

TIN CHURCH |
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off the WALL productions |
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off the WALL productions |
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Created and Directed by
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Marguerite Stimpson*
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* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers, appearing under a special agreement with **The Scenic Designer is a member of United Scenic Artists,
This production has been made possible with the support of: |
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Off the Wall Charitable Trust - Wall Stageworks - ViVa Holding ehf | |||
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Tin Church runs about 90 minutes
with no intermission
Inspired by recurring nightmares and an old Tin Church, Parrish weaves a sultry southern spell that begs the question, can the wheel of generational trauma ever truly stop spinning? Or are families destined to repeat life's tragedies again and again?
The Magnolia smells sweet on the evening breeze, and then it falls and sours, like a secret kept too long.
Tin Church is an unsettling, Southern Gothic exploration of generational trauma and the secrets families keep. The dream and waking world collide in this intensely dark comedy where demons come out to play in the low country south.
Mary (Marguerite Stimpson) is the oldest of three sisters. It seems she has escaped her small southern town and the monotony of it all for the big city life.
Mildred (Virginia Wall Gruenert), her mother, has a successful marriage, a big family and an even larger front porch. She spends her days stirring up the sweet tea and gossip.
Younger sisters Linda ( Christina Perry) and Sue (Lilly Tobin) are well woven into the intricate quilt of secrets this family keeps. One remembers. The other spends her days and nights trying to forget.
Through a maze of memories, letters, dreams and the waking world, Tin Church takes us on a thrilling psychological exploration of things unsaid. Is Mildred as perfect as she insists? Did Mary truly escape after all? What is the secret that binds them?
Song List
Where the Shadow Meets the Water
by Adia Victoria
Cast
Creative Team
Robyne Parrish
Amelia Heastings
Elizabeth Bays
Juliette Louste
Marie Laster*
Farid Vargas
Adia Victoria
Julie Skarratt
Katie Rosin
Goddur
Hannah Tamminen
Jamibeth Margolis
Amelia Firestone
Rafaella Rossi
Marco Diaz
Matthieu De Robles
Dariel Garcia
Alex Magallanes
A message from the playwright
"Tell the truth, even though that's not exactly the way it happened." Flannery O'Connor
My mother gave me my first journal when I was five years old. It was then that I began to learn that the best way to get the darkness out of me was to write it down. The darkness and the light.
Tin Church is not an autobiographical tale. I greatly admire Tennessee Williams and like him, I use my childhood as prompts to discover character and story. To explore old wounds. To mine memories and to excavate truth. The whys, if you will.
In this case, I suffered from night terrors as a child and had multiple recurring dreams for several decades that haunted me with their secrets. The first draft of this play, only a ten minute one, happened in 2007 and the final draft was completed in 2024. It took seventeen years to dig up the "truth" around these nightmares. They were, simply, characters buried deeply within, crying to be set free.
An homage to many a dear loved one and to the south, where I grew up. I am the oldest of three sisters. But these are not my sisters. These are your sisters and our sisters and they belong to all of us. This family and this chaos and this generational trauma. I hope you can find yourself somewhere inside. And that together, we can release the darkness. And the light.
Special thanks to
Lindsay Griggs
Eric Dente
Mary Irwin
Julie Skarratt
David Rey
Hannah Tamminen
A Special Thank you
Marie Laster
Special thanks
to Gertrude Laster Duval and Jean Francois E. Duval for the props.
and to Tory Gundrum and Brandon Hughes for the wood shop space.
Meet the Company
Virginia Wall Gruenert

Marguerite Stimpson

Christina Perry

Lilly Tobin

Robyne Parrish

Robyne Parrish

Amelia Heastings

Elizabeth Bays

Juliette Louste

Marie Laster*

Farid Vargas

Adia Victoria

Julie Skarratt

Katie Rosin

Goddur

Hannah Tamminen

Jamibeth Margolis

Amelia Firestone
Rafaella Rossi
Marco Diaz
Matthieu De Robles
Dariel Garcia
Alex Magallanes

Photos

Tin Church - Lilly Tobin, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Christina Perry, Marguerite Stimpson

Tin Church - Virginia Wall Gruenert

Tin Church - Marguerite Stimpson

Tin Church - Christina Perry

Tin Church - Lilly Tobin

Tin Church - Robyne Parrish
Off The Wall Productions To Return To New York With TIN CHURCH
OFF THE WALL PRODUCTIONS will present the world premiere production of TIN CHURCH, written and directed by Robyne Parrish (former resident and current guest cast member of the iconic Sleep No More at the Mckittrick Hotel). TIN CHURCH, inspired by recurring nightmares and an old Tin Church, weaves a sultry southern spell that begs the question, can the wheel of generational trauma ever truly stop spinning? Or are families destined to repeat life's tragedies again and again?
TIN CHURCH will play at the Chain Theatre as part of The Factory Series @Chain Theatre, which provides renters with production support that may include subsidized space, rehearsal studios, and equipment and the overarching marketing, publicity, and technology enhancements for the theater. Performances begin Wednesday, October 23 and continue through Sunday, November 23. Opening Night is Friday, October 25 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and available at https://www.ticketor.com/carnegiestage/tinchurch.
The Magnolia smells sweet on the evening breeze, and then it falls and sours, like a secret kept too long. Tin Church is an unsettling, Southern Gothic exploration of generational trauma and the secrets families keep. The dream and waking world collide in this intensely dark comedy where demons come out to play in the low country south. Mary is the oldest of three sisters. It seems she has escaped her small southern town and the monotony of it all for the big city life. Mildred, her mother, has a successful marriage, a big family, and an even larger front porch. She spends her days stirring up sweet tea and gossip. Younger sisters Linda and Sue are well woven into the intricate quilt of secrets this family keeps. One remembers. The other spends her days and nights trying to forget. Through a maze of memories, letters, dreams, and the waking world, TIN CHURCH takes us on a thrilling psychological exploration of things unsaid. Is Mildred as perfect as she insists? Did Mary truly escape after all? What is the secret that binds them?
Born in Ohio and raised in the Carolinas, Robyne Parrish has lived and worked as an Actor/Director/Playwright in NYC for the better part of twenty years. This is her first commissioned play and her first full length world premiere. Parrish and Off the Wall have a storied past, collaborating on multiple projects, notably Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis, Andrea Lepcio's Looking for the Pony, and The Zero Hour by Madeline George. Parrish cites she's been greatly influenced by playwrights Williams, Letts, McNally, Nottage, Shepard and Shanley, "I have a great deal of admiration for Shanley and have since my college years. I'd say Shanley was instrumental in making my childhood desire to be in New York a reality, by bringing the community into focus and allowing his characters to take huge risks and speak deep secret truths. As Actor/Playwrights, Tracy Letts and Sam Shepard always inspired me to embrace the multi-hyphenate within. They wrote rich and deeply emotional characters, like Nottage and McNally. And of course, Williams, a prolific southern Playwright who was known for using his familial relationships as inspiration for his storytelling."
The production stars Marguerite Stimpson (The Elephant Man/Bway) as Mary, Christina Perry (Simpatico/Off-Bway) as Linda, Lilly Tobin (How the Grinch Stole Christmas/Madison Square Garden and National Tour) as Sue, and Virginia Wall-Gruenert (What Kind of Woman/Off-Bway) as Mildred Gilbert.
TIN CHURCH features scenic design by Marie Laster, sound design by Farid Vargas, lighting design by Juliette Louste, and original music by Adia Victoria. TIN CHURCH is produced by Hans H. Gruenert (Off the Wall Productions Pittsburgh), Erika Cuenca (Wall Stageworks LLC Pittsburgh), and Juliette Louste (ViVa Holding ehf Iceland). Casting is by JAMIBETH MARGOLIS casting. The stage manager is Amelia Heastings.
TIN CHURCH plays the following regular schedule through Friday, October 25:
Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
Wednesdays at 7 p.m.
Thursdays at 7 p.m.
Fridays at 7 p.m.
Saturdays at 7 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $35 and are now available online at https://www.ticketor.com/carnegiestage/tinchurch .
Running Time: 90 mins
Website: www.insideoffthewall.com/
off the WALL Productions (OTWP)
OTWP established by Hans and Virginia Wall Gruenert in 2007, is a non-profit 501 C3 and formerly Carnegie Stage’s Resident Professional Theater Company, working under contract with Actors Equity Association.
In the past 18 years, OTWP produced 76 shows, including World premieres and Regional premieres .
OTWP's mission is to create a more conscious and compassionate community, while providing a living wage for all artists, and to encourage and support the admiration of all arts and artists by providing a home in which live theater, dance, music, and comedy can be presented, while nurturing, challenging, inspiring and empowering women theater artists from our area and beyond to collaborate as playwrights, directors, technicians, and actors, explore new ideas, and develop new works.
Viva Holding ehf
ViVa Holding is a dynamic live theater and dance performances producer based in Iceland. We work closely with off the WALL productions (NYC) to bring you unique and captivating shows that will leave you spellbound. Our passion for creativity and innovation is reflected in every performance we produce.