share the stage in a narrative of unity, vigor, and unrelenting advancement. Their journey originates in the darkness of the titular Black Hole, understood not as a cosmic void but a metaphorical place of transformation and potential. Engulfed in an evocative soundscape of original music, sound samples, and spoken word, the dancers embark on an hour-long, uninterrupted journey in movement in which their tenacity and grace are emphasized by cinematic video projections and stark, monochromatic lights.

“BLACK HOLE (…) is a stylish Afrofuturist vision featuring three Black dancers, in monochromatic light and video projections, finding connection in a movement language derived from Ohad Naharin’s Gaga.” — Brian Seibert, New Yorker

BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon concludes the Black Trilogy, a series of deeply personal live performance pieces conceived and choreographed by Pitts since 2015. The first work of this collection, a solo BLACK BOX – Little Book of RED, introduced the recurring themes of this cycle: identity, search for the roots and community, and personal evolution of the artist, born “young, gifted and Black.”

2019 saw the New York premiere of BLACK VELVET – Architectures And Archetypes, “a haunting duet” (The New York Times) with Brazilian-born Mirelle Martins. Collaboration with her and other Black Series artists subsequently spurred the inception of TRIBE, a multidisciplinary collective of international creatives, united by Afrofuturistic ideals and shared goals.

“I’ve come from dance companies. I’ve loved them. But I had no interest or passion to re-create that. TRIBE is a collective of outliers. I think we relate more to a rock band, where each person has a different skill, a different instrument. We come together when we want to play and when we have ideas. I’m the artistic director, so I’m in a leadership role, but none of my collaborators are followers. We’re all walking with one another.” — Shamel Pitts, TRIBE artistic director

BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon was developed with the kind support of Trust for Mutual Understanding (TMU), American Dance Abroad, gloATL, PearlArts Studios, CrossAward (Italy), Dock 11 / Eden (Germany), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, New York Live Arts, and 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center.

Additional commissioning, development and core operating support for TRIBE is provided by the Mellon Foundation; The New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance/NYC’s Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation and Ford Foundation; National Performance Network (NPN) Creation, Development & Artist Engagement Fund Project supported by the Doris Duke

Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency); and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

KST’s engagement of Shamel Pitts BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the National Performance Network (NPN) Artist Engagement Fund. More information: www.npnweb.org.

Join KST and Shamel Pitts | TRIBE for BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon on Friday & Saturday, April 14 – 15 at 8:00pm at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You: $15 – $35. For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

2020 Guggenheim Fellow Shamel Pitts is a performance artist, choreographer, conceptual artist, dancer, spoken word artist, and teacher. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shamel began his dance training at LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and the Performing Arts and, simultaneously, at The Ailey School. He is 2003 YoungArts Finalist and a first prize winner of the YoungArts competition. Shamel then went on to receive his BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and was awarded the Martha Hill Award for excellence in dance. He began his dance career in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance and BJM_Danse Montreal. Shamel danced with Batsheva Dance Company for 7 years, under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin and is a certified teacher of Gaga movement language. He is an adjunct professor at The Juilliard School and has been an artist in residence at Harvard University. He is the recipient of a 2018 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Award winner in Choreography, a 2020 Jacob’s Pillow artist in residence and a 2021 New York Dance Award winner (The Bessies). Shamel is the Founding Artistic Director of TRIBE, a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary arts collective. TRIBE is a 92Y Harkness Dance Center’s Artist In Residence for the 2020-2021 season. Shamel Pitts | TRIBE is also a New York Live Arts Live Feed artist in residence.

Tushrik Fredricks (Performer) recipient of Princess Grace Award (Chris Helman dance honor), nominated by TRIBE in 2021 is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up he found himself drawn towards the style ‘KRUMP‘. He graduated from the Peridance Certificate Program in NYC in June 2015 and has had the opportunity to work with Ate9 dANCEcOMPANY (Danielle Agami, Artistic Director), Sidra Bell Dance New York and UNA Productions. Tushrik was an assistant lecturer to Sidra Bell at The University of the Arts Philadelphia for Sophomore students (2016-2018). In May 2021 Tushrik received 3rd prize for dance at the SoloTanz Festival in Stuttgart for his self choreographed solo ‘(territory) of the heart’ and in November 2022 it will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. instagram.com/tushrik 

Marcella Lewis (Performer), recipient of the 2018 Princess Grace Award in Dance, hails from Los Angeles, CA, where she began her dance training at the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. She then continued her studies at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts(LACHSA). She later received her BFA from the Purchase Conservatory of Dance in 2016, where she was awarded the Adopt-A-Dancer Scholarship. She joined Abraham.In.Motion in fall 2016, as a dancer, soloist, and company liaison. Marcella was featured with Abraham.In.Motion in Dance Magazine in August 2017 and was mentioned in the New York Times for the Abraham.In.Motion Joyce season in May 2018. Marcella is currently a performer with TRIBE multidisciplinary visual performances and is a freelance artist exploring choreography  in Los Angeles and New York. instagram.com/marcellalewis_

Lucca Del Carlo (Video Lighting Designer) is a graphic designer and video artist from São Paulo, Brazil, currently based in LA/NYC. Lucca is a founding member of the Brooklyn/New York based multidisciplinary arts collective known as TRIBE. He has created the lighting and video mapping projections for numerous performance works and has toured and performed live with the collective in many countries all over the world. He specializes in transmedia, mixing cinema techniques, concepts of architecture, visual arts, light design, and technology, and integrating those into the direction and creation of scenography, immersive environments and visual live shows. In his view, all ways of visual communication have interlacing points, not only using technology but also using human cognition and its related censorial illusions. Del Carlo’s specialty is mixing it in new ways to inspire and break common patterns in visual expression. luccadelcarlo.com 

Sivan Jacobovitz (Composer) is a producer/musician living in NYC. Dance collaborations include: Kimberly Bartosik’s “I Hunger For You” (BAM Next Wave) and “Through The Mirror of Their Eyes” (NYLA – Bessie Outstanding Production Honoree); Shamel Pitts’ Black Hole (touring internationally), MENAGERIE (with Gibney Company) and Touch of RED (upcoming – Jacob’sPillow Lab); ASSEMBLY with GREYZONE. instagram.com/sivan_daniel

An Australian artist with a career continuing over 30years, Rus Snelling (Artistic Production Manager & Lighting Designer) has worked as a production, stage, site and tour manager, lighting and set designer, consultant, technical director and fire sculptor with arts organizations, institutions & freelancing on events and installations around the world ranging from intimate theatrical works, shows on and off Broadway in NYC and on London’s West End. His work includes large scale indoor and outdoor festivals, the Sydney Olympic Ceremonies, the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Ceremonies & Cultural Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Montreal Just for Laughs, Edinburgh Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Vancouver Winter Olympics Cultural Festival, Centennial celebrations, river & street parades, tours & various music festivals. Some artists Rus has worked with are Merce Cunningham, Laurie Anderson, John Leguizamo, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Tim Robbins & The Actors Gang, Taylor Mac, Patti Smith, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Bandaloop, Camille A Brown & Dancers, Abraham.In.Motion, Streb & Phantom Limb Company among many and on projects & tours in Australia, USA, Canada, Tunisia, Europe, Asia & South America. Rus worked at PS122 in NYC many moons ago and was the founding Production Manager & Resident Lighting Designer at Oz Arts Inc in Nashville TN for 6 years before moving to Miami to continue freelance work and is proudly working on the tour of And So We Walked featuring DeLanna Studi and is excited and honored to be part of the creation of Touch of Red with TRIBE.

Originally from Brazil, Mirelle Martins (Costume Designer, Creative Director) received her Bachelor Degree in Social Communications (UnB 2002-06). She has worked as an artist, independent curator and art producer since 2010. In 2013, Mirelle started to research her own artistic expression in performance art with the intensive summer course of Gaga.people.dancers in NYC. Since 2015, she has been producing Gaga courses yearly in Brazil, so far reaching over 1200 students. In 2016, as a 32-year old, Mirelle made her dancing debut in “BLACK VELVET”, a duet by Shamel Pitts, with light designer Lucca Del Carlo. The show toured in the US and internationally from 2017 to 2020, and has received the Audience Choice Award in Stockholm Fringe Festival (Sweden, 2017), and Best out of Town Production by ArtsATL (Atlanta, 2018). The partnership with Pitts continued with “BLACK HOLE” (2018), where Mirelle has collaborated as performer and costume designer. Since 2019, Mirelle is one of the founding artists of TRIBE, Brooklyn-based arts collective led by Pitts, where she also acts as Creative Director. mirellemartins.com  

Naomi Maaravi (Black Tarp Designer) is a Dutch-born, Israel-based EcoFashion Designer with over 30 years of experience creating upcycled re-designed fashion pieces. Naomi made her first piece for her daughter out of worn out jeans. Her garments are fashioned from either her own collection of high end materials, or out of materials supplied by her clients. Her brand line has since evolved into a high-end recycled – albeit high fashion – line worn by Israeli artists and celebrities. “Memories, events, joy, happiness, sadness are all parts of the materials I use, blended to create a unique garment with a story on its own,” Maaravi says. www.naomimaaravi.com

Itai Zwecker (Photographer, Cinematographer) is an Israeli-born director of cinematography, photographer, and video editor, collaborating with Shamel Pitts and later TRIBE since 2018. His photography has been featured in The New York Times ,The Brooklyn Rail, and other outlets. Zwecker is based in Brooklyn and Tel Aviv, where he works shooting film, dance, music, documentary and commercial projects. vimeo.com/zwecker 

PALETTE, Founded by The Adeboye Brothers (Photographer & Cinematographer) in 2017, is a creative agency focused on producing films, animations, and live experiences for campaign activations both online and offline. Their background is rooted in thoughtful storytelling, art, and pushing the boundaries within the film space. They’re currently focused on building out their Production house internationally. Their production house develops, produces and writes branded and original documentaries, narrative-based shorts, and animations. This organization stands with creatives, the humans connected to culture, the community-movers, the society shapers. https://www.thepalettegroup.com/

ABOUT TRIBE 

TRIBE – Multidisciplinary Visual Performances is a Brooklyn-based Afrofuturistic arts collective dedicated to creating, producing and sharing original multidisciplinary global art projects founded in December 2019 by choreographer and performer Shamel Pitts. Understanding that performance art and live art are practices of human connection, TRIBE acts nationally and internationally by developing art exchanges in collaboration with institutions and artists, with a focus on the African diaspora.

TRIBE’s mission is to seize space and create a platform for artists – most specifically artists of color – with huge inspiration from the Afrofuturism movement. This movement states that we have a responsibility through our work to tell new stories and create a brighter future that is different, and shines more luminously, from its past. Ultimately, TRIBE aims to bring its audience and community into experiences that humanize Black and Brown bodies and share the colorfulness within Blackness that allows us to be multiplicitous. Itsatribe.org

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today, Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.
Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents: Spring 2023 Freshworks performance in process presentation, Nick M. Daniels

Nonsensical search for truth and understanding 

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater is pleased to announce the first Spring 2023 Freshworks performance in process presentation, Nick M. Daniels, Nonsensical search for truth and understanding. Join us on Friday & Saturday, April 7 – 8, 8:00pm, at KST’s Alloy Studios for a taste of this new work in development followed by a Q & A with the artist.

Nonsensical search for truth and understanding is a movement-based performance that explores how technology has grown, developed, and changed global communication. Choreographer Nick M. Daniels will draw the audience into an oddly beautiful and melancholic atmosphere by pairing digital/electronic noise and piano with stylized phrases inspired by global movement styles such as Butoh, Ballroom, Hip Hop, and traditional African and Indian dance. Photography and projections round out the piece, creating a multidisciplinary heartbeat for this work from D.A.N.A. Movement Ensemble.

Nick M. Daniels is a movement based performance artist and choreographer born, raised, and based in Pittsburgh who draws from a vast network of influences. Their drive to create art through movement can be traced back to their childhood, when their mother supported their creative spirit, even at her own risk:

“As a child I was always just a little different. I would watch figure-skating, (my mother was an avid figure-skating person, she loved it) and I would try to do those moves, and jumps — our ceiling could have come down quite a few times because you had this little diva doing triple sow-cows above your head in their bedroom. I used to spray pledge on the floors! It made them really, really slick, and one morning, getting ready for church, my mother had her church shoes on, hit the pledge on the floor and fell. After that she said, ‘OK, we need to get you into skating, into dance!’”— Nick M. Daniels

Daniels, a Freshworks alum (‘17) has built a practice that balances the horrendous with the sublime. Informed creatively by their identity as a Black, gay, and non-binary person, Daniels makes work that confronts the world as it is while leaving space to imagine different, more beautiful realities.

“For this residency, there were a couple of images I really needed to see, to get back into my head. This past weekend I traveled to DC to the Museum of African American History, to sit with Emmett Till. A lot of my imagery comes from things that are absolutely horrible, but I try to make it a compassionate effort, because beautiful things come from horrible things. I try to avoid hitting really strong triggers with my audiences, but I do need to push buttons to some extent.” — Nick M. Daniels

Because their practice synthesizes language from so many different sources, the result can be  free-wheeling, abstract, and untethered to the narrative arcs that audiences are used to. Daniels is unconcerned with the legibility of their work. Rather, they hope audiences will connect with the authentic essence of Nonsensical search for truth and understanding.

“My work is what comes out of my mind, it’s what comes out of my heart and what comes out of my soul. My friends and colleagues recognize that. You can call my work unrefined, you can call it non-traditional dance, you can call it performance art, but the one thing you’re definitely going to say is that it is of me — it’s honest, it’s raw, it’s emotional, and it’s a little gay, and very Black. I tell my story the way I feel it should be told. It’s a reflection of finding myself, finding my energy, and finding my Black Boy Joy after being in the pandemic. The uncertainty of that, and the ugly thoughts, things that were being said about queer, transgender Blacks, people of color, all that hatefulness — I want to package that and dance around it. I need to find myself again.” — Nick M. Daniels

Join KST and Nick M. Daniels for Nonsensical search for truth and understanding Friday & Saturday, April 7 – 8 at 8:00pm at KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25. For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nick M. Daniels is the founding Artistic Director of D.A.N.A. (Dancers Against Normal Actions) Movement Ensemble whose choreographic style is inspired by African dance and many modern and contemporary global movement styles. After attaining his BFA in Dance from Slippery Rock University in 1991, Nick created D.A.N.A Movement Ensemble and was a pioneering force in Pittsburgh for the exploration of race and sexual identity in performance art. Nick’s creative work often uses self-realized soundscapes and video imagery based in pure, raw emotion. Throughout his career he has toured nationally and abroad, receiving grants and accolades including The Young- Howse Theater Award for Movement Artist of the Year, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Preserving Diverse Cultures Grant, and a 2017 Freshworks Residency with Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Currently, Nick is developing work that will premiere in Europe, Central America, and South America in 2023.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today, Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.
Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

ABOUT FRESHWORKS 

Freshworks is KST’s creative residency for artists and collaborators based in the greater Pittsburgh region. Freshworks made its debut in 2013 and supports playful exploration in performance through interdisciplinary work in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia.The program provides artists with planning support and guidance, studio space, production staff, lighting and sound design and encouragement for creative risk taking. Artists are invited to apply either as an individual or as a collaborative group.

Freshworks artists are provided a $1,000 honorarium and $1,500 resource budget during the residency. This is to help offset the costs of creating new work. Each residency will take place over a two-month period. During these two months, artists will develop a 30-minute live showing that is a first draft of an original artistic project. The first month is intended for planning; this includes what form the project will take, securing collaborators, and brainstorming design. During this time, artists will meet weekly with KST Programming and Production Staff to chart out production and scheduling needs as well as utilize their outside perspectives. The intention is that KST Staff is present to pose questions that can help the artist think through various aspects of ideas.

The second month is focused on in-studio rehearsal and creation of a 30-minute draft of their project. Weekly meetings with KST Staff continue and shift focus towards actualizing production needs.The goal of the residency is for the artist to experiment and explore early iterations of ideas and share a draft of these concepts in front of an audience. At the end of the process, they will have valuable insight into further developing their project.