Quantum Theatre’s latest production gives audiences an immersive peek behind the curtain at the drama of putting on a play.
10 out of 12 by Anne Washburn is a clever comedy set amid the chaos of a technical rehearsal of a play. Quantum’s ambitious production, which runs through April 26, is directed by School of Drama professor Andrew Smith with lighting design by professor C. Todd Brown, and costume design by alumna Carrie Anne Huneycutt. Current School of Drama students are also part of the production with senior directing student Sean Barnett as assistant director, senior costume design student Kendall Swartz as wardrobe supervisor, and senior acting student Olivia Ruhnke in the cast, alongside recent alumnus Evan Vines.
Barnett describes the production as an immersive experience that puts the audience right into the center of the action. Each audience member receives a headset (like those that stage managers use to communicate with the other members of a show’s technical staff), which becomes an important vehicle for the storytelling.
“Imagine Waiting for Guffman mixed with Sleep No More,” Barnett says. “It is a story not only about making fun of ourselves as theatre people, but also one that celebrates the joy, love, and heart we put into the things we are passionate about, which I hope audiences of all backgrounds, theatre people or not, are all able to equally enjoy together.”
Barnett is in his final semester at the School of Drama, where he studies directing. He says working as an assistant director is all about supporting the director’s vision for the piece, and that his training has helped him to anticipate a production’s needs.
“For this show, it has been about being attuned to what Andrew’s intentions for the play were and how he saw conducting the process of staging this insanely technically complicated piece,” says Barnett. “I have been there as another voice for him to bounce ideas off of, helping coordinate schedules alongside our wonderful stage management team, as well as keeping track of and organizing notes for him to give to the actors in a big spreadsheet.
“It has also been such a joy in this process, as I prepare to graduate next month, to flash back to my very first class on my first day of freshman year in Andrew’s Acting I class, as I now work with him professionally in this capacity as a director.”
Curtain Up on the Mellon Institute
Quantum Theatre is known for staging plays in unlikely places, and 10 out of 12 is no exception. While the space it’s performed in may look like a traditional theater, it is actually a space inside the Mellon Institute that was originally created as a recital hall for the scientists that worked and studied there.
Normally closed to the public, the Mellon Institute stands as a temple to science and one of Pittsburgh’s architectural treasures. Designed by Benno Janssen and William York Cocken, the building opened in 1937 and occupies an entire city block. The signature 62 monolithic limestone columns — each weighing 60 tons and hand-carved — create a dramatic exterior. Beneath the surface, the structure extends into bedrock to minimize vibrations that could disrupt delicate scientific experiments.
In 1967, the Mellon Institute merged with the Carnegie Institute of Technology to form Carnegie Mellon University. The building houses faculty from the Mellon College of Science and the Neuroscience Institute.
CBS Pittsburgh’s Boaz Frankel speaks with School of Drama alum Evan Vines and Quantum Theatre’s Alex Ungerman about “10 out of 12” inside the Mellon Institute.
Quantum Theatre’s 10 out of 12 is running now through April 26 at the Mellon Institute. Tickets and more information available at quantumtheatre.com.
Featured photo of the 10 out of 12 cast by Jason Cohn, courtesy of Quantum Theatre.