How It Started

The Early History of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival as told by Donna Rae

New Works Festival 1991- Pittsburgh New Works Festival started when I bought a lot of gowns at a very good price and had no place to wear them. If I organized a theatre festival and had a party afterwards for theatre people, I could wear the gowns. Actually, it was in a playwright's festival two years before the start of New Works when I was working as an actress developing a new role. It was so much fun to develop a character no one had ever seen before. She was mine. (This festival failed because the person in charge took on all the responsibilities and wore out.) I talked to some people I trusted about having a theater festival where local theatres would each produce a new play. A board would be formed to raise the money to get the plays on the stage. People said I was crazy (a term used a lot to describe my ideas). “You'll never get theater people to work together.” Well, the challenge was there. I hate the word never. I called a meeting of theatre people who I had worked with and trusted. I had two friends there to protect and support me, in case the meeting got out of hand. An agenda was handed out.

It was one of the most remarkable meetings I had ever attended, much less run. For every negative comment, someone came up with a positive. I had nothing to gain or lose by the decisions made at this meeting. I can organize well (yes, in my own way). The project was a go. After everyone left, the three of us sat there amazed at the energy, enthusiasm and positive feeling from this group of talented people. Eight theatre groups were picked to produce ten plays: American Performing Arts, Apple Hill, Pyramid Productions, CCAC Boyce Campus, Flying Pig, New Group, CCAC South Campus and Laurel Highlands, aka Acting Company.

The next step was to form a board. Trudy Scott, professor at CCAC Boyce Campus, allowed New Works to use her 501c3 issued in the name of Pennsylvania Repertory Theater. Bless her. I called on some friends who were influential, crazy or good at organizing and asked if they could come on board for one year to get it started. I can be persuasive. They were on. Next, I went to the Leadership Pittsburgh Book to see which people had listed theatre among their interests.

Then I started calling. A friend said, “You can't get a board from a book.” Watch me. I hit gold, diamond, and platinum all in the same call when I reached Bruce McGillivray. “Bruce, you don't know me but I'm organizing an event to do new one-act plays. I'm not sure if it's going to work but, if it does, it will be great for theatre in Pittsburgh. Do you want to help out?” His reply: “Well, okay. My wife loves theatre. Do you mind if she comes along?” “Bring the whole family.” Bruce was a vice president at Allegheny Ludlum. He called other companies and got us $9,000 for a project that we didn't know would work. Janet Sarbaugh, another angel, got us $2,000 from an anonymous donor. I told Janet I didn't know if the project would work, but she had faith.

Our first meeting was at the Convention Center. I was outside the meeting room, and no one was showing up. I looked over the railing with board member Linda Becker and wondered why no one was there. Well, they had changed the meeting room. Someone finally found us. I was 20 minutes late for my first meeting with the board, whose purposes were to raise money and organize the event to put new theatre on the stage. Our meetings were and still are a little unorthodox, but anyone and everyone who has been on this board or helped as an advisor did everything within their capacity to get the event on the stage and make it a success. I've never worked with such caring, devoted people—low key, no egos, just getting the job done for theatre in Pittsburgh—and what a job they did. Each person involved was remarkable in talent and energy and theatre should be most grateful to these people.

There are a number of goals that were set at the beginning of New Works. First, the name—we wanted to incorporate new music and new dance into the festival, but as we talked to people, the addition of these two elements seemed too much of a challenge because of their individual needs. One of the most important goals was to try to get theatre people other jobs by showcasing their talents in New Works so they could go on, be noticed, and make some money. God only knows they didn't make any with us. The first two years we didn't pay them anything.

To reach our goal we needed people to show up for auditions. I was told no one would come. “They don't even know what it's about. The actors won't give up their time.” To help actors to get jobs, we decided to invite all of the local casting companies to the auditions. In six hours, they could see many people, hopefully offering them jobs. We held the auditions at the Public Theatre, a perfect place for our needs. Auditions ran on time, no waiting. They were casting for the movie, Lorenzo’s Oil, and everyone said, “People will audition only because of that; then if NW casts them, they will turn it down.” We still had to take that chance and have confidence that the actors would accept the challenge we were giving them. There were 137 actors who auditioned. It still is one of the most thrilling theatre events to see—all of this talent, a different person every two minutes, and it's all here in Pittsburgh.

The auditions were overwhelming. Then came the casting. Theatre groups started yelling at each other: “I want him! I want her!” I started to cry—oh no, if no one will do the play, what will I do with all the money? Ted Hoover quietly told me to sit back and let it work itself out, and it did. It was like trading important baseball cards. All the directors knew all the plays, so they knew who needed what. It worked out. The worst part was that there were so many talented people who didn't get picked because there weren't enough roles. The first year we received 125 plays for consideration.

I wanted to do children's plays, but we got only one play, and in it Cinderella killed everyone. We didn't think that would work, so we nixed the children's plays until the 1996 season. The theatres, each with a different personality and each with a different need, picked their plays through a lottery system. Our first press party was at the Holiday Inn on McKnight Road. One glitch—one play, picked by Apple Hill Playhouse, had been produced before. They had to pick another play that night before we announced the winners. God bless Pat Beyer and Denise Pullen for being so easy to get along with and for being such professionals as to know the importance of what we were doing. Bill O'Donnell was our production manager. What a saint. He was professional. Theatre people respected him and the rehearsals went off perfectly.

The first year we had the event at The Pit. I have no idea how City Theatre survived there so long. We had to set off a flea bomb, but at least we had a place to pull off the event. The people taking reservations never kept track of the numbers. Bruce was a wreck fearing that we wouldn't make any money, so he let everyone in. They were up the aisles, on the floor, taking the prop chairs from the stage saying, “If they're actors, they can act like they are sitting.” No Fire Marshall, thank heavens. The week went off perfectly. Boyce Campus did a play called Untitled—The Line and what a line it had: “I'm bigger; no, I'm bigger.” That line was heard everywhere there were theatre people gathered. It was great for New Works. In the second week, a playwright lengthened her play, and we had to switch the order of plays to accommodate her. New rule—no changes during production. The third week was great, and we got through the first season.

Another goal was to keep ticket prices so so low that people who had never been to theatre would come, hopefully to enjoy and support the other theatre groups. At first, a season festival pass was $12.00 or $5.00 per night. It is still $5.00 per night. I hope this never changes. Someone needs to introduce new people to theatre. Hopefully affordable prices will always be a part of the New Works’ philosophy. The audiences, from the first night, have been, and continue to be a very important part of the Festival. Yes, all audiences are important, but ours are special because they give a wonderful energy to what is happening on the stage. There is this magical link between them and the actors, a feeling that is different from other events. Whether they like the play or come out saying, “What the heck was that about?”, they are always supportive of the action and actors on the stage. It's a feeling unlike any I have witnessed in a theater setting. A special bond is formed. I asked the actors about it and they all feel the affection from this group. There is a special place in our hearts for the people who have supported us from the beginning, but it's fun to see new people come out of the theater with this look of fulfillment on their faces. New Works truly shares the moment with the actors and the audience.

The Gala—the first gown-wearing party was to be held at Rosebud, newly opened. Well, they didn't get their liquor license, so I decided to move the Gala two days before the event. I called my good friend (so many good friends, without whom there would be no New Works) Jimmy Kiesel, the manager of the Convention Center. I told him I needed a space for a party, a meal for $10.00 each, on Sunday. “No problem. We'll have something ready by next...” “No, Jimmy, in two days.” “Oh, okay, we can do something. Let's talk with the caterer.” The caterer literally opened the freezer, told me what he had, and that is how the menu was established. We had no idea who was coming. Yes, there were reservations, but theatre people have a way of just showing up. Another friend had a limo service, and I talked him into having two limos at Rosebud in case people showed up there. That evening it was pouring down rain. I was outside Rosebud just to make sure no one got lost. I was in a sweat suit. No one showed up there and I literally put my gown on in the Rosebud parking lot. Off with the suit and into a sequined gown. This was not how I wanted to do the gown thing.

The Gala was a big success. Will Disney won the Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding work in theatre. The critics gave the winners their trophies. A theatre company at the Gala sent a petition around protesting the awards. The paper ended up at my table with about 40 names on it. I didn't look at the names; I didn’t want to know, but I did know who started it. I ripped it up into small pieces and threw them at their table. The awards were not intended to cause competition but were to be conduits for New Works and theatre so people will talk about the plays after the fact, hopefully again getting people jobs and getting more people interested in theatre.

The Pittsburgh critics play an enormous part in the success of New Works. Their ongoing support of the project keeps it in the public eye. Their suggestions make the event stronger. They come to the events; they give out the awards. They are an integral part of the balance in New Works. They believed from the start in the project and have done everything within their power to write about the process and the productions. I truly believe that without their help in the first year, we would not have been a success.

It's a really good thing that our first fund raiser took place after the first season. Otherwise, the Festival may never have happened. Carnival et Couture was the name of the fashion show we planned for a fundraiser: fifteen stores, theatre people as models, Rosebud as the location, and Ann Devlin and Bill Flannigan as the hosts. Well, I never learn to do things simply. We had people singing rock, folk, opera, love songs, in duets and with a band. We had clowns, mimes who talked, sword swallowers, magicians, jugglers and other entertainers. Ann Devlin and Bill Flannigan, her husband, wore a zoot suit. They looked scared. In the invitation, we forgot to say that it was a brunch. We had more people in the show than in the audience, but everyone ate well. I never had my name called as much in a year as that day—clothes flying; three different hair salons doing hair; people using the owner's office and being thrown out of it. The show was fabulous. Viewing the event was exciting; behind the scenes it was mayhem. The show took 3+ hours. Ann and Bill still don't return phone calls. Some people didn't talk to me for a few months. We lost $600 but it was a good idea.

Our next fund raiser came when Don Reed, at a board meeting, said, “Too bad we can't do something with those parking chairs.” The old mind started clicking, scaring all the board members in the room. They've seen that look before. The Great Pittsburgh Parking Chair auction was born. We have held the event for three years, the first year at a firehall and the next two at The Rivers Club. Oxford Centre exhibited the chairs for a month prior to the auction, giving the artists some exposure. It was amazing what the artists did with plain chairs. They were so creative, beautiful and so much fun. Auctioneers Larry and Carol Farley, from Dargate Galleries, ran the show. Gary Schemer, the sergeant who ordered the chairs removed from Dormont streets, was our honorary chairperson along with KDKA's Mary Robb Jackson. The event was a lot of work but we were able to get different people involved in New Works.

In 1994 the Festival went to four weeks and twelve groups participated, and we held staged readings of six runners up. There were just too many talented actors who didn't get parts, plus we could then showcase more playwrights and directors. There was concern that people might lose interest going four weeks, but it didn't seem like we missed a beat with the additional week.

The entire process has seemed so incredible, bringing all of these different talents together, working with one another towards one common goal. By 1997, the festival had produced 87 new plays. The board, advisors and friends were doing everything they could to put the event on the stage, the audience was embracing the words and the action and showing appreciation for the creation, all in an effort to develop new theatre in Pittsburgh.

We've had plays published and produced off Broadway in New York, actors who have received jobs in commercials, movies, training films and work at other theatres and directors have been given more job choices. The energy, enthusiasm and talent of everyone involved makes Pittsburgh New Works Festival the hit that it is.

---Donna Rae

Claiming that she had run out of gowns, and to the surprise of many people, Donna Rae resigned her position as Executive Director on October 7, 1997, feeling confident that her Festival would thrive in the capable hands of Joe Adler, Rene Conrad, Al Jennings, Jeff Leonard, Kris Lloyd, Tracey McCarthy, Demetria Mellott, Marilyn Painter, Tracey Perles, Marty Sheets, Bonnie Tambellini, Ricky Walters, and Susan Zimecki.

Our story began with a big vision. The video above, though filmed several years ago, still perfectly captures the core mission and heart of our work that continues today.