Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company is a professional theatre company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003 by artistic director Mark Clayton Southers, the company originally held productions at the Penn Theater in Garfield and moved to a new space on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Between 2011 and 2018, it held productions in a space on Liberty Avenue in the same building used by Bricolage Production Company, as well as the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, where Southers was artistic director of theatre initiatives, and at other locations.{{cite web |url=http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/events/index.php |title=August Wilson Center for African American Culture |accessdate=2011-06-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613073411/http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/events/index.php |archivedate=2011-06-13 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/about/staff.php |title=August Wilson Center for African American Culture |accessdate=2011-06-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726012639/http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/about/staff.php |archivedate=2011-07-26 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_760006.html |title=Pittsburgh Playwrights relocates, plans 4 productions for 2011-12 season | TribLIVE |website=www.pittsburghlive.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909022319/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_760006.html |archive-date=9 September 2012 |url-status=dead}} In 2022, it moved into the former Madison Elementary School in Pittsburgh's historic Hill District.{{cite web |title=History of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre |url=https://www.pghplaywrights.org/theatre-history/ |website=Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre |access-date=2 February 2023}}
The theatre's mission is to develop and showcase works by Pittsburgh playwrights, ranging from August Wilson and George Kaufman to new unknown playwrights, and to "nurture a racially and culturally diverse community of playwrights, directors, actors and technical specialists to hone their craft and to network creative opportunities."{{cite web|url=http://www.pghplaywrights.com/about|title=About – Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company|website=www.pghplaywrights.com|accessdate=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816142743/http://www.pghplaywrights.com/about|archivedate=16 August 2016}}
The company has had premiere productions of works by such Pittsburgh playwrights as Tammy Ryan, Kim El, Marlon Youngblood, Brendon Bates, Wali Jamal, and Ray Werner. The theatre company is also well known for its annual Theatre Festival in Black & White, in which white directors direct one-act plays by black playwrights and black directors direct one-act plays by white playwrights.{{cite web |url=http://www.pghplaywrights.com/local |title=PPTCO Showcases Plays by Pittsburgh Playwrights | Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company |accessdate=2010-12-10 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715073745/http://www.pghplaywrights.com/local |archivedate=2011-07-15 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:37465|title=Theatre Festival in Black and White|first=Ted Hoover, Bill|last=O'Driscoll|website=pittsburghcitypaper.ws|accessdate=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809025855/http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A37465|archivedate=9 August 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:86943|title=Theatre Festival in Black & White|first=Ted Hoover, Michelle|last=Pilecki|website=pittsburghcitypaper.ws|accessdate=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809025825/http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A86943|archivedate=9 August 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10295/1097103-325.stm|title=Black & White theater fest's plays vary in quality|website=www.post-gazette.com|accessdate=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804233645/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10295/1097103-325.stm|archivedate=4 August 2011}}http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_703960.html{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The company has also sponsored series of readings by local playwrights.{{cite web|url=http://www.pghplaywrights.com/history|title=Production History – Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company|website=www.pghplaywrights.com|accessdate=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819191104/http://www.pghplaywrights.com/history|archivedate=19 August 2016}}