About PICT Classic Theatre

Artistic Director: Elizabeth Elias Huffman

Elizabeth Elias Huffman was appointed PICT’s new Artistic Director in February of 2023. Together with the board, her first year has been one of restructuring and rebuilding the company’s financial solvency through various fundraising events, donations, and grants. She is now preparing for her first season with PICT and will be directing Andy Warhol’s Tomato by Vince Melocchi this fall with a special preview performance at the Warhol Museum on September 13th followed by a three week run at Carnegie Stage opening on September 20th, 2024.

 www.elizabethhuffman.com

Who We Are

Who is PICT?

PICT Classic Theatre is an internationally recognized, non-profit theatre company committed presenting the highest quality productions for the widest audience. Our productions feature innovative, minimalist design, and examine current social issues through the lens of classic text. With over 111 productions in our 25-year history, PICT continues to bring beloved works to the stage to approximately 6,000 patrons in person and 11,000 patrons online each season.

What is Classic Theatre? PICT's Minimalist Approach

We define a “classic” as a work that is true of its time and for all time. We define minimalism as the process of creating theatre with the actor as the center and heart of the presentation. The text and its themes and style come next. All other aspects of production and presentation such as setting, costumes, lighting, and sound are kept to a minimum and only serve to enhance and support the work of the actor.

Our productions celebrate the artistry of classic text through the craft of modern performance, but those are not our only strengths. PICT is also dedicated to the principle of employing local talent in all facets of the company, and to the duty of educating and training the next generation of Pittsburgh theatre makers in analysis, appreciation and execution of the performance of classic work.  Lastly, and most importantly, we are invested in our local community partnerships: a theater of Pittsburgh, by Pittsburgh, and for Pittsburgh. PICT strives through the art of theatre and the interpretation of classic text to create a platform for our community to discourse on the issues relevant to our current time, and work toward connection and solution.

Long after the curtain falls, PICT Classic Theatre will remind you of the moment you first felt the power of a great performance.

The Cast of PICT Classic Theatre's

AS YOU LIKE IT

The Cast of PICT Classic Theatre's AS YOU LIKE IT

Mission Statement

PICT Classic Theatre’s mission is to engage with, entertain, and serve the Pittsburgh community by examining current social issues through the lens of classic text.

Our Vision

To produce professional and challenging drama for the widest audience through innovative and imaginative theatrical presentation.

Core Values

  • We exist to serve as an essential artistic and educational resource for the Pittsburgh community.

  • We are dedicated to achieving the highest quality of artistic expression.

  • We demonstrate integrity and respect for others in all our dealings.

  • We create a safe and collaborative workspace founded in equity, inclusivity, and accessibility.

  • We endeavor always to be financially prudent and disciplined.

  • We operate as a Not-For-Profit organization.

Core Values Expanded

  • We believe in the power of live theatre, of art and of compassion.

  • We believe creativity is an essential part of what it means to be human.

  • We exist to bring people together for the unique emotional experience of theatre, especially the younger members of our community.

  • We are dedicated to the support of local artists and offer every encouragement to help them continue to make Pittsburgh their viable artistic home for this city's rich talent.

  • We serve as ambassadors to visiting artists who bring to Pittsburgh the best of talent from which we can learn.

  • We provide a professional theatre environment that is based on and around a committed team and acting company, where the best of new talent is nurtured.

  • We provide a theatrical experience that is family-friendly and welcoming to everyone. 

  • We create and uphold a culture of respect in all interactions with artists, staff, board, audiences, donors and vendors at every point of contact, that engages and nurtures all constituencies.

  • We are an environmentally pro-active organization that minimizes the negative impact of the inherently wasteful theatrical process.

  • We are dedicated to the building of clear, trusting and robust relationships with Foundation funders based on a commitment to work with them for the betterment of theatre experience for all; and especially in those areas for which their funding is dedicated.

  • We provide a theatre where donors, subscribers and all other attendees are given the highest quality experience of theatre both as guests and more importantly as stakeholders.

Board Members

  • Joseph Parsons, President

  • Theresa Donato, Executive Director / Treasurer

  • Carolyn S. Ludwig, Secretary

  • D. Larry Brophy, Vice Chair, Advisory Board

  • Laura Bunting

  • Gail Gerono

  • Pattie Hazen

  • Dolores Nypaver

  • Naveen Kumar

  • Heather Ruppert

Artistic Advisory Board

  • Alfred Molina

  • Carlos Carrasco

  • Frank Dwyer

  • Yussef El Guindi

  • Stuart W Howard

  • Louanne Moldovan

  • Lawrence Peters

  • Olga Sanchez Saltveit

  • Gemma Whelan

Advisory Board

  • Ashish Badjatia

  • Diane V. Byrnes

  • Eryn Correa

  • Kevin Geider

  • Kenneth "Kel" Laeger

  • Jim Lamb

  • Robert Levin

  • Charles & Karen Mollenberg

  • Jessica Neiss

  • Kristen Olsen PhD

  • Mona Rush EdD

  • Peter Smerd

  • Jennifer Trehar

  • Katheryn Wagner-Bowe

  • Adam Zell

“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”

Oscar Wilde

Our History

PICT Classic Theatre was founded as Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Inc., in 1996. It was founded in reaction to the closing of the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival and in order to provide a venue for local artists to perform classical works, a mission that has stayed constant throughout the years.

Our first show, The Constant Couple, was performed in May1997 in the Antonian Theater on the campus of Carlow Uniersity. After earning excellent reviews for that production, PICT went on to have a successful 1998 season, and the company grew exponentially. PICT Classic Theatre is now one of the largest professional theatre companies in the greater Pittsburgh region.

As of October 20, 2020, PICT has produced 110 main stage shows, including eleven world premieres, nine U.S. premieres, forty-six Pittsburgh premieres and four festivals.

Please consider making a donation to support our theatre