OPS Theater Spring 2022 Events Approaching

Off Pitt Street Theater (OPS), Bedford, will play host to “Molly’s Hammer,” a play based on true local events in the 1980s.

According to Director Dawn Ziviello, “It is a really compelling drama about community activism and putting others before yourself.”

The play features Molly Rush, a suburban housewife from Dormont near Pittsburgh in 1980. Molly was working with a group called The Plowshares Eight, a political and social activist group adamantly against the prospect of nuclear war. They took many actions to protest nuclear war. The group drove to the GE Manufacturing facility in King of Prussia to stage a pretty bold protest where Molly smashed two nuclear war nose cones. The group also had a stand in, where they protested the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. The real Molly Rush is still alive at 90 years old.

“We have actually been in touch with her,” said Ziviello. “She still lives in the Pittsburgh area. She is really happy that we are producing this story.”

The show opens on Friday, Feb. 18, and will run for two weekends. The dates and times are Feb. 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 7 p.m. There will also be a 3 p.m. show on Feb. 19. Admission is donation only.

Ziviello added that they have custom pins for Molly’s Hammer.

“We have two different pin styles. Anybody who makes a $20 donation will get a custom-made Molly’s Hammer pin.”

Masks are required for all guests.

Ziviello noted that OPS is currently holding auditions for the Sixth Annual Winners Showcase. The first-place winner is the first ever two-time first-place winner.

Anna Lauffer, a woman from Duncansville, won this year with her new play “From the Pom Poms of Time.” Last year, she was the first-place winner with her play “Double Blind.”

“We are very happy for her,” said Ziviello. “She is very excited to have her work done again.”

Ziviello said the second-place winner, Michael Corle, won with his first-ever submission, “Knight Club.”

“You can surmise that there will be costuming involved,” said Ziviello.

The third-place winner is a gentleman from Maryland, Richard Maslo, with his play “Dirty.”

Ziviello said that this is her favorite event of the year.

“I love doing new work that has never been done before,” Ziviello said.

The showcase will open April 1 and run through April 9 with at least one matinee. Auditions will be held Sunday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m., and Monday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m.

Ziviello said OPS is working with acclaimed playwright Jerry Slaff. He is originally from Brooklyn. He currently resides north of the Washington, D.C., area. He submitted an original full-length play called “Grand Union,” which will be workshopped at OPS in the spring for a first-time production in the summer.

According to Ziviello, the group is looking for a culturally diverse cast of readers to help in the workshop process.

Those interested in participating may reach out to info@offpittstreet.com or call (814) 310-1987. There is also a link on the website. Anybody who is a reader should have a casting priority.

“Grand Union” is about the era of the great railways in the Altoona, Johnstown and Hagerstown regions and how the decline of that era changed the communities. The workshop will be held April 23 at 3 p.m.

Ziviello also said the group is doing an exciting collaboration with screenwriter Jesse Puffenbarger, who is from the Frostburg, Md., area. Puffenbarger just completed the writing of a sci-fi series called “Doorways.”

“We will be producing it for the first time ever, beginning in the spring,” said Ziviello. “It is a seven-episode series. We will produce it for both live radio and streaming.”

Production will start in the spring, but dates are to be announced. Production will span a 14-week period with every other week being a live performance and intermittent weeks being for recording and production.

For information on these or any other events at Off Pitt Street Theater, visit their website http://www.offpittstreet.com.