CP Photo: Amanda Waltz
A sign for PICT Classic Theatre hangs over the entrance to WQED Studio in Oakland
CP Year in Review: A&E editor Amanda Waltz's favorite stories of 2022
After Dobbs, some Pittsburghers opt for sterilization as permanent birth control // Nov. 9, 2022
After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe, people across the country started making big birth control decisions, and Pittsburgh was no exception. I was honestly surprised at the number of people willing to speak with me about getting salpingectomies and vasectomies and saw it as an important step to destigmatizing and opening conversations about the various realities of this issue.
Saint Ravioli brings heavenly pasta to Bloomfield // Aug. 17, 2022
Justin Avi took a pandemic hobby and turned it into a business, becoming a one-man ravioli machine turning out thousands of little dumplings. More interviews should end with someone insisting you take home a box of homemade ravioli.
Pittsburgh theater company accused of canceling show over alleged "sexual misconduct" // June 30, 2022
For years, rumors swirled about PICT Classical Theatre's artistic and executive director, but it wasn't until the theater company suddenly canceled its anticipated production of Boys in the Band that people came forward. After City Paper ran this story, PICT announced that the person in question was fired.
Bottlerocket Social Hall wants to spark a comedy scene in Allentown // June 29, 2022
Allentown has slowly become a destination for vegan food, coffee, music, and more. Then Bottlerocket swooped in with a plan to attract some of the country's most innovative comedy acts to the neighborhood. From the time this article ran, the venue has presented multiple, often sold-out shows, as well as film screenings, DIY theater shows, dance parties, and so much more.
Mattress Factory group exhibit finds artists caught in middle of conflict // April 27, 2022
Curator Tavia La Follette provided valuable insight into how the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the long-planned Pop-Aganda: Revolution & Iconography group exhibition. The show stood as a tangible example of how war impacts lives, paying ode to missing pieces and informing audiences of measures taken to protect the identity of Russia-based artists. I was also floored by the works of Syanda Yaptik and Sonya Kelliher-Combs, which demonstrated, with heartbreaking severity, the impact colonization, and organized religion have had on Indigenous populations in Russia and Alaska.
