Packed House Producing Director Kim Martin reflects on the journey of the Pittsburgh Playhouse as it moves from Oakland to Downtown Pittsburgh

 

The Point
Winter 2018

When Kim Martin (COPA 1990) gives her behind-the-scenes tour of the soon-to-be-former Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland, she doesn’t start inside the front door. Instead, she asks visitors to go across the street. Once there, she displays copies of old black and white photos of the three buildings that were combined to create the Playhouse.

"To the left was a German social club, in the center a nice, private home, and on the right, the old Tree of Life synagogue. It’s been patched together over the years, which has created a catacomb of nooks and crannies – all of which leak or let in weather. That’s a long way of saying, I think it is all unique, but well past its prime," she laughs.

So, despite more than 80 years of hosting a restaurant, movie theater, amazing performances, master classes, and layers and layers of memories for staff, faculty, current and former students, the old Playhouse is taking its final curtain call. The question is … how do you move a Playhouse? 

"Very slowly!" said Martin, the producing director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse. “Imagine how much a 46,000 square-foot building can collect. We’ve been sorting, donating, giving away and disposing of items for over a year. Our next step is prioritizing what goes to the new Playhouse. So basically – yes, no and maybe categories."

Repurposing is a theater tradition

While Martin wasn’t surprised at the amount of work involved in packing up the Playhouse, she did call the process of combing through decades of theater props and costumes somewhat "overwhelming." What was easier, though, was making the decisions about what to keep and what to let go. “I left that up to our extremely deft department heads. These are all working professionals – they keep up with the latest technology and know exactly what is or isn’t going to be useful for current and future productions."

Some might think that a valuable item or two was unearthed in the process, but according to Martin, "Theater folk are famous for operating on shoestring budgets and truly making ‘silk purses out of sow’s ears,’ so there is seldom anything of monetary value lying about. We are more like the TV show Trash to Treasure, always repurposing something for the run of another show."

Time travel

It’s safe to say that for Martin, moving the Playhouse was a bit like time travel since she spent much of her young adulthood in the building. A native of Pittsburgh’s East End, Martin attended Point Park and got her B.F.A. degree in 1987. After graduating, she worked on and off for Point Park, all the while directing and acting on the side. When Ronald Allan-Lindblom took the helm as artistic director of the Playhouse, he offered Martin the job of production stage manager and asked her to develop a stage management program for the Conservatory of Performing Arts.

"For me, stage managing was the best way to marry performance and technical theatre. You have a foot in each world.  The technicians, designers, and stage managers don’t always get the accolades that a performer does.  But when a designer, director or actor thanks me, they really understand what goes into bringing a play to a full production," she explains. According to Martin, Point Park students are encouraged to look at all avenues to make a career in theater.

"Performing on a level where you can support yourself isn’t easy – there’s a lot of luck, perseverance and sacrifice involved. If you want to be in theater, being a good technician or stage manager can mean a rewarding career for life."

Expert at the back of the house

It’s her love of what happens behind the curtains that prompts her deep appreciation of the people she works with at the Playhouse. In particular is legendary costume shop supervisor Joan Markert, who has been at the Playhouse for 37 years. "She is solely responsible for our massive costume inventory, much of which we make available to others, including high schools, universities and other theaters," Martin explains. Markert’s knowledge of the inventory of costumes continues to amaze her co-workers, even after so many years.

"There are many conversations that go like this: ‘I need a 1950’s plaid skirt that is primarily blue.' Joan’s reply 'At our warehouse in the Strip District, there are about 40 piles of clothes on the left-hand side. In pile number 27 about half-way down, you’ll find what you are looking for.'  Not kidding. Not even exaggerating," says Martin.  There are plans in the works to host a tag sale of remaining Playhouse items, the proceeds of which may go toward a theater tech scholarship.

In addition to costumes, the Playhouse has rooms and rooms of very specific items, for example, one just for belts and ties. There are shelves and shelves of glasses, mugs, model ships, old cameras, early computers, vacuum cleaners, picture frames, fireplace bellows and the list goes on and on. But nestled among all these rooms is something else: remnants of the Playhouse Restaurant.

Heyday hangout

What was an Oakland fixture in the 1950's, '60s and into the '70s, the Playhouse Restaurant was located in the lower level of the Playhouse, under what is now the Rauh Theater. A tufted leather door, a huge commercial oven hood, original carpeting, a very Mad Men-era water feature, gold-tiled columns and even an original Playhouse Restaurant sign (minus the "e") are still visible.

In fact, many Playhouse props are located in former restaurant storage rooms. For example, the "onion and potato" cellar is the current home of vintage cameras and computers. In its heyday, the restaurant hosted opening nights and exhibitions of local artists. It was closed in the late 1970s when the University took over the space for the Playhouse.

Another "wow" feature of the former Playhouse Restaurant were the wall murals. Thought to be wallpaper murals designed by legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, Martin remembers staring at the drawings during class, looking for the artist’s signature "Nina" (his daughter's name) hidden among the drawings.

According to Martin, the main part of the Hirschfeld mural wallpaper, which contained his classic characters, was in the Lillian Russell Room of the old restaurant. Unfortunately, it was painted over in the early ’90s. "I don’t think I found the ‘Nina’ signature until my junior year," she laughs. "But it was inspirational to sit in that room, being trained as an artist, and stare at famous theatre people who we all wanted to be some day."

The next act, a state-of-the-art teaching theater

For someone who has worked so long in one place, Martin is not overly sentimental about leaving the current Playhouse for the new five-story, 92,000 square-foot facility located in Downtown Pittsburgh, in the heart of Point Park’s campus community. It is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018.

"I’m very much looking forward to it not raining on stage when it is raining outside, to an indoor loading dock, to better theater spaces, classrooms, dressing rooms, prop rooms and everything else that our new home will have," said Martin.

Having been, in her words, "a student, apprentice, actor, director, usher, popcorn slinger, stage manager, production manager and finally, producing director" of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, what she is perhaps most excited about, for the new Playhouse, is being part of the Point Park campus.

"For so long, we’ve been somewhat isolated in Oakland. But when the new facility opens, we’ll have a chance to be one with the entire campus community, and share energy, ideas and inspiration.

"As educators, what more could you ask for? I can’t wait!"

Text by Barbara Vilanova
Photos by John Altdorfer
The Point is the magazine of Point Park University