The drive from Athens, Ohio to Pittsburgh takes about three and a half hours, but considering that I was getting to see Othello staged for the first time, it was worth it. Not to mention, my acting coach, Shelley Delaney who is playing Emilia, and graduates of the OU MFA in Acting program, Georgia Mallory Guy and Allison McLemore who are doing Bianca and Desdemona.
So a few of my classmates and I braved the three hours happily, embarasingly belting show tunes and folk songs much of the way. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, or at least it is on a bright May afternoon! To be honest, just getting out of Athens made for a delightful day trip.
It was so exciting to see this masterful work of The Bard. It's truly one of my favorites, and the jealousy, deceit, sex and murder was so fun to see on stage. Also, it made me really proud to see the great work coming out of my program. Georgia Mallory Guy who played Claire in the recent production of Proof I was in, was a lovely Bianca. She was so strong and responsive every moment she was onstage. Allison McLemore, who I don't know personally, also did a fantastic job. Her Desdemona was wonderfully traditional in wilting flower Desdemona fashion.
I had never seen a Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre (PICT) production before either, and I really loved their space. They're location is perfect, its right by University of Pittsburgh which gives the whole neighborhood a very college town feel. Lots of little restaurants, gardens, and statues of dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs.
We had dinner at a little Mediterranean place with Shelley and Georgia, and then grabbed some Caribou Coffee and headed back home to Athens. Successful day.
