For the Tree to Drop

The Downtown Series

Pittsburgh audiences may recall this truly stunning piece from when it was presented as a reading in Bricolage’s In the Raw Festival in 2013. Written by PICT veteran and celebrated local actress, Lissa Brennan, this piece is a vivid and shocking reminder of the injustices of slavery. In a world where ownership of the body does not include ownership of the soul, Estella exercises one of her “little freedoms” and holds a vigil for the sake of her brother’s dignity. Set in the antebellum Old South, this compact piece tells the story of a young African-American woman who is both slave and sister. A beautiful, tragic world-premiere, For the Tree to Drop will launch PICT’s 2015 Season as well as the Downtown Series.

By Lissa Brennan

February 19-28

World Premiere | Directed by Alan Stanford

Peirce Studio, Trust Arts Education Center, 805 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh

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Reviews

"PICT Classic Theatre is offering [a production] that showcases the virtues of the 'less is more' approach.”

Alice T. Carter, Pittsburgh Tribune review

"Christensen’s performance is heartbreaking. Her struggle is apparent as she kneels in the dirt digging, her eyes fixed on the unseen body of her unseen brother swelling with despair.”

Jack Clark, The Pittsburgh Stage Online Magazine

"The dialogue smolders with intensity. It’s an important piece of work. Not only because reflects on the horrors of the Antebellum era, but it pulsates with commentary on contemporary society.”

Mike Buzzelli, Burg Vivant

"Brennan’s writing has a beautiful lyricism, and she makes use of vivid and precise imagery to evoke her characters’ strivings and yearnings. There is powerful poetry at work here, and the very fine actors do it justice.”

Wendy Arons, The Pittsburgh Tatler

"[For the Tree to Drop is] the expression of a maturing playwriting voice, marrying simple structure to unexpected nuance of thought, feeling and lyrical language."

Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"The show’s biggest strengths just might be Brennan’s vivid, poetic dialogue and the play’s powerful portrait of resistance to injustice."

Bill O'Driscall, City Paper