Bridges Theater Company is no longer sponsored by the Pittsburgh Playhouse.
Bridges Theater Company began in the Fall of 2020 with the announcement of a debut season titled “In Our Own Voices,” in conjunction with Point Park University’s BFA Theatre Arts program.
Aryan Cheruvattath, a junior theater arts student, is the former artistic director of Bridges Theater Company (Bridges). Cheruvattath has signed on as executive producer this semester while Bridges is “reworking.”.
Until now, Bridges received $2,000 for a whole school year, leaving $500 per show. Now Bridges will, like other student organizations, receive funding through Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership (SAIL).
“It opens up a lot of opportunities for us,” Cheruvattath said.
As a result, there will be no shows for Bridges this semester as they find funding.
In a statement via email, Kiesha Lalama said “As we continue to evaluate the growth and transformational goals of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, it has become clear that there is a particular need for the Rauh Theatre to be prioritized for both curriculum- and professional-based productions and events. The student clubs have access to many spaces on campus that would be better suited for their extracurricular projects.”
Cheruvattath is also president of COPA Theater Club and said he is looking for more opportunities for students, like cabarets and workshops.
“Student theater isn’t going away,” Cheruvattath said. “My best advice to students is, if you seek out opportunities, you will find them. Sometimes you just gotta push a little harder.”
Pinnacle Productions, a student theater company established in 2018, shut down because of the changes.
Bridges theater company made a statement about the changes via Instagram.
“For four amazing years Bridges Theatre Company has had a successful run in creating theatre that has enriched, empowered and inspired the Point Park student population. As the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Contemporary Theatre Making major goes through changes reflecting the current views of administration, the decision has been made to dissolve Bridges as an entity sponsored by the Pittsburgh Playhouse. While this decision might come as a shock, we wanted to let you know that Bridges Theatre Company is not planning on going anywhere!”
“Freshman aren’t eligible to audition for main stage shows in the first semester,” Cheruvattath said. “They aren’t allowed to work on anything, so it isn’t affecting them too much, but by second semester Bridges should be up and running so they can audition.”
Stella Frazer, a senior theater production major with a focus in design, has worked on five shows in the Rauh Theater.
“With Bridges there was far less at stake and more room to make mistakes,” Frazer said. “[Bridges] offered really great learning opportunities through design.”
“It was a hallmark of the program,” Frazer said. “By removing Bridges from the Playhouse they have completely gutted student theater for production students, because now they don’t have access to a professional theater space.”
After a very long hiatus, the Playhouse began using the Rauh Theater for conservatory main stage shows again. Lysistrata: A Woman’s Translation will be performed in the Rauh Theater Oct. 9-19.
While student theater companies do have access to other spaces on campus for extracurricular projects – like the stage space located in Boulevard Apartments – they are not the same caliber as the Rauh Theater, which is a professional grade performance space.
“A lot of shows in Boulevard 100 that I’ve seen have used lighting in creative ways, because Boulevard 100 has a stage area, but it doesn’t have proper stage lights,” Frazer said. “It’s never going to be anywhere near what you can do in the Rauh [Theater].”
Frazer said that Bridges offered amazing opportunities to students while it lasted.
While Theater Chair Juan Rivera Lebron did not know the details of how this decision came to be, he believes it was born out of a growth mindset.
“Our student-run theater company Bridges and the other things students do are a really vital part of student life here for the theater students,” Rivera Lebron said.
“[This change] does not mean that students are not going to be as involved or that they will not have support as a theater company,” Rivera Lebron said. “I think they are still a huge asset for our students. I actually think this will benefit them because it frees them up to do individual things.”
“I think it’s a really vital part of the community for our students and it is going to continue to be. Ultimately, a student-run theater company wants to be independent. So, as we shift and change from department to school, it seems a natural part of the process that they should go and be independent.”
