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.
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
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