Pittsburgh-Machine *World Premiere

Pittsburgh-Machine is an intermedia performance conceived and directed by Pitt Theatre Arts PhD student Guilherme Meletti Yazbek. The piece revisits the seminal 1952 Black Mountain College happening by fostering a non-hierarchical dialogue between video, movement, and sound (music) through real-time improvisation. The piece features performers (movers + musicians) interacting live with a video of Pittsburgh's imagery, using improvisational interplay as a metaphor for community and collective strength. This aesthetic inquiry is also a pedagogical endeavor; rehearsals will build a shared vocabulary through improvisational games, while a pre-show talk will demystify the process, positioning the entire event as a reunion of forms and a network of affection between artists and audience. This project is an integral and crucial component of the Immersive Practice Credential (IPC) for PhD students at Pitt. While it involves the skill and practice of directing, the work is fundamentally connected to notions of devised theatre, improvisation, and the convergence of multiple artistic languages—core concerns that also inform Meletti Yazbek’s IPC project and broader aspirations as an artist-educator.