Highmark First Night Pittsburgh
Dec. 31 | Cultural District
About: Music headliner Byron Nash, giant inflatable rabbits from Australia, and 30 other pieces of visual and performing art featured this year as Highmark First Night Pittsburgh returns to the Cultural District. New this year, all events are free and open to everyone – free tickets required for select events. Read all about it here.
Opportunities (contact Robin Elrod for more information):
Reserved tickets for indoor performances.
Interviews with Festival Director Sarah Aziz and featured artists.
Special press preview of Intrude rabbits on Thursday, December 30.
Harris Theater
The Power of the Dog
playing Nov. 24 - Dec. 9, 2021
About: Benedict Cumberbatch gives a magnetic performance (our personal pick for this year's Best Actor award at the Oscars) as domineering Montana rancher Phil Burbank, who rains scorn on his delicate sister-in-law (Kirsten Dunst) and her withdrawn teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). But when Phil decides to take his nephew under his wing, his plan to toughen up the boy takes both of them into unexpected territory. By turns an epic western, a gothic melodrama, and a simmering thriller, this drama from auteur Jane Campion (The Piano, Bright Star) has racked up accolades on the festival circuit, including a Best Direction award at the Venice International Film Festival.
The Souvenir Part II
playing Dec. 10 - Dec. 16, 2021
About: In the aftermath of her tumultuous relationship with a charismatic and manipulative older man, Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) begins to untangle her fraught love for him in making her graduation film, sorting fact from his elaborately constructed fiction. Joanna Hogg’s shimmering story of first love and a young woman’s formative years, The Souvenir Part II is a portrait of the artist that transcends the halting particulars of everyday life—a singular, alchemic mix of memoir and fantasy.
Opportunities:
Interviews with Joseph Morrison, Harris Theater Venue Manager.
Tours of the newly renovated Harris Theater.
Press tickets.
Siegfried Tieber in Sixty-Seven Keys
Dec. 1 - Jan. 2, 2022 | Liberty Magic
About: Siegfried Tieber’s newest show, Sixty-Seven Keys, blurs the line between the improbable and the impossible. Storyteller and magician Siegfried Tieber uses sleight of hand, magic, and illusion to guide his audience through an unlikely journey unlocked by a single key selected by each night’s audience. Inspired by The Seven Keys to Baldpate – a book written in 1913 about a man who visits a secluded inn to find some peace and quiet only to be distracted by six other characters who also have keys to his chamber – Sixty-Seven Keys presents its own set of obstacles to overcome as mysteries unfold during every performance. When we flip a coin we create two possible outcomes, a fork in the road. Rolling a die unlocks six doors; shuffling a deck of cards creates more possibilities than the human mind can imagine. What happens when the choice of one single key unlocks an evening of unimaginable possibilities?
Opportunities (contact Robin Elrod for more information):
Press tickets.
Interviews with magician Siegfried Tieber, host Zoe Ruth, and producer Scott Shiller.
Liberty Magic venue tours.
Black Violin: Give Thanks
Dec. 2 | Byham Theater
Assets
About: For 17 years, Black Violin has been merging string arrangements with modern beats and vocals and building bridges in communities along the way. Members Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste first met in orchestra class at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, becoming classically trained on the violin and viola through their high school and college careers. Post-college, they reconvened to produce beats for South Florida rappers, and began building an audience in local clubs. They later went on to win Showtime at the Apollo in 2005, and eventually sold out headline performances at venues across the country, including a sold out two-night headline run at The Kennedy Center in 2018. NPR took note and declared “their music will keep classical music alive for the next generation.” Black Violin’s latest release, Take the Stairs, earned a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album”.
Opportunities:
Interviews with violinists Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste.
Press tickets.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Dec. 3 | Byham Theater
Assets
About: Everyone’s favorite holiday classic comes to life in the all-new touring production A Charlie Brown Christmas - Live on Stage! Join Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and the whole Peanuts gang as they put on their own Christmas play and ultimately discover the true meaning of the season. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Live on Stage! is a present the whole family can enjoy! Adapted from Charles M. Schulz’s timeless story of the spirit of Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas - Live on Stage! features the unforgettable music of Vince Guaraldi, as well as a concert of beloved holiday carols performed by the Peanuts characters. There’s no better way to discover the magic of the season!
Opportunities:
Interviews with touring cast and crew.
Press tickets.
Kara Spotlight Series
About: The Pittsburgh CLO and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust shine a light on Pittsburgh performers at the Greer Cabaret Theater in the Kara Spotlight Series, every Friday - Sunday this month.
Performance line-up:
Kara Spotlight Series: Caroline Nicolian
Dec. 3 - Dec. 5, 2021
Kara Spotlight Series: Chris Laitta
Dec. 10 - Dec. 12, 2021
Kara Spotlight Series: Drew Leigh Williams
Dec. 17 - Dec. 19, 2021
Opportunities:
Interviews with Pittsburgh CLO artists.
Press tickets.
The Second City: It’s a Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Life
Dec. 8 - Dec. 12, 2021 | O’Reilly Theater
About: : Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust have come together to present a hilarious, happy holiday revue this season – It’s a Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Life from The Second City. The improvisational comedy enterprise and theater troupe based in Chicago has presented training programs and live theater for more than 60 years. Consistently a starting point for comedians, award-winning actors, and directors, today The Second City boasts three locations in Chicago, Toronto, and Hollywood. In addition to its stages, Second City Touring Companies bring the famed improv and sketch comedy theater across North America and Abroad.
Opportunities (contact Robin Elrod for more information):
Press tickets.
Interviews with comedians.
Trust Arts Education: Second Saturday Workshops
Dec. 11, 2021 | Trust Arts Education Center
About: Second Saturday workshops presented by Trust Arts Education include programs for art enthusiasts of all ages, skill levels, and interests! Try something new and make your own unique works of art, genres include writing, painting, sewing, and more.
Theatre Production Workshop
12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
For Grades 9-12
Calling all aspiring performers, designers, producers and managers! Learn what it takes to put on a show from start to finish. This is more than just acting on the stage, but a full understanding of everything it takes to make a production – including the roles of set, costume, light and sound designers.
Screen Printing Workshop
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
For Grades 6-8
Whether you want to give someone a handmade gift or show off your personal style, this hands-on workshop will show you the ins and outs of screen printing, including creating a design and setting up a screen to print it onto a T-shirt, tote bag, or other fabric material provided.
Belly Dancing Workshop
4:00 - 6:00pm
For Adults
Join us for this hip-swiveling and celebratory dance class as we understand the fundamentals of bellydance: its health benefits, its cultural importance, and the expressive possibilities you can explore.
Opportunities:
Interviews with teaching artists.
Interviews with Trust Arts Education programming manager, Seth Laidlaw.
Complimentary workshop tickets.
Lindsey Stirling
Dec. 13, 2021 | Benedum Center
About: Lindsey Stirling remains fearless enough to always dream big. Since the release of her 2012 self-titled debut, the electronic music impresario, violinist, dancer, and artist quietly and humbly became one of the 21st century’s most innovative stars by clinging to her groundbreaking vision of cinematic violin-driven electronic music.
Opportunities:
Press tickets.
Straight No Chaser
Dec. 14, 2021 | Benedum Center
About: Straight No Chaser has emerged as a phenomenon with a massive fanbase and a long list of accomplishments including 2 RIAA Gold Certified albums, over 1.5 million concert tickets sold, over 1 billion streams on Pandora, and over 2 million albums sold worldwide.
Opportunities:
Interviews with touring cast and crew.
Press tickets.
Hip Hop Nutcracker
Dec. 30, 2021 Benedum Center
Assets
About: A holiday mash-up for the whole family, The Hip Hop Nutcracker is back and better than ever. Directed and choreographed by Jennifer Weber, The Hip Hop Nutcracker is a contemporary dance spectacle set to Tchaikovsky’s timeless music. A unique and joyful event, this evening-length production is performed by a supercharged cast of a dozen all-star dancers, a DJ, a violinist, and MC Kurtis Blow, one of hip hop’s founding fathers, who opens the show with a short set.
Opportunities:
Interviews with touring cast and crew including hip hop legend Kurtis Blow.
Press tickets.