Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Mark Clayton Southers and Andrew Paul know what they are getting into by starting a professional theater company in Pittsburgh, and yet, here they go again. The Phoenix -- the name of the new company -- rises not so much from ashes but from the idea of the mythological creature found in cultures worldwide, in keeping with the theme of culture clashes that runs through the three Pittsburgh premiere plays and one musical that form the inaugural season.
5 comments:
Starting up a new theatre company is difficult, especially when there is little to no financial backing. Connections really are the way to get anything done in this world. Both of them had been fired from their previous companies and then just boom went right back into show business, starting a new company in Pittsburgh of all places. There are a few performance companies that don't have rehearsal or performance spaces, so I wonder what they have planned to use. I wish them the best of luck!
I admire the ambition of these two men. I wonder who their target audience is with this new company. I am also curious about their mission. I wonder what challenges they will face that will be different from other challenges they have had in the past because of burned bridges and soiled relationships with their previous organizations.
I think it is interesting how the two men are taking what they have learned of other cultures from their trips abroad and bring them here to Pittsburgh while also intending to build theatre that can then be taken internationally to these same places. I'm excited to see how this company progresses and believer that they have great potential. This theatre group's future could be a good gauge for the cultural support present in Pittsburgh.
With unemployment as low as it is for artists, Mr. Southers and Mr. Paul are the epitome of creating opportunities and work for self. But not only are they creating jobs for themselves, they are creating jobs for local artists. What i love the most, is how they plan to bring together their own multicultural experiences and backgrounds, to create theatre that cultures its audiences.
Wow these two people are starting a new theater in Pittsburgh... Mark Clayton Southers was basically forced out of PICT (the theater he created) by everyone involved because he was such a bad Artistic Director and Andrew Paul was linked to AWC a company that was/is having huge financial problems. It is amazing that these two people want to continue in theater after they were met with such bad feedback. Maybe "Phoenix" (such and appropriate name) will be something new that will be great but who would agree to be on their board and why would you ever start a theater company in the economic climate at all?
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