Quantum Theatre

08/27/2026

What a summer it’s been! 🌟

We’re still riding the wave of The Tempest — a sold-out run at Carrie Blast Furnaces and an incredible season opener. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make it such a memorable experience.
And now, we’re looking ahead. There’s so much more to come!

With a Two-Show Subscription, you can choose both of the remaining productions in Quantum Theatre’s season:
🏝️ radio island
✨ Cassandra

Experience more of the bold, unexpected, site-specific work you’ve come to expect from Quantum.

🎭 Two shows. One subscription. Endless possibilities.

Join us for the rest of the season and see what’s next.
🎟️ Subscribe now: quantumtheatre.com/subscribe-two/

08/25/2026

Dear friends,

On behalf of an amazing group of artists, Quantum staff, and volunteers, thank you for coming out to Carrie Furnace for The Tempest. We poured our hearts into it, and you rewarded us with your presence, game spirit, thoughtful appreciation, laughs, and some tears. What more could we wish for? It was a grand experience for me start to finish, one that I’ll cherish.

Now your indulgence sets me free… not to fly the coop but to see you in the streets, parks, restaurants, and theaters. See you in our community, in all of Pittsburgh’s theaters, and especially at Quantum for the great excitement ahead.

Love, Karla

08/24/2026

What does it mean to tell the story of a man who challenged slavery, religious authority, and the social order of his time?

Quantum Theatre has explored Benjamin Lay’s extraordinary story on stage, and this August, City of Asylum invites audiences to discover his story on film with Becoming Benjamin Lay.

Filmmaker Tony Buba and historian Marcus Rediker explore the life and legacy of Lay, an 18th-century Quaker, abolitionist, and radical who dedicated his life to opposing slavery. Decades ahead of his time, Lay refused to accept injustice as inevitable — and used bold, dramatic acts of protest to make his beliefs impossible to ignore.

For those who experienced Quantum’s production, this is an opportunity to return to Lay’s story from a new perspective. And if you’re discovering Benjamin Lay for the first time, this film offers a fascinating introduction to one of history’s most uncompromising abolitionists.

Learn more about the film and upcoming screening: cityofasylum.org/program/tony-buba-marcus-rediker-present-becoming-benjamin-lay/

City of Asylum hosts a film screening of a new documentary from director Tony Buba and historian Marcus Rediker, exploring the life and ideas of Benjamin Lay.

08/19/2026

FULL RUN. SOLD OUT.

Thank you, Pittsburgh! Every performance of The Tempest is now sold out, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

From the artists and crew to our audiences and community — thank you for being part of the journey.

Let's make the most of our final five performances. 🌊❤️

08/19/2026

Amid our revels

From Mark Staley (Alonso)

As I worked on Alonso, I realized that almost every character spends the play trying to control something: another person, the past, the future, even nature itself. Yet one by one, those illusions fall away. What remains isn't defeat. It's relationship. Forgiveness. Humility. A different way of seeing. For me, that's what The Tempest has become.

Not simply a play about magic, but a story about what becomes possible when we stop trying to control life and begin entering into a deeper relationship with it.
I hope the audience will find their own answer somewhere along the way each night.

🎟️ Tickets: quantumtheatre.com/tempest/
📸 Beth Barbis

08/18/2026

Amid our revels

From Carolina Ignacia Vargas Romero (Miranda)

It's now funny for me to remember that before diving into this process, I didn't feel any particular connection to The Tempest and even less to Miranda, it was totally unexpected when I got a callback audition for this role and then being cast as Miranda, but I always trusted Karla's vision and I decided to take on the challenge to find myself in the role and speak Shakespeare’s words as a non-native English speaker.

It's always so magical when in a creative process, the play and characters start to unfold within yourself and now the story and everything in it feels very personal, relevant and universal at the same time. Some concepts that emerged as personal connections from the process are shamanism, delight, human agency, love, rebelliousness, desire, the mundane and the sacred.

🎟️ Tickets: quantumtheatre.com/tempest/
📸 Beth Barbis

08/17/2026

Amid our revels

“There are moments when life and art stop reflecting one another and somehow become the same thing. This summer has felt like that.” - Jeffrey Carpenter

Acting is a kind of alchemical magic. How lucky we are to share this experience and cast with all of you.

Jeffrey Carpenter (Prospero)
Every night I drive into the Carrie Furnaces to play Prospero, and it feels less like arriving at a theatre than returning to somewhere that has been waiting for me.

I grew up just over the hill. Swissvale High School sat looking down on these blast furnaces when they were still alive...breathing fire into the valley, shaking the windows, turning the night sky orange. When I graduated in 1985, they were simply there. Like the rivers. Like the hills.

As a kid, I mostly saw them as symbols of strength. Human ingenuity. Industry. Progress. Standing here now, forty years later, I see something else entirely.

Maybe that's what I've been thinking about all summer. Power.
Who holds it. Who thinks they hold it. What happens when they finally let it go.

Prospero spends most of the play believing that wisdom means orchestrating everything. Every encounter. Every storm. Every reconciliation. His books. His staff. Ariel. Even forgiveness is something he imagines he can direct.
And then...he lets go.
Or at least he tries to.

🎟️ Tickets: quantumtheatre.com/tempest/
📸 Beth Barbis

08/16/2026

Due to weather, we must cancel tonight’s performance (8/16) of . We are contacting ticket holders to reschedule and will be in touch with everyone as soon as possible.

08/14/2026

is kinda chic 🌊❤️

08/13/2026

There’s still time to experience the magic of The Tempest at Carrie Blast Furnaces.

Step into Shakespeare’s world for a beautiful, one-of-a-kind theatrical experience — and see for yourself what audiences are talking about.

Don’t miss Karla Boos’ final production with Quantum Theatre. The Tempest runs through August 23.

🎟️ Get your tickets: quantumtheatre.com/tempest