Dennis is performing as Black Stache in the UP Stages production of Peter and the Starcatcher by Ricke Elice based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, i n the Charity Randall Theater, from March 30 to April 9th. This fun, rollicking prequel to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan has been wowing audiences since its debut on Broadway many years ago. 
For tickets and more information, please click here.
From the website: "When starcatcher-in-training Molly meets an orphan boy longing for a home, they embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Based on the novel by comedian Dave Barry and author Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher is a swashbuckling, grownup prequel to Peter Pan that will hook you from the beginning with its action and humor, and soon your imagination will take flight all the way past the second star on the right and straight on till morning."

Dennis is excited to announce that the short play DOG PARK OR SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN MAGNUSON has two upcoming productions in November. It will be produced by the Under Lights company at Claremont McKenna college in California on November 14th and 15th as part of a one-act festival and will also be produced by Elizabethtown College in New Jersey on November 20th and 21st. 

It recently was part of a student one-act festival at Philips Academy in Massachusetts.

DOG PARK is a play written in the style of David Mamet specifically for the Mamet Schmamet Festival at The Schmee theater in Seattle.  Set in Magnuson dog park, Jake the pug teams up with the older, wiser Duke, a great dane, to help Tiger, a young retriever, mate with Bambi, the poodle.  Riffing on Mamet’s dialogue, style and his famous plays American Buffalo and Sexual Perversity in Chicago, we see how dogs relate when humans aren’t watching. The play is published in Ten 10-Minute Plays Volume III, 2010 and can be read online here.

(Photo: Maddy, the dog who helped inspire the play.)

 

Dennis is proud to announce that he'll be joining a few other playwrights to write a brand new play specifically for the No Name Players to celebrate the Mt. Lebanon Plen Air Festival in Mt. Lebanon, PA.  

"Plen air" translated from the French means "In the Open Air" and refers to the act of painting outdoors, a practice that came about in the 19th century when paints became available in tubes which allowed artists to leave the studio.  

The Plein Air Festival in Mt. Lebanon runs from September 30 to October 6, 2013. Artists come from all over the country to sit outside and paint aspects of the neighborhood, with beautiful results.

The No Name Players performance will be on Saturday October 5th at the Clearview Commons in Uptown Mt. Lebanon at 3:00 pm.  This is a free family-friendly event!

Click here for more information and directions.

Saturday, April 6th saw the world premiere of Dennis' new ten-minute play HIPSTERS IN LOVE at the New Hazlett Theatre, produced by Bricolage Production Company.  The play about two hipsters visiting a bar in the suburbs of Pittsburgh to recapture the memories of their first  love was inspired by the bus ride Dennis took for B.U.S. 8 on the Friday night before.  It was written in the short span of an evening specifically for four incredibly talented local actors (Sharon Brady, Paul Guggenheimer, Jason McCune, Adrienne Wehr).  Dennis was thrilled and honored to be part of this fundraising event for Bricolage for a second ride and hopes he will join the B.U.S. another time in the future.

Take a look at Jason Cohn's video of the craziness of the event.
"Inspired by a 90-minute city bus ride, a crew of more than 40 writers, directors, and actors have just 24 hours to write, direct, and memorize six new 10-minute plays. The last stop on the journey is an unforgettable performance at The New Hazlett Theater. This is a documentary of the process leading up to the performance, produced entirely in the same 24 hours. An incredible line-up of artists risk their creative necks to support Pittsburgh's Bricolage Production Company and their 2013 season."

Dennis is excited to be joining B.U.S. 8 this coming Friday and Saturday, April 5th and 6th.  B.U.S. (otherwise known as the Bricolage Urban Sprawl) is the most epic fundraiser in town, putting playwrights on a 90 minute bus ride through Pittsburgh and giving them less than 12 hours to write a play.  That play is handed off to directors and actors who rehearse all day and present the plays that night.

This year B.U.S. 8 is bigger and better--the performance has been moved to the New Hazlett Theater and they've got more tiered pricing for artists, students and others. More information on the artists and how to get tickets below!


B.U.S 8 - Tickets on sale now!

Friday & Saturday, April 5 & 6, 2013

B.U.S is back and it's bigger, bolder, and better than ever! It's the only fundraiser of its kind in Pittsburgh, and this year we are pulling out all the stops!

An incredible line-up of local artists risk their creative necks to support Bricolage’s 2013 season. Inspired by a 90-minute city bus ride, a crew of more than 40 writers, directors, and actors have just 24 hours to write, direct, and memorize six new 10-minute plays. The last stop on the journey is an unforgettable performance at The New Hazlett Theater. Join us for food, libations, performances, music, and a silent auction in Bricolage’s typical raucous style.  Come aboard, take a seat, and watch as the story unfolds. It’s going to be an amazing ride.

Early ticket buyers will have the best seats, so don't wait!  

BUY TICKETS HERE

Host Committee Co-Chairs: David Bush and Tim McVay.

B.U.S. Fares

$150: Double Decker B.U.S (all events Friday + Saturday)*

$75: Party B.U.S. (Saturday VIP reception + performance + post-show party)

$40: Mini B.U.S. (Saturday performance + post-show party)

*$25 of the Double Decker ticket is tax-deductible 

B.U.S. Schedule

Friday, April 5 @Bricolage

7-9 pm: VIP Reception + Actor Parade

Saturday, April 6 @The New Hazlett Theater

6:30-8 pm: VIP Pre-Show Reception

8-10 pm: Performance

10-midnight: Post-Show Party

 For up-to-the-minute news from Bricolage, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Playwrights: Tameka Cage-Conley, Vanessa German, Chris Potocki, Peter Roth, Dennis Schebetta, Rosemarie Wilson

Directors: Linda Haston, Matt M. Morrow, Risher Reddick, Tammy Ryan, Mark Staley, Marci Woodruff

Actors: Elena Alexandratos, Bevin Baker, Cheryl Bates, Crystal Bates, Ben Blazer, Weston Blakesley, Sharon Brady, Cassie Brehmer, Kim Ellis, Jack Erdie, Paul Guggenheimer, Matt Henderson, Cindy Jackson, Wali Jamal, Cameron Knight, Jason McCune, Barney McKenna, Kristy Nolen, Sally Randa, Parag Shanti, Ezra Smith, Ricardo Villa-Roger, Cheryl El Walker, Adrienne Wehr

Dennis is proud to be included in the recent publication "Monologues from The Last Frontier Theatre Conference; The Best of the 2009-2012 Monologue Workshop, published by Focus Publishing and edited/compiled by Dawson Moore and Laura Gardner.

From the description: "The book contains 64 monologues designed specifically for use in the audition process. These monologues were derived from the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, one of the longest running theater conferences of its kind, held every year in Valdez, Alaska from 2009 to 2012."

The book can be purchased here.

Dennis was invited to the Last Frontier Theatre Conference last year to direct a reading of his play W@STE.  While there, he was fortunate enough to see his monologue from GREEN-EYED MONSTER workshopped and performed not just by one amazing actresses, but two!  

If you are an actor on the prowl for a perfect monologue, this is a great resource.  Pick one up soon as you can!

Dennis has been invited to participate in Bricolage's 8th Annual B.U.S. fundraising event.  B.U.S. (or Bricolage Urban Sprawl) puts a handful of playwrights on a 90 minute bus ride through different areas of Pittsburgh, then we all meet back up to cast actors and then have less then 12 hours to write a 10 minute play.  We hand that play in at 9 am Saturday morning and the directors and actors rehearse all that day, presenting the plays that evening.  

This year, the short plays of B.U.S. 8 will be performed at the New Hazlett Theater on Saturday April 6th at 8:00 pm. There is also a VIP party and show on Friday night, April 5th.

B.U.S. is like no other fundraising event in the city and Dennis is excited to be involved again this year after writing for B.U.S. 6.

For more information and to buy your tickets, click here!

Dennis's play DOG PARK OR SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN MAGNUSON, which premiered in Seattle and has now been performed in Alaska, Pennsylvania, New York, Morroco, and the U.K. will have its Icelandic debut in Kopavogur, Iceland on January 10th.  It was translated into the new title Girnd á Geirsnefi and directed by Hörður Sigurðarson and produced by the Kopavogur Theatre (Leikfelag Kopavogs). 


Photos courtesy of the director.  Actors pictured are:


Arnfinnur Daníelsson, Bjarni Daníelsson, Sunneva Lind Ólafsdóttir, and Þórarinn Heiðar Harðarson

Last month, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published their "Best of" list and named the Pittsburgh Playhouse production of AUGUST:OSAGE COUNTY as number one (tying with Bricolage's production STRATA and Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre's Chekhov festival.  The P-G said, "This is gothic comedy on a grand scale, but deeply moving as well, with a fine cast led by Mary Rawson". Dennis was honored to be part of this amazing ensemble, playing the part of "Little Charles".

Read the list here.

The play DOG PARK OR SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN MAGNUSON by Dennis Schebetta, which originally premiered at Theatre Schmeater in Seattle as part of Mamet Schmamet is about to be performed in two parts of the globe in December.

First it will be performed in Kopavogur, Iceland (In Icelandic, which marks the first time one of Schebetta's plays will have been translated into a foreign language).  

It will then be performed at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, PA.