Theatre Profile –Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre

The Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) was founded in 1996 by Andrew S. Paul and Stephanie Riso. Since then, the PICT has become a significant contrubutor to the “cultural fabric” of Pittsburgh. They have almost 2000 loyal season subscribers and an annual attendance of over 23,000. They are a member of the theatre communications group (TCG) and every year are ranked on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's list of the city's Top 50 Cultural Forces. PICT was named Theatre of the Year-in both 2004 and 2006 by the critics of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PICT performs in the Stephen Foster Memorial building - a City of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania state Historical Landmark located on Forbes Avenue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The building houses the Stephen Foster Memorial Museum, the Center for American Music, as well as two theatres: the 478-seat Charity Randall Theatre and 151-seat Henry Heymann Theatre.

Andrew S. Paul grew up in Rome, Italy where he attended Notre Dame International School. He trained as an actor at the Guildford School of Acting in London, England and then got his degree in Economics and Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the Founding Artistic Director of PICT. Under his leadership, PICT has produced 36 main-stage productions and completed two successful international tours; his production of Faith Healer played 13 venues in Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2002, and Major Barbara played 14 sold-out performances at the 2003 Galway Arts Festival. In 2006 PICT’s BeckettFest, all 19 of Samuel Beckett’s stage plays, was named “Performance of the Year” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and “Theatre Event of the Year” by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Paulis a panelist for the Theatre Program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and is a recent Pittsburgh Magazine “40 Under 40” honoree. He has annually been named one of Pittsburgh's "Top 50 Cultural Power Brokers" by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

The “mission” is the creation of high quality, professional thought-provoking theatre of substance. They accomplish this by “promoting the community and region, and by producing and presenting classics and the “modern” classics of Irish and world theatre. We continue to explore innovative ideas that showcase the emotional power of a play and its ability to stir the soul in unimaginable ways.”

PICT’s Learning in Three Acts program gives teachers the opportunity to engage, challenge and entertain their students while connecting them to great works of literature. They also bring actors to the schools through the Classics Alive! and PICT on Tour programs.

The Pittsburgh Irish and Classical theatre offers a fair amount of volunteer work and internships. General (seasonal) internship opportunities include: General Management, Public Relations/Marketing, Development (writing and office work, mostly), Education, Sales and Telemarketing, Production (creative) and Production (technical). In the summer of 2009, I was fortunate enough to intern with the PICT. I worked with their public relations and marketing team, answering phones, stuffing envelopes, etc. I worked under the Development Director, Gale McGloin. I was then fortunate enough to work on the creative production team for their production of The History Boys.

http://www.picttheatre.org/