New Immersive Show DOOHICKEY! Invites Pittsburgh Audience to Get Hands On

Orange Steel Theatre Company will present Doohickey! at the 2026 Pittsburgh Fringe Festival.

What happens when immersive theatre and makerspaces meet? An emerging theatre company in Pittsburgh has set out to answer that very question... and the answer will be found at this year's Pittsburgh Fringe Festival. The concept is fairly simple: An intergalactic resistance group called Caomei has arrived here in Pittsburgh. Faced with looming threats of corporate greed, overconsumption, and ever-increasing pollution, Caomei has set out on a mission to use the materials at their disposal to create "doohickeys", or multi-tools, that can do whatever the creator sets their mind to. In this immersive theatre experience, audience members are called to join in on the action, making gadgets and gizmos of any shape and size using hand tools and recycled materials — the only limit is your own creativity!

Doohickey! is created and produced by Orange Steel Theatre Company, founded by Sophie McClung in 2025. The company is committed to crafting "unique theatrical experiences that help you squeeze the juice out of life" through a highly collaborative theatre practice.

Orange Steel Theatre's debut show, Doohickey! is described as an immersive makerspace experience. But what exactly is a makerspace? Exact definitions vary, but a makerspace is generally a community space where people have access to different hand tools, materials, and technologies; every makerspace is a little bit different! Audiences can expect to get directly hands-on with recycled materials, art supplies, scissors, (and maybe even some hot glue!) to make something unique, all while being immersed in an original story. No previous makerspace experience is necessary.

Doohickey! features Emily Loecken, Maggie McClelland, Audrey Klein, Amari Shakir, and CG Squire as an ensemble cast of unique and colorful characters that will directly interact with audience members. The show was devised entirely by this group of artists, led by director Cam Webb. Instead of working from a traditional play script, each performer created their own character from scratch, and the story was developed as a group.

The company is excited to be producing the show at Assemble in Bloomfield. "Assemble made perfect sense for our show," said Webb. "They're not only a space dedicated to Making, but also a space that has a lovely community of people around it. As much as our show is 'about' the doohickeys, the potential for connection between audience members is equally important, and having a space as welcoming and accessible as Assemble is a huge bonus for that."