PICT Announces New Interim Artistic Director Alan Stanford

Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) announces the appointment of Alan Stanford as Interim Artistic Director for the company, effective immediately. Mr. Stanford replaces Andrew Paul who, along with Stephanie Riso, founded the company in 1997.

Mr. Stanford is a founder and the past Artistic Director of Second Age Theatre Company in Dublin. He has extensive theatrical experience at the renowned Gate Theatre in Dublin, where he has directed several dozen plays, including Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, Present Laughter, Arms and the Man, Private Lives, and The Real Thing.

As an actor, Mr. Stanford received a Harveys Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance as Salieri in Amadeus. His performance as Pozzo in Waiting for Godot and as Hamm in Endgame for the Gate Theatre Beckett Festival were repeated to critical acclaim in New York, London, Toronto, Melbourne, Bejing and Shanghai. Several years ago he appeared at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, a role he reprised for PICT in 2011. During PICT's 2012 season, Mr. Stanford directed After Chekhov and performed in The Pitmen Painters.

"We applaud Andrew Paul for the vision and leadership that have helped to establish PICT as a major part of the Pittsburgh theater scene," said PICT Board President Gene O'Sullivan. "He has brought distinctive thought-provoking plays to PICT's many loyal fans. He will be greatly missed by all who know him, and we wish him much success in his career. PICT subscribers can rest assured that we will continue to produce the same high quality drama which has been PICT's hallmark since its founding."

Co-founder Stephanie Riso will continue as Operations Director of the company.

The PICT board and Mr. Stanford have indicated that the season will go on as previously announced, opening on April 10, 2013 with the Pittsburgh premier of Our Class, the 2010 winner of Poland's top literary prize. The Kreutzer Sonata, starring Richard McMillan, winner of seven DORA Awards (Canada's Tony) will run from late May to late June, followed in July by Oscar Wilde's Lady Windemere's Fan, starring Nike Doukas as the disreputable Mrs. Erlynne. The American premier of Don Juan Comes Back From the War, with David Whalen portraying the world's greatest lover as a middle-aged veteran will be produced in August, with A Skull in Connemara, the last of Martin McDonagh's Irish-set plays to be performed in Pittsburgh scheduled for September. The 2013 season will end in December with Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood, when David Whalen and Martin Giles will reprise their roles from the extremely successful Mask of Moriarity of 2011.