That’s right – Attack Theatre’s award-winning Game Night and the Seven-Minute Dance Series is hitting the road (we’re coming downtown so conference attendees can walk the mere 298 feet to play games with us!) and we’re setting up shop in our old studio at 937 Liberty Avenue!

And hey – we even made a video about how awesome the walk from the conference center to 937 Liberty Avenue is! Watch Michele de la Reza give you a personal tour from the front of the August Wilson Center to the venue for Game Night. She may be a dancer, but she’s funny, too!

Here are all the fun details:

Attack Theatre presents

Game Night and the Seven-Minute Dance Series

Friday, October 1, 2010

10:30pm – 12am

937 Liberty Avenue

Downtown Pittsburgh (289 feet from the conference center)

Join Attack Theatre and PennPAT for the first Game Night and the Seven-Minute Dance Series of the season at 937 Liberty Avenue – only 289 feet from the conference location (google it if you don’t believe us). “Wildly entertaining and hellishly fun” (Dance Magazine), join Pittsburgh’s Best Dance Company (City Paper 2007, 2008 and 2009) for drinks, food and some good old-fashioned schoolyard fun and games: Four-Square, backgammon, 3-D tic-tac-toe, vintage Atari games, darts and Connect Four. Game Night has been voted one of the best places to meet singles in Pittsburgh and the “Best Place to Play Four-Square with Professional Dancers.” Challenge a dancer to a game of backgammon, mingle with Pittsburgh artists, enjoy short excerpts from Attack Theatre repertoire, and imbibe with special Pennsylvania libations (Yuengling beer is a sponsor!).

For more information about the company or Game Night festivities, please visit www.attacktheatre.com or booth #393B

See you all this week!

As you walk east down Penn Avenue, you’ll arrive in the Strip District, one of the focal points of Pittsburgh history.  While the Strip used to be home to the produce yards, where fresh food was shipped to be distributed to the entire region, today it is home to some of the best specialty stores and restaurants in the city. While Italian stores are prominent with Sunseri’s (2010 Penn Ave.), Pennsylvania Macaroni (2010 Penn Ave.) and La Prima Coffeehouse (2100 Smallman Street), the Lotus Market (1649 Penn Ave.) and Labad’s (1727 Penn Ave.) highlight the cultural intersections of diversity here.

You can go to DeLuca’s (1000 Penn Avenue) to enjoy a 6 egg white omelette, or indulge in their specialty pancakes. Many Pittsburghers take a late breakfast or early lunch to enjoy their hot turkey sandwich with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy. Next door at Reyna Foods (2023 Penn Ave.) you can watch tortillas being freshly made and packed off of the conveyor belt and buy their delicious pico de gallo. Enrico’s Biscotti Company (2022 Penn Ave.) is respected not only for their Italian pastries but for their buttery croissants.

In case you aren’t stuffed yet, you can always dine at Lidia’s (1400 Smallman Street) where world-renowned chef Lidia Bastianich’s dishes dazzle the local and tourist. Be sure to stock up on all of your Pittsburgh sports paraphernalia at the Mike Feinberg Company (1736 Penn Ave.) while you’re there, too!

thestrippgh.com

All events take place at a variety of galleries and spaces and are FREE and open to the public. The event is ongoing between 5:30 and 9:00 pm, and patrons may start at any location.

Downtown will be bustling with activity, as thousands of people visit the galleries, restaurants and other stops along the way.  Check out the Schedule of Eventstaking place right around your hotel!

I also want to extend a personal invitation to come visit the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, as we unveil our first ever exhibit in our new office space (810 Penn Avenue.)  Oh, and we’ll also have chocolate fondue!  Hope to see you there.

Zany Umbrella Circus

PennPAT roster artist Zany Umbrella Circus will perform on the sidewalk outside the entrance to PNC Park starting at 6:45 pm on Wednesday, September 29.  As you arrive by bus or by foot for the PAE Opening Reception, take a couple of minutes to enjoy a few circus vignettes before moving inside for dinner, drinks and music.

Zany Umbrella Circus builds and strengthens communities through the folk artistry of contemporary circus — particularly puppetry, circus, music, storytelling, street theatre and visual arts — and through education. Their performances and residencies both in the United States and abroad have brought together diverse audiences to share in the magical experience that is circus art. 

Enjoy video of their newest work, “Cake” and a slide show from a recent month-long residency in Amman, Jordan:
link to video on Vimeo – http://vimeo.com/14997653
link to slideshow on Flickr -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/childrenmuseumjo/sets/72157624685557812/

Zany Bus

Have a tonic tonic. Right across the street from the Convention Center, on the corner of 10^th Street and Liberty Avenue, is tonic bar & grill. tonic has a cozy, casual atmosphere, no uppercase letters, and an eclectic menu. Their signature drink is the tonic tonic, made with vodka not gin, and other unknown ingredients that make it taste like “we’ll have another round.” Refreshing, delicious and highly recommended.

Backstage Bar. As the name implies, the Backstage Bar is attached to the CLO Cabaret Theater, and because of its showbiz pedigree many of the drinks have names like the Ruby Red Sipper (created for Wicked) and the Phantom of the Olive (obvious). Many nights during the week there will be some sort of live music, and if you’re there at the right time the cast of whatever is playing in the surrounding theaters may belly up to the bar. To get there, walk out of the Convention Center and turn right on Penn Avenue. This is the main drag of the Cultural District. You’ll pass the Benedum Center on your left.  The CLO Cabaret Theater will be on your right between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Olive or Twist . Olive or Twist (get it?!) is an outstanding martini bar where beer drinkers will feel right at home. It’s also down Penn Avenue, but go all the way to Sixth and turn right. Cross Sixth and it’s in the middle of the block.

For more information on all of the great downtown venues in Pittsburgh, go to www.visitpittsburgh.com.

Not the inspiration for "Mean Little Poodle."

One World Tribe

Join us at the PAE 2010 Opening Reception and enjoy an eclectic mix of music from the African diaspora.  One World Tribe offers a mix of Latin, reggae, African, jazz and Afro-Funk styles, reflecting the diversity of band members from Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Sudan and the US.  Their repertoire includes originals as well as songs from such international artists as Papa Wembe, Fela Kuti, Youssou N’Dour, Eddie Palmieri, Ruden Blades and Santana.

 Extraordinary eating, fabulous friends, and amazing artists… at the PAE Opening reception at PNC Park, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.  Performing in total silence Mr. Slomo (otherwise known as PennPAT roster artist Dan Kamin) will leave you gasping at his hypnotic movement and dazzling display of world-class sleight-of-hand, up-close and right under your nose.  This theatrical prankster created the physical comedy sequences in Chaplin and Benny and Joon, and trained Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp for their acclaimed starring performances.  Also performing at the opening:  Boilermaker Jazz Band and Joe “GRKMANIA” Grkman Band (see previous posts for details), and One World Tribe (more information to come).