Greetings of Fall Everyone,
It’s that time of year again—time for the PITT ARTS campus briefing! We ask that you send this information out to the appropriate people on your staff and/or faculty and let me know what questions you have so that you and your staff and faculty may confidently answer arts-related questions and serve your students. Over 35,000 students participated formally in PITT ARTS programs last year, including repeaters, so students may be asking you questions about PITT ARTS and our offerings. Some of the information may not be directly related to your department, but some may, so please feel free to cut and paste appropriate information.
1. PITT ARTS has a program called the Cheap Seat Program, wherein we sell to Pitt people greatly reduced tickets to cultural venues. Several times a year, starting this fall, we will send you a flyer with the current shows for sale. You can post and distribute this. Cheap Seats are available to Pitt students of all kinds and almost always to staff and faculty, and they may buy up to four tickets per show (there are some exceptions), and they may even buy tickets for non-Pitt people if the purchasing Pitt person attends. We take exact cash, checks, debit and credit cards. Lastly, this is a self-serve ticketing service; students, faculty and staff can reserve tickets anytime the Union is open—the instructions and reservations forms are located outside our office at 929 William Pitt Union in a very prominently marked display.
Last year we sold 11,000 Cheap Seats to the following eleven organizations:
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, $12 for students and $17 for faculty and staff
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, $12 for students and $17 for faculty and staff
Pittsburgh Opera, $16-$33 for students and $26-$43 for faculty and staff
Pittsburgh CLO, $12 for students, $14 for faculty and staff
CLO Cabaret, $12 for students, $14 for faculty and staff
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, all of Pitt, $5.50-$34.50
Pittsburgh Public Theatre, $15.50 students, $25.50 for faculty and staff
Quantum Theatre, students $15, $22-$25 for faculty and staff
Guitar Society of Fine Arts, students $10-$20, $14-$25 for faculty and staff
MCG Jazz, $20-$25 students, $30-$35 for faculty and staff
Renaissance & Baroque Society, $10 for students, $15 for faculty and staff
In addition, this year we offer FIVE Pitt Nights, which for a great price (only $12 for Pitt Night at the Pittsburgh Symphony for Sarah Chang and Rachmaninoff on October 10th, only $17 for Pitt Night at the Ballet for The Great Gatsby on November 1st, as low as $18 for Pitt Night at the Opera for Grapes of Wrath on November 15th, Pitt Night at the Pittsburgh Public Theater for Metamorphoses on January 30th, and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Pitt Night for DRUMLine Live on February 18th costs only $17 Pitt students, faculty and staff can get optional free transportation with us, enjoy a free dessert reception, and meet the cast and Artistic Directors. These events are splashy and exciting. People celebrate their Pitt pride and their love for the arts by participating.
2. Don’t miss Attack of the Cheap Seats on September 10th. Not only will there be great entertainment, but also you can buy cheap tickets for the entire season (or any parts thereof!) to the Opera, Ballet, Symphony, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Public Theatre and the Pittsburgh CLO—and it’s cheaper than subscribing! Get your Spamalot tickets there. It takes place from 12-3 PM in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room.
3. PITT ARTS sponsors its 10th annual Arts Fair on September 17th in the William Pitt Ballroom. Stop by for a free lunch starting at 11:30 AM and visit with contacts from over thirty arts organizations. Win prizes, and chat with great people as you find out all about what is happening in the arts this academic year.
4. Free Visits: All Pitt students with valid Pitt ID’s, part-time, full-time, grad/undergrad, get in free during the academic year and over holiday break to: The Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, the Mattress Factory, the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and our newest partner, The Senator John Heinz History Center! All students need to do is swipe their ID at the admissions desk. Check out www.warhol.org, www.cmoa.org, www.clpgh.org/cmnh, www.mattress.org or www.pghhistory.org for more information. Free visits are suspended during the summer months.
5. Artful Wednesdays: PITT ARTS and Student Life have been lively partners for a fantastic program that takes place nearly every Wednesday in the fall from noon to 1 PM in Nordy’s Place on the lower level of the William Pitt Union, and includes a free lunch and a free exciting performance. Here are but two of the ten features from Artful Wednesdays this year. Come up to the PITT ARTS office at 929 WPU to pick up the complete brochure.
September 24, Flamencos en El Aire
From Spain via Washington, D.C., these flamencos include dancers, musicians, and the beautiful costumes that bring this fiery Spanish art to life.
October 1, Elie Kihonia & Wacongo Dance Company
This traditional ensemble of master drummers, musicians and dancers from the Democratic Republic of Congo perform the ancestral songs and dances of Central Africa. Enjoy the dance, drumming, and rich tapestry of vocal music from Wacongo!
6. We have MUCH in the way of literature regarding current arts information, including quite literally, hundreds of press releases, and promotional information about current shows in the arts community. Every two months we send pertinent/ applicable information to you through interoffice mail or every so often via email. If you have a student with an arts-related question, and you don’t know the answer, feel free to:
Call us at 4-4498
Go to our website at www.pittarts.pitt.edu, which has tons of information.
7. Free Arts Encounters
PITT ARTS is not a club and students do not join our organization; however, Pitt undergraduate students can sign up to be on our email distribution list by visiting our website at www.pittarts.pitt.edu and signing up to be on our D-List by clicking the “Get Involved” button to register. Students will then receive our weekly e-calendar of events from which they can choose to participate simply by going on-line to register for a program. They will subsequently be notified about their RSVP status and will be given program confirmation details. We will offer 110 free arts programs to undergraduates this year, ranging from symphony to film to ballet, to opera, and so on, all fine arts. Transportation, food and tickets are pre-arranged and are COMPLETELY FREE to the undergraduate student.
8. For Faculty, Staff and Grad Students:
We have a weekly “Hotlist” e-calendar for Pitt graduate students, faculty and staff to let them know about free and inexpensive arts happenings about town. These members of our community also register to receive the weekly Hotlist by clicking on the “Get Involved” button on our website and noting their status at the University.
9. If Pitt Oakland faculty plan to take a group of students to the Carnegie Museums of Art or Natural History, please call the Group Visits office at the museum at 412-622-3289 to arrange your class visit.
10. PITT ARTS does not sell: Pitt Theatre tickets, Pitt Theatre semester passes, Kuntu Repertory Theatre tickets, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) tickets or Music Department tickets of any kind. Students can call 624-PLAY for theater tickets, 4-4125 for Music tickets, and 624-7298 for Kuntu tickets. PICT tickets can be purchased by calling ProArts Tickets at 412-394-3353.
11. The #61, #71, #500 and #501 buses run back and forth from Pitt to the downtown Cultural District. We have a great directions sheet in our office on how to get to and get around in the Cultural District and to the amenities of the North Side.
12. Please encourage students to take advantage of what PITT ARTS has to offer.
If you have any questions about this campus briefing, feel free to call me directly at 4-4462.
With Kind Regards,
Annabelle Clippinger, M.F.A.
Director
PITT ARTS
929 William Pitt Union
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: 412-624-4462
Fax: 412-624-1662
Cel: 412-862-9736
www.pittarts.pitt.edu
