THE BASH at City Theatre Takes Over the South Side Next Month

City Theatre Company, Pittsburgh’s home for contemporary plays, has announced its annual fundraiser, THE BASH. On Saturday, September 9, 2023, Co-Chairs Holly & Evan Frazier and Cori & J. Dax Parise kick off City Theatre’s 49th season of bold, new work with a street party cookout. THE BASH will fill the South Side campus with live entertainment, street festival food stations, BASH craft cocktails, a dance party, silent auctions, and more. 

“If you love a chill, end of summer vibe then the BASH is for you,” said Co-Artistic Director Monteze Freeland. “Our annual fundraiser takes it to the street and highlights all that City Theatre is and strives to be. By attending, or simply making a donation, you can ensure that we will continue to bring our region some of the best new work cultivated by Pittsburgh artists and beyond. You will leave knowing why City Theatre is the largest performing arts entity outside of downtown. Come celebrate this gem of the South Side in your best cookout chic as we kick-off our 49th season of fresh, bold work on our stages!” 

THE BASH will feature entertainers Ben Brosche, Dwayne Fulton Funk Factory, special guest Brian Quijada, and more. All BASH patrons can enjoy the street festival and dance party featuring performances by DJ Clara Kent and DJ Bay, dinner food stations inspired by the season’s plays, law games, photo booths, an artisan marketplace, and more. VIP guests will also enjoy a special performance, complimentary bar menu, and a private VIP reception. 

THE BASH is sponsored by PNC, UPMC, UPMC Health Plan, Huntington, Fox Chapel Plaza, Landesberg Design, Visit Pittsburgh, Highmark, K&L Gates, Gallagher, and media sponsor WYEP/WESA. The event is designed by FlySpace. 

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS 

Ben Brosche is a free-lancing pianist, accompanist, and music director in Pittsburgh, PA, performing nationally and internationally. In the Pittsburgh theater scene, Ben has been involved in multiple productions working with CLO, Pittsburgh Public, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, The New Hazlett Theater, Pittsburgh University Theater Dept., Stage 62, Comtra, and others working in multiple positions throughout various productions. Ben worked as music director for the New Hazlett’s production of Monteze Freeland and Michael Meketa’s Kalopsia. He has been piano conductor for multiple University of Pittsburgh musicals since 2018. Ben was music director of Stage 62’s Mamma Mia, which won Pittsburgh’s “Best of the Burgh.” Ben has worked for CLO as music assistant for SPARK festival as well as shows in the Cabaret (Game On and Double Threat Trio). Ben performed with the talented pit of Pittsburgh Public for Little Shop of Horrors, music directed by John McDaniel and piano conducted by Catie Brown. 

Dwayne Fulton is the founder and Chief Executive of Kingdom People Productions, Inc. (1999) and The SouLyfe Cafe (2003). He has produced and co-produced over 7 musical projects moving well over 10,000 units to date. Dwayne is an accomplished pianist. His music career stems back from the eighth grade to the present. He’s had the honor of accompanying such great musicians as Grover Washington, Jr., Roger Humphries, Sean Jones, and Nathan Davis. He’s shared the stage with other greats such as: Keith Sweat, Guy, Fred Hammond, Bobby Jones, Kirk Franklin, The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Michael Bublé. In 2011 he was hired as the Musical Director for the Opera Gospel at Colonus with the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh; and in 2012 he composed his first opera short for the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh’s Summer Festival, Bridal Suite. In 2013 he composed his 2nd opera short The Mayoral Suite also for the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. In 2010 he was the Musical Director for the production of Raising In The Sun by The Kuntu Repertoire Theatre.  Dwayne Fulton is a native of Pittsburgh with a Bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. He currently serves as the Minister of Music/Director of Fine Arts at The Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, The largest church in the Pittsburgh area. Serving over 8000 members. Fulton continues to mentor young musicians, song writers, and actors in the Pittsburgh area. He says the world is longing for music and creative arts that speaks to the total man; body, soul, and spirit. Music that matters! He and his wife of 30 years are the proud parents of Brennon (33), Zachary (19), and Zoé (16). 

Clara Kent is an Afro-Indigenous multidisciplinary artist, a community liaison from Homewood, Pa, and the host of More Bounce on WYEP. Whether the medium is music, canvas, or curation, Clara will work to uplift the creative community, especially for Black artists and youth, as a whole through her actions in mentorship, her raw & vulnerable artistry, and her motivational words and posts. The self-proclaimed “Multidimensional Artistic Individual” was named Pittsburgh City Paper’s “Person of the Year” for Music in 2019 and has performed across many stages, opening for Wyclef Jean at SXSW, Cautious Clay at WYEP Summer Music Festival, Thundercat at Stage AE, Oshun, Jon Wayne, and OHMME. Clara also embarked on a summer mini-tour in 2019 with London-based music events company Sofar Sounds the same year, becoming one of their cohort performance artists.  In 2022, she launched her production company, Bounce House Studios & Productions LLC, a Black women-led organization whose purpose is to Elevate the Underground™️ in Pittsburgh and beyond. One of the first music projects set to release is The Four Winds, a collection of music from 2016 to the current day that will be used to garner donations for Black and Indigenous organizations that directly impact the local community and the national community. The Catalyst and Muse is a four-part EP series that is the medicine wheel and the ancestral connection to the elements and seasons.  

Brian Quijada is an Emmy-nominated playwright, actor, and composer whose original work has been developed and produced all across the country. His hip hop solo show Where Did We Sit on the Bus? has been produced at Victory Gardens, Geva Theatre, Teatro Vista (2 Jeff Awards including Outstanding Solo Performance), Ensemble Studio Theatre (2 Drama Desk Nomination), Boise Contemporary, 1st Stage, a digital production at Actors Theatre of Louisville (Drama League Nomination) and was produced at City Theatre in 2018. His TYA play Kid Prince and Pablo premiered at The Kennedy Center in 2019. Somewhere Over the Border received a rolling World Premiere at Syracuse Stage, Geva Theatre, and TeatroVista, garnering 3 Jeff Awards including Best Musical. 

 

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