People of Pittsburgh: The Alchemist of Sharpsburg

Part game. Part theatre. Like life. This first installment of “People of Pittsburgh” is written and “game-mastered” by RealTime Co-Artistic Director Rusty Thelin, who is teaming up with ceramicist, mixed-media sculptor, and fellow gamer Emmannuelle “Manu” Wambach to tell this extraordinary Sharpsburger’s story. Since Rusty, Manu, and Candra are all life-long gamers, they’re blending elements of theater and game design to create an original experience in which the audience will unlock the secrets of Candra’s life by playing an original game together. Although audience members can opt out of participating directly and instead take the role of observers, some brave “spect-actors” will portray characters from Candra’s life; maps will be consulted, dice will be rolled, and by the end of the show everyone–participants and observers alike– will have “leveled up.”

“People of Pittsburgh’,” expected to continue through 2022 and beyond, is RealTime Interventions’ newest live, performance-based series, after creating several new works online since March 2020. Each “People of Pittsburgh” show will be a theatrical portrait celebrating the personality, lived experiences and personal history of an extraordinary, ordinary Pittsburgher; and starting in 2023, the public will be able to nominate subjects for the shows.