RealTime Arts connects human beings through unique theatrical experiences.
Ashley Reign in Khūrākī, photo by Heather Mull
Upcoming:
there is a blue that only children see
Thu, Feb 18 - Sun, Feb 28, 2027
City Theatre’s Lillie Theatre
Written by Molly Rice
Directed by Rusty Thelin
Musical Adaptations & Performance by Oleksandr & Mari Frazé-Frazénko
Original Music by Molly Rice
there is a blue that only children see is a theatrical journey through war, loss, and redemption. Drawing on the voices of Ukrainian defenders, haunting polyphonic songs, and conversations between Ukrainian and American veterans, it transforms lived experience into a landscape where folklore and testimony intertwine, and where beauty, violence, and magic co-exist. At once a confessor’s circle, a choral anthem, and a gritty folktale tuned to our time, this intimate yet epic new work reveals that remembering the details is an act of resistance, and telling the story is the path to freedom.
there is a blue has received support from the Heinz Endowments, the Bogliasco Center and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Although this support has gone a long way toward completion of this ambitious project, we still have a ways to go. Click below to help us fund this Pittsburgh World Premiere!
there is a blue is the result of 2 years of collaboration with a group of Ukrainian veterans (through our partners DTCare) and a group of American veterans supporting them. Check back here for more on our developmental process.
Most recent:
Thank you for selling out Pittsburgh’s first round of EQUITABLE DINNERS*!
Throughout July, audiences gathered in private homes and gathering spaces across Pittsburgh to experience an original short play, a meal and a thoughtful, intimate conversation with friends and neighbors about food, health and American identity.
Here are some ways audiences described the experience:
Thank you to Malika Cleckley for her powerful performances; the delicious meals served by our generous hosts in their lovely homes; and most of all, to YOU, for your thoughtful, moving, and heartfelt contributions to our community conversations at the end of each night. Let’s keep talking, Pittsburgh.
*Equitable Dinners is a licensed program of Out of Hand Theater in Atlanta, and are currently produced by Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis as well. We're so excited to bring Pittsburgh into this national conversation!
What we do
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We connect
Every new RealTime theater project is created by a diverse constellation of individuals with knowledge and experience reaching well beyond the arts, united by the story we’re telling together.
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We collaborate
As we create new works of community-engaged theater, we build networks of artists, nonprofits, businesses, and community members that inform and inspire each other.
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We create
Browse the projects we’ve created with a broad range of collaborators, from theater artists to scientists to rock bands to social workers to our neighbors down the street.
“This was the best, most moving night of theatre in my lifetime.”
-Audience Member
“RealTime makes theater about communities, with communities in mind, and they don't pay lip service to it. They walk the walk, they don't just talk the talk.”
—Artist/ Community Collaborator
a decade of REalTime arts— what’s next?
2025 marked 10 years since the founding of RealTime Arts (formerly RealTime Interventions)— we can hardly beliieve it!
Looking forward to the next decade with you.
Artwork credit: Melanie Marshall
Photo Credits
Common Ground Culture, Dominique Murray, Allie Reefer, Jen Saffron, Heather Mull, Rebecca Mundok, Famous in NY