City Theatre Celebrates 50 Years

Fat Ham is a modern revamp of Shakespeare’s Hamlet

City Theatre Company is a professional theater company on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Established in 1975 as the City Players, the theater has grown into the Pittsburgh treasure we know today, thanks to the dedicated work of the staff and a volunteer board of directors. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, City Theatre Company continues to fulfill the mission of bringing new plays to Pittsburgh and residents in the surrounding areas. North Hills Monthly spoke to Marketing Director Nikki Battestilli to learn more about this thriving theater company.

City Theatre

North Hills Monthly (NHM): Tell us how and when City Theatre was founded.

Nikki Battestilli (Battestilli): City Theatre was founded in 1975 by Marjorie Walker and a group of actors, most of whom were Carnegie Mellon School of Drama graduates. The company’s first productions were free to the public and performed around Pittsburgh in parks, schools, and senior centers, as well as at the Allegheny Community Theatre (now the New Hazlett Center for the Performing Arts). In 1979, it moved to be in residence at the University of Pittsburgh, where it grew a national reputation for producing contemporary works at the Annex in Oakland under Artistic Director Marc Masterson. The theater became independent from the University of Pittsburgh in the late ’80s and moved to its current South Side home in 1991. If you’re interested in City Theatre’s history, you can visit its archives at the Archives & Special Collections through the University of Pittsburgh Library System.

NHM: What is the mission of City Theatre and how has it changed since its inception?

Battestilli: City Theatre’s mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays that engage and challenge a diverse audience. Our mission has remained largely the same since the company’s founding, and it has been a guiding star in City Theatre’s programming and vision for 50 years.

NHM: Describe the theater’s core values.

Battestilli: City Theatre’s core values are community, collaboration, creativity, and equity, diversity, inclusion & accessibility. They are rooted in the theater’s origins as a multiracial company that offered free plays for communities throughout Pittsburgh, and inform all the ways we currently produce and develop theater. City Theatre strives to be a gathering space for artists and audiences alike, where they can expect a welcoming and inclusive experience and art that challenges, entertains, and celebrates the vibrant Pittsburgh artistic landscape.

Birthday Candles examines one woman’s life – one birthday at a time – and asks where our place in the universe is and what would you risk for the perfect gift.

NHM: Why are new plays so important?

Battestilli: New plays are the lifeblood of the American theatre! We produce work that invites audiences to lean in, experience a world or viewpoint they may never have seen on stage before, and directly engage in this current moment. Whether we’re presenting a Pittsburgh premiere or a play that has never been on stage before, new work allows both audiences and artists to be part of a national conversation, interrogate the world we inhabit, and bring new stories to life in Pittsburgh.

NHM: How does your audience shape what you do? Tell us about ways you encourage young people to buy tickets.

Battestilli: We’re producing work for, with, and about Pittsburgh. We think deeply about our audiences in our programming. What stories do they want and need to see on stage? How are we pushing the medium forward and telling stories that make audiences laugh, cry, and think? We’re deeply committed to intergenerational audiences and building the next generation of theatergoers. We encourage young people to buy tickets by engaging with them early in life. Our education programs go into schools and allow students to learn the building blocks of theater. Through our Young Playwrights Program, students learn to create stories and bring them to life. Our student matinee program brings middle school and high school students to our campus to experience live theater. We have discounted ticket programs for audiences under 30 to ensure that price isn’t a barrier to attend a live show.

We Are Among Us explores the fallout from a single imagined incident that took place during the military conflict in Afghanistan.

NHM: Tell us about some of your special outreach programs such as Momentum and the Young Playwrights Festival.

Battestilli: City Theatre has a number of initiatives that support both educational programming and expanding the communities we engage with. That starts with our education department, run by Director of Education & Accessibility Katie Trupiano. City Theatre’s flagship education program is Young Playwrights, which introduces the craft of playwriting to middle school and high school students throughout the region and culminates with our Young Playwrights Festival (which just celebrated its 25th anniversary). The festival produces scripts by middle school and high school students selected from hundreds of submissions and offers those writers their first professional production! City Theatre also has a robust community engagement program, City Connects, that has partnered the theater with hundreds of Pittsburgh-based nonprofits, highlighting their work in conjunction with performances and bringing our artists out into the community.

NHM: How does City Theatre benefit from volunteers? How can people become volunteers for City Theatre?

Battestilli: Our volunteer Board Members guide and lead our organization! We also have volunteer ushers who greet audiences at our performances. Those interested in getting involved can email jchapman@citytheatrecompany.org.