Q&A with Ali Hoefnagel About Gender Chaos, Queer Art, and Their Show ‘You Can Call Me Al’

Ali Hoefnagel

Next week, the Community Supported Art series presents You Can Call Me Al at the New Hazlett Theater on the Northside. I asked storytelling and artist Ali Hoefnagel to talk with us about their performance. You Can Call Me Al is a long-form story about growing up, getting gay, coming out, living with mental illness, and uncovering family […]

Q&A with Susan Stein, Playwright Offering Another Glimpse into the Holocaust Through the Diaries of Etty Hillesum

Etty The Play

Intersectionality is how to understand Etty Hillesum. She insists on not being defined by her circumstances (the Holocaust, yet unnamed), by her gender, by her religion, race, age, class, sexual orientation, political leanings. And yet she identifies herself as a woman, as a Jew, as a 28 year old middle class Dutch student. She is a truth seeker and digs deeply into her own self to work herself out. – See Etty the Play at Carnegie Stage February 7-10, 2019.

Q&A: Theater Artist Taylor Meszaros on Her Role As Stage Manager with City Theatre

 I tend to have two favorite aspects of stage management. The first is seeing a production through from start to finish. I love the process of making a play from first table read until closing day. Theatre evolves and is different each performance, and in that way it’s truly a living, breathing art. Every once in a while, a production comes along that just sticks with you. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience several of those shows at City Theatre.

The second favorite aspect is successfully calling difficult cues. I get a sense of small victory after I tackle a particularly challenging sequence, and I appreciate that it keeps my senses sharp.

Q&A: Rad Pereira Queers Prince Ferdinand in Pgh Public Production of The Tempest

Rad Pereira

How do you describe your identity? In a nutshell, I’d say I’m a brown queer genderfluid immigrant. My gender identity varies day by day. Style has been one of my most consistent modes of self-care because I can fully express myself through it, especially when I’m working in institutions where I’ve felt silenced.

Q&A: One Woman Play ‘Mrs. Shakespeare’ Explores Resiliency, Strength of Women Hidden in Shakespeare’s Writing

In mid-January, Carnegie Stage is hosting a tribute to Shakespeare on January 19 and 20, 2019. All About Will: Two One-Act Plays, including Friended by Shakespeare Written and Performed by Charles David Richards and Mrs Shakespeare, Will’s first & last love Written, compiled and performed by Yvonne Hudson. Tickets range from $5 to $15. We had a chance to […]

Q&A with Creator of ‘Good Luck With The Holidays’ Queer Resilience Zine

Queer Resiliency Zine Pittsburgh

I hope the message of our zine is that safety and joy come first, and that you absolutely deserve both as an LGBTQ person. It’s not always easy to see that when the message you’re getting from your family is that you aren’t allowed to participate in holidays and family unless you censor your queerness to make others comfortable.

Q&A: For Joe Wos, mazes are the oldest form of interactive gaming, discusses new book of American state themed mazes

Joe Wos Maze Toons

Name: Joe Wos Pronouns: He, Him, and Hey You! How do you describe your identity? Of all the things that define my identity, in many ways gender is low on the list for me personally. My identity is most defined by what I do. I am a cartoonist, maze artist and storyteller. Even when people describe […]

Review: A Christmas Carol at Carnegie Stage Gets Dickens Right

Spoiler – this adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic gets everything right about the systemic and institutional issues Dickens addressed without the sentimental Christmas washing we are usually handed. The playwrights here understand, as I like to say, that it wasn’t so much that Scrooge’s change of heart saved Tiny Tim as that fair wages, […]

Q&A: The Golden Gays NYC Bring “Thank Yule for Being a Friend” Show To Pittsburgh

Last week, I was tagged in a tweet informing me that I would make a great #Token Sophia. The tweeter was channeling Bea Arthur so I understood the Sophia reference if not the rest … @PghLesbian24 Sue! I think you would make a great #TokenSophia. https://t.co/LnRxkbsc40 — BeaArthur:AstralDame (@BeaAstralDame) November 29, 2018 Lo and behold, […]

Product Review: Ladybug Delightz Custom Pet Portraits & Animal Art

Review Custom Pet Art

Ladybug Delightz is a Pittsburgh based creator that offers custom pet portraits and animal inspired art. They specialize in prints, canvases, and slates with options for a realistic pet image or a pop art pet image. They have a range of ornaments with both pet themes and a terrific Pittsburgh print that pays homage to […]