![\"WTAE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769019068_844_wtae.png\")
<\/p>\n‘A living, breathing art form’: 4 The Record learns about opera with Pittsburgh roots<\/p>\n
Host Shannon Perrine goes behind the scenes of ‘Time To Act’<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIT\u2019S HARD. WAS IT. A DREAM? THEY SAY IT WAS LIKE A WARZONE. WE BEGIN THIS WEEK\u2019S EPISODE OF. FOR THE RECORD, WITH THE SOUNDS OF AN AMERICAN OPERA. TIME TO ACT MADE ITS WORLD DEBUT AT THE PITTSBURGH OPERA\u2019S BITS OPERA FACTORY EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND THIS OPERA, WHICH FOCUSES ON THE AFTERMATH OF A TRAUMATIC SCHOOL SHOOTING, HAS A MAJOR PITTSBURGH VOICE BEHIND THE SCENES. CRYSTAL MANEK IS THE SHOW\u2019S DIRECTOR AND LIBRETTIST, MEANING SHE WROTE THE WORDS THE STORY. LET\u2019S START OFF THIS EPISODE BY GOING TO MY INTERVIEW WITH HER. HOW MANICHE FOUND INSPIRATION AND THE COLLABORATION WITH COMPOSER LAURA KAMINSKY THAT MADE THIS ALL POSSIBLE. TELL ME THE ORIGIN STORY OF THIS. SO WHAT YEAR IS 2018? 2018, RIGHT AFTER PARKLAND, LIKE A WEEK AFTER PARKLAND HAPPENS? AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE? SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS HE CALLED ME ON A WHIM. I WAS HOME IN PUERTO RICO AND HE SAID, I\u2019M WONDERING IF YOU WANT TO USE YOUR PLAYWRITING SKILLS TO THINK ABOUT CONCEIVING AN OPERA ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE. THAT GO THROUGH SOME KIND OF THEIR DRAMA KIDS AND THEY\u2019RE STUDYING THE PLAY ANTIGONE BY SOPHOCLES AND THEY. REALIZED THROUGH GOING THROUGH THIS TRAUMA AND THIS TRAGEDY THAT THE PLAY ACTUALLY IS RELATABLE TO THEIR LIVES AND THEY BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE PLAY AND THEMSELVES THROUGH THE PROCESS OF HEALING. AND SO THAT WAS THE GERM OF THE IDEA. AND I TOOK IT AND I WROTE A TREATMENT OF IT THAT WEEK, JUST SORT OF REVISITING ANTIGONE. I HADN\u2019T READ IT SINCE PROBABLY COLLEGE, AND IT WAS IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING REALLY INCREDIBLE. AND I STARTED WRITING A DRAFT, AND I HAD NEVER WRITTEN AN OPERA BEFORE. I DIRECTED A LOT OF OPERAS, BUT NEVER WRITTEN ONE. AND WORKED ON IT PRETTY STEADILY. AND THEN I CAME HERE TO PITTSBURGH OPERA TO DIRECT HANSEL AND GRETEL IN NOVEMBER OF 2018, AND. THE TREE OF LIFE TRAGEDY HAPPENED THE DAY OF OUR FINAL REHEARSAL THAT MORNING, AND I WAS A MILE AWAY. I WAS IN SHADYSIDE WHEN IT HAPPENED, AND IT WAS IT WAS IT WAS REALLY PROFOUND FOR SO MANY REASONS THAT ARE PRETTY OBVIOUS, BUT ALSO BECAUSE I WAS WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT OF THIS LIBRETTO AT THAT TIME. AND THE NEXT DAY I SAT DOWN TO WORK ON IT BECAUSE I THOUGHT, I WANT TO DOCUMENT ABOUT HOW I\u2019M FEELING ABOUT IT AND WHAT AM I GETTING FROM WHAT\u2019S ACTUALLY HAPPENING SO THAT I CAN PUT MYSELF IN THEIR PITTSBURGH. IT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS IN PITTSBURGH. PROXIMITY TO THAT TRAGEDY, TO THAT HORRIFIC MOMENT IS IMPORTANT. YEAH. AND IT\u2019S AND IT REALLY THERE IS A PIECE OF THAT MOMENT IN THIS PIECE. I REALLY BELIEVE THAT IT\u2019S IT\u2019S IN THERE BECAUSE I WAS IN REAL TIME PROCESSING MY FEELINGS ABOUT BEING EVEN ON THE PERIPHERY OF THAT TRAGEDY. BUT SO CLOSE AND IN A COMMUNITY THAT. I KNEW PEOPLE WHO WERE ATTACHED TO THAT COMMUNITY AND WHO HAD CONNECTIONS THERE. SO IT WAS REALLY IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT. IT WAS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT. IT\u2019S IT\u2019S AND I CAN TELL EVEN NOW, IT\u2019S EMOTIONAL WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT JUST THAT VERY RAW PAIN. YEAH. AND. IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD THIS SORT OF CALLING PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WRITERS AND THEY HAVE SOMETHING INSIDE THAT HAS TO GET OUT. YEAH. WAS THAT PART OF IT FOR YOU? I, I DEFINITELY, I HAD A CALLING TO BE A WRITER A LONG TIME AGO. AND I NEVER, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS LIKE 12 AND I, AND I DIDN\u2019T REALLY, I WROTE A LOT AS A KID, BUT BECAUSE I WAS SO FOCUSED ON MY DIRECTING CAREER, I DECIDED TO JUST FOCUS ON THAT AND SAID, I\u2019LL GET TO THE WRITING LATER. AND WHAT I FOUND DURING THE CREATION OF THE FIRST DRAFT OF THIS LIBRETTO WAS THAT I DIDN\u2019T YET HAVE THE TOOLS OF, YOU KNOW, HOW TO REALLY DO IT WELL. AND COVID GAVE ME THAT GIFT, AND OUT OF COVID, THAT\u2019S WHEN I BECAME A WRITER, BECAUSE THAT\u2019S WHAT I DID EVERY DAY FOR FOR A LOT OF COVID, BECAUSE I COULD I HAD NO OTHER AND YOU COULDN\u2019T POSSIBLY BE DIRECTING. YEAH, YEAH. I MEAN, I DID GOT INTERRUPTED. I DID DIRECT SOME PROJECTS DURING COVID, LIKE, YOU KNOW, I DID SOME FILM PROJECTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO I WAS VERY LUCKY. I DID A LOT OF OPERA FILM STUFF AND THAT WAS, THAT WAS GREAT. BUT IN GENERAL, I HAD SO MUCH LESS WORK THAN I WAS USED TO, AND I WAS HOME. AND SO I WROTE A SCREENPLAY. I KEPT WRITING THIS. IS HAVING ITS PREMIERE NEXT YEAR. SO A LOT OF INCREDIBLE THINGS CAME OUT OF ALSO ANOTHER DARK TIME AND THAT\u2019S IT REALLY. YOU\u2019RE ASKING ME ABOUT THE CALLING? I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT THERE ARE MOMENTS THAT OCCUR IN LIFE THAT SEND YOU A MESSAGE THAT SAY, THIS IS THE TIME FOR YOU TO DO THIS. AND I THINK THAT I COULDN\u2019T HAVE WRITTEN THIS LIBRETTO OR FINISHED IT BEFORE 2024. YOU KNOW, I JUST IT WAS MEANT TO BE. I MET LAURA IN 2022 WHEN WE STARTED REALLY WORKING ON THIS PIECE, PITCHING IT EVERYWHERE IN 2023, COMING TO PITTSBURGH OPERA FIRST BECAUSE IT WAS MY HOMETOWN COMPANY AND THEY SAID YES RIGHT AWAY, AS LONG AS WE COULD FIND OTHER PARTNERS. SO LAURA AND I WORKED REALLY HARD ON FINDING THOSE PARTNERS. RIGHT? SO THIS IS COMMISSIONED BY MULTIPLE OPERAS. AS A GROUP PROJECT, RIGHT. AND I MEAN, I\u2019M SURE YOU HAVE GRATITUDE FOR, FOR THAT. AND THE WAY, THE WAY THAT IT CAME TO BE AND ALONG WITH YOUR COLLABORATION WITH LAURA FOR, FOR FOLKS WHO DON\u2019T FOLLOW OPERA, HOW BIG A DEAL IS IT THAT SHE\u2019S SITTING RIGHT OVER THERE IS IN THIS PLACE IN PITTSBURGH IN, IN THIS WESTINGHOUSE BUILDING, THAT THE HISTORY IS JUST NOT LOST ON ME. BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT YOU COLLABORATED WITH HER? IT\u2019S SO SPECIAL. YOU KNOW, I, I DIDN\u2019T QUITE BELIEVE THAT SHE WANTED TO WORK WITH ME ON THIS BECAUSE I JUST THOUGHT, WELL, WHAT LAURA KAMINSKY HAS BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN TO WORK WITH SOMEONE WHO\u2019S NEVER WRITTEN AN OPERA BEFORE. AND BUT WHEN I MET HER ON THAT FIRST ZOOM, WE JUST STARTED IMMEDIATELY COLLABORATING AND RESHAPING THE STORY. AND THEN WHEN WE MET IN PERSON 2022, WE JUST HAD THIS CONNECTION. AND SHE\u2019S VERY CONVINCING. I WAS TRYING TO BACKPEDAL OUT OF WRITING THE NEXT DRAFT. I SAID, OH, MAYBE I\u2019M NOT THE RIGHT PERSON, AND I DON\u2019T REALLY. AND SHE\u2019S THE ONE WHO SAID, NO, YOU\u2019RE GOING TO WRITE THIS LIBRETTO. SHE LOOKED AT ME VERY FIERCELY ACROSS THE CAFE TABLE, AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, SHE SHE WAS INTENSE. AND I LOVED THAT ABOUT HER. AND I LOVED THAT SHE WAS SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS STORY THAT I HAD BEEN WORKING ON FOR SO LONG. AND I AND AT ONE TIME THOUGHT, I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A DEAD PROJECT, YOU KNOW, AND SHE REALLY REVIVED IT IN ME THAT THAT IT COULD BE SOMETHING. HOW MUCH DID BEING FROM JUST ACROSS THE RIVER, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE STREET INFORM? SO WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW, YOU\u2019RE. PITTSBURGH PIRATES. YEAH, IT IT\u2019S I FEEL LIKE MAYBE YOU HAVE TWO HOMETOWNS, MAYBE PITTSBURGH AND PUERTO RICO. YOU REALLY IDENTIFY WITH THESE TWO? I DO BOTH, THEY\u2019RE BOTH IMPORTANT TO YOU, RIGHT? HOW DID THEY SORT OF PLAY INTO GETTING YOU TO DO THIS MOMENT? YEAH, I THINK PITTSBURGH SHAPED ME A LOT BECAUSE OF THE ARTS INFLUENCE THAT I HAD GROWING UP HERE. I WAS, YOU KNOW, IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN THE CULTURAL DISTRICT WAS GETTING THIS FACELIFT AND REVITALIZATION, THE NEW PUBLIC THEATER, THE RENOVATION OF THE BENEDUM, HEINZ HALL, ALL OF THAT. AND OF COURSE, THE NEW HAZLITT, ONCE THE PUBLIC THEATER MOVED OUT OF THERE, BECAME ANOTHER THEATER AND THE CITY THEATER. I MEAN, THERE\u2019S SO MANY PLACES. AND THEN BEING ABLE TO GO TO CARNEGIE MELLON DRAMA AND EXPERIENCE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT PITTSBURGH HAD TO OFFER. I MEAN, I REALLY THINK THAT THAT REALLY INFLUENCED ME PROFOUNDLY, BUT ALSO MY CONNECTION TO THIS COMPANY AND THE FACT THAT I STARTED MY CAREER HERE AS AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND THEN GOT MY BIG BREAK AS A DIRECTOR HERE, AND THEN I\u2019VE GONE ALL OVER THE WORLD SINCE THEN. BUT BUT, YOU KNOW, PITTSBURGHERS WERE BOOMERANGS, SO WE ALWAYS COME BACK AND BUT IT\u2019S BEEN A JOY TO COME BACK TO THIS COMPANY PRETTY MUCH YEAR AFTER YEAR FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS. AND, AND JUST REALLY FEEL LIKE I\u2019VE BEEN NURTURED AS A DIRECTOR NOW AS A LIBRETTIST, WHICH LIKE THAT JUST DOESN\u2019T HAPPEN IN A NORMAL LIFE. SO DID IT HAPPEN TO YOU? YEAH, IT DID HAPPEN TO ME. YEAH. I\u2019M VERY I FEEL VERY FORTUNATE ABOUT THAT. AND I THINK THAT THAT\u2019S THAT\u2019S WHY I FEEL SO CONNECTED TO TO THE CITY IN GENERAL THAT I JUST FEEL LIKE IT REALLY HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE PLACE THAT NURTURED ME THE MOST. AND, AND MY LIFE IN PUERTO RICO, YOU KNOW, WHERE MY FAMILY IS AND WHERE MY, WHERE THE ROOTS OF MY CULTURE ARE, YOU KNOW, THOSE THINGS HAVE ALL COMBINED TO, TO CREATE WHO I AM. STILL AHEAD ON FOR THE RECORD, THE NOTES ARE THE ROADMAP TO THE EMOTIONAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE STORY. COMPOSER LAURA KAMINSKY ON TELLING THIS MODERN STORY AS A UNIQUELY AMERICAN OPERA. WELCOME BACK TO. FOR THE RECORD, I\u2019M SHANNON PERRINE. IN OUR LAST SEGMENT, KRYSTAL MANAGE A MOUNT LEBANON HIGH SCHOOL AND CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE TOLD US ABOUT CREATING THE OPERA TIME TO ACT, WHICH DEBUTED IN PITTSBURGH EARLIER THIS YEAR. NOW LET\u2019S TURN TO MY INTERVIEW WITH COMPOSER LAURA KAMINSKY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COLLABORATION THAT HELPED BRING THIS STORY TO THE STAGE. WHY DID YOU WANT TO WORK WITH KRYSTAL ON THIS PROJECT? WELL, SHE APPROACHED ME ABOUT THIS AND I DIDN\u2019T KNOW HER. AND SO OF COURSE, I DID MY RESEARCH AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS FASCINATING AND BRILLIANT AND CREATIVE. AND THE STORY IS SO COMPELLING. AND SHE WAS AT THE FIRST STAGES OF DEVELOPING IT. SHE HAD AN INITIAL LIBRETTO READY FOR ME WHEN WE FIRST MET, AND I DIDN\u2019T FIND MY WAY INTO IT, SO I WAS A BIT HESITANT. AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, I\u2019M NOT SURE THIS IS THE RIGHT FIT. IT\u2019S A COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT STORY. AND SHE SAID, WELL, LET\u2019S TALK AND SHE WAS SO OPEN TO HEARING WHAT MY RESERVATIONS WERE AND HOW WE COULD MAKE IT WORK IN A WAY THAT FELT DRAMATICALLY COMFORTABLE AND EMOTIONALLY OKAY, BECAUSE IT\u2019S SUCH A RAW STORY AND SO POWERFUL. AND IT ALSO HAS SO MANY POTENTIALS TO TRANSFORM PEOPLE\u2019S MINDS AND HEARTS AROUND THE ACCESS THAT WE HAVE TO GUNS IN OUR SOCIETY AND MENTAL ILLNESS AND ALL OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES AROUND IT. AND SHE WAS SO OPEN TO DIVING DEEP AND RETHINKING THINGS THAT WE AGREED TO DO THIS TOGETHER. AND IT\u2019S BEEN AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH HER. IT\u2019S HARD TO FIND ANOTHER ART FORM THAT\u2019S SO DIRECT ON WORKING ON THAT INFLUENCE AND HAVING SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT AN IMPORTANT TOPIC LIKE THIS. HOW DO YOU DO YOUR WORK? YOU TAKE THE WORDS, I WISH I KNEW, SHE WROTE. I MEAN, I CAN\u2019T EVEN BEGIN TO THINK OF HOW YOU YOU START THE PROCESS. I MEAN, IT STARTS WITH THE STORY. SO, SO AS I SAID, THIS WAS AN INTERESTING SITUATION BECAUSE IT WAS THE, I THINK IT WAS THE FIRST OPERA THAT I HAD DONE WHERE THERE WAS ALREADY A DRAFT OF A LIBRETTO BEFORE I WAS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE, BECAUSE USUALLY I\u2019VE OFTEN INSTIGATED A PROJECT AND COME UP WITH THE STORY AND THEN FOUND MY COLLEAGUES AND FOUND THE OPERA COMPANY. AND THIS WAS I WAS INVITED IN. AND SO IT\u2019S LIKE, I DON\u2019T KNOW IF I\u2019M GOING TO MAKE THIS FEEL COMFORTABLE BECAUSE I HAVE TO BELIEVE IN THE STORY. I\u2019M NOT JUST WRITING NOTES. I ALWAYS SAY THE MUSIC IS NOT ABOUT DOTS ON THE PAGE THAT HAVE SOUND AND DURATIONAL VALUES. THE NOTES ARE THE ROADMAP TO THE EMOTIONAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE STORY. SO WHEN KRYSTAL APPROACHED ME WITH THE LIBRETTO, AS I SAID, I HAD SOME QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS ABOUT IT AND WE KIND OF RIPPED IT APART AND REJIGGERED HOW THE STORY WAS TOLD AND FROM WHAT VANTAGE POINT AND WHERE THE CLIMACTIC MOMENTS WOULD BE, AND WHERE THE VULNERABLE MOMENTS WOULD BE. I PRETTY MUCH STARTED WITH THE BEGINNING AND WROTE FROM BEGINNING TO END, BUT THERE WERE PLACES THAT I KNEW THINGS THAT WERE GOING TO RECUR THAT I WOULD THEN SKIP AHEAD AND SAY, OKAY, WELL, I WROTE IT HERE. HOW DOES IT TRANSFORM ITSELF THERE? AND THEN I WOULD GET TO THAT PLACE. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS SO GREAT ABOUT WORKING WITH KRYSTAL, AND IT\u2019S SOMETHING THAT I ALWAYS DO WITH MY COLLABORATORS, THERE\u2019S THERE IS A TRADITION IN OPERA WHERE THE LIBRETTIST SAYS, HERE\u2019S MY LATER, I SAY, HERE\u2019S MY SCORE. HOPE YOU LIKE IT. WE COLLABORATED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS, SO I WAS INVOLVED WITH HER IN THE SHAPING OF THE LIBRETTO. WE DID A LIBRETTO READING WITH ACTORS. WE MADE REVISIONS THAT THAT PROCESS WAS COMPLETELY COLLABORATIVE. THEN AS I STARTED WRITING MUSIC, I WOULD SEND HER FILES OF DIGITAL, TERRIBLY SOUNDING, DIGITAL, DIGITAL WORLDS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ALL LEARN TO LIVE WITH THEM RUDIMENTARY, BUT TO GIVE HER A SENSE OF THE ENERGY AND THE PACING AND THE MOTIVES, AND SHE WOULD SAY, THAT FEELS KIND OF WEIRD HERE. AND I WAS LIKE, OH, WHAT\u2019S NOT WORKING? AND THEN AS THE MUSIC STARTS TO EVOLVE, IT\u2019S LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN\u2019T CLEAR. THIS PART OF THE TEXT ISN\u2019T CLEAR NOW THAT IT\u2019S IN A MUSICAL LANDSCAPE. I THINK WE NEED TO GO BACK AND ADDRESS THIS. AND THEN IT\u2019S LIKE, I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE THAT LITTLE BIT OF THAT SCENE TO THIS PLACE, AND WE NEED THIS KIND OF MUSIC TO GET US THERE. AND WE NEED TO REPEAT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT\u2019S TOO IMPORTANT. AND IF IT\u2019S ONLY SAID ONCE OR SUNG ONCE, OR MAYBE IT\u2019S SUNG BY THE WRONG PERSON. SO THINGS KEEP MORE AHEAD. IN JUST TWO MINUTES. MY LIFE WAS, YOU KNOW, CHANGED AFTER THAT. THE REAL LIFE TRAGEDY THAT INFORMED TIME TO ACT\u2019S SCENIC AND COSTUME DESIGNERS WORK ON THIS OPERA. WELCOME BACK TO FOR THE RECORD, EARLIER THIS YEAR, I GOT TO GO BEHIND THE SCENES TO A REHEARSAL FOR THE NEW OPERA TIME TO ACT, WHICH DEBUTED RIGHT HERE IN PITTSBURGH. AND I GOT THE CHANCE TO INTERVIEW THE SCENIC AND COSTUME DESIGNER LINDSAY FIORE, WHO HAPPENS TO BE FROM NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT. THE TOPIC IS IS LIKE WE SAID, IT\u2019S SOMETHING THAT IS STILL ON PEOPLE\u2019S MINDS. DO YOU HAVE A CONNECTION TO THIS TOPIC BECAUSE YOU ARE FROM SANDY HOOK? I MEAN, EVERYBODY REMEMBERS THAT SO CLEARLY. MY SON WAS A FIRST GRADER. I MEAN, SORT OF EVERYBODY CAN THINK ABOUT THAT TIME, I GUESS 2012. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THAT TERRIBLE SHOOTING HAPPENED? YEAH, I WAS 16 YEARS OLD. I WAS A JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND I WAS IN MY THEATER CLASS. I WAS DOING A TEACHING ASSISTANT AND I WAS TEACHING A UNIT ON SCENIC PAINTING. AND A GIRL GOT PAINT ON HER JEANS AND SHE WAS UPSET. OH MY GOD, MY MOM\u2019S GONNA KILL ME. THESE ARE NEW JEANS. AND SO I WAS IN THE BATHROOM WITH HER, TRYING TO SHOW HER HOW TO WASH THE PAINT OFF HER JEANS. WHEN, YOU KNOW, WE GOT AN ALERT THAT THERE WAS GOING INTO LOCKDOWN AND, YOU KNOW, SORT OF WE\u2019RE TOLD WE\u2019RE GOING INTO LOCKDOWN. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. AND THAT WAS IT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I SPENT THE HOURS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTING IN MY THEATER CLASS ON THE FLOOR OF THE AUDITORIUM IN THE CONCRETE BETWEEN THE, YOU KNOW, THE CHAIRS JUST SORT OF NOT NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS HAPPENING. AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN WHEN IT WAS OVER, YOU KNOW, SUDDENLY THE NUMBER WAS, YOU KNOW, 26 PEOPLE DEAD. AND IT WAS MY LIFE WAS, YOU KNOW, CHANGED AFTER THAT, NO DOUBT, NO DOUBT. AND YOUR PROXIMITY TO THAT AND YOUR YOU REALLY WENT THROUGH THAT WITH THAT COMMUNITY FOR SURE. YOU KNOW, ALL THESE YEARS LATER, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SAY ABOUT HOW THAT SORT OF INFORMED WHO YOU ARE AND THE WORK THAT YOU DO? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK IT CHANGES EVERYTHING ABOUT WHO YOU ARE. I MEAN, FOR ME, IN TERMS OF THE WORK THAT I DO THE SUMMER AFTER THE SHOOTING, A GROUP OF ARTISTS CAME TO NEWTOWN TO PUT ON LIKE A SUMMER CAMP, A FREE SUMMER PROGRAM FUNDED BY SOME PARENTS IN TOWN WHO WERE REALLY GENEROUS AND WILLING TO JUST WANTED TO SUPPORT. AND THEY MET UP WITH THE PRODUCER OF FROM BROADWAY WITH LOVE. THEY DID A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR NEWTOWN FOLLOWING THE SHOOTING. AND SO THAT PRODUCER GOT TOGETHER A BUNCH OF ARTISTS, AND THEY PUT ON THIS, YOU KNOW, PRODUCTION OF MUSICAL, WHICH IS, IF YOU\u2019RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY, IT\u2019S ABOUT THIS ELEPHANT PROTECTING THIS SPECK OF DUST AND THE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THIS SPECK OF DUST, AND THESE PEOPLE WHO GET FORGOTTEN AND LEFT BEHIND. AND IT WAS REALLY DURING THAT PROCESS AND REALLY OPENING OPENING NIGHT, YOU KNOW, IT\u2019S EVERY KID ON STAGE IS, IS AFFECTED BY THIS SHOOTING. EVERY KID ON STAGE IS, IS UP THERE DESPITE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE DIFFICULT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES. AND THE AUDIENCE IS FILLED WITH PARENTS. AND I THINK THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I FELT LIKE THE COMMUNITY MIGHT BE OKAY. YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE FIRST MOMENT THAT THAT I FELT LIKE A BREATH OF, WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS. AND SO TO ME, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A MOMENT WHERE I REALIZED HOW THEATER CAN BRING PEOPLE TEACH EMPATHY, WHICH I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE ROOT OF THIS PROBLEM IN OUR COUNTRY AND SPECIFICALLY ONLY OUR COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH WITH FOLKS NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE SOMEONE ELSE\u2019S PERSPECTIVE. AND I THINK THAT THE THING ABOUT THEATER AND OPERA IS INCLUDED IN THAT IS IT\u2019S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS TO GET IN A ROOM AND REALLY HAVE TO LIVE IN SOMEONE\u2019S SHOES FOR A MOMENT, AND TO DO IT NEXT TO STRANGERS AND TO EXPERIENCE A STORY BEGINNING TO END, YOU KNOW, NOT NECESSARILY KNOWING WHAT THEY\u2019RE GETTING INTO. AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE EXPERIENCE THAT I DID REALLY HAS MADE ME WANT TO DEVOTE MY LIFE TO HELPING, FINDING THOSE STORIES THAT NEED TO BE TOLD. AND IN THIS CASE, IT\u2019S IN SOME WAYS TELLING MY OWN STORY. BUT OF, OF, YOU KNOW, TELLING STORIES TO COMMUNITIES THAT, THAT NEED TO HEAR IT AND SUPPORTING ARTISTS, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT STILL AHEAD IN TWO MINUTES, ONE OF THE STARS OF TIME TO ACT GETS THE FINAL WORD ON THIS WEEK\u2019S FOR THE RECORD. WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST? BUT HE WHO THINKS HE ALONE IS WORTH. AS WE WRAP UP THIS WEEK\u2019S EPISODE OF. FOR THE RECORD, I WANT TO BRING IN ONE OF THE ACTORS WHO TOOK THE STAGE IN PITTSBURGH OPERA\u2019S PRODUCTION OF TIME TO ACT. EARLIER THIS YEAR, LOGAN WAGNER PLAYED THE PART OF JOSE AND TELLS ME WHY THIS SHOW RESONATES WITH HIM AND WHAT THE AUDIENCE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM IT. THIS PROJECT IS ONE OF THE MOST RELEVANT PIECES OF ART THAT I\u2019VE EVER BEEN A PART OF. UNFORTUNATELY, RELEVANT. THESE ARE ATROCITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING EVERY DAY IN THE WORLD, AND THIS PIECE REALLY SHINES A LIGHT ON THEM AND SHINES A LIGHT ON HOW ART CAN BE HEALING FOR EVERYONE, AND HOW WE AS A COMMUNITY CAN RALLY TOGETHER BEHIND PEOPLE TO GET US THROUGH TOUGH TIMES. I THINK THE CHARACTER OF JOSE REALLY REPRESENTS EMPATHY AND KINDNESS, AND I THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ALL LEAD WITH IN THE WORLD, AND I THINK WE NEED MORE OF THAT. AND MORE UNDERSTANDING. AND I THERE IS A MOMENT WHEN HE GOES BACK ON HIS UNDERSTANDING AND KIND OF REACTS BASED OFF OF A SITUATION THAT HAPPENS, AND THEN HE IS THE ONE TO STEP UP AND KIND OF TAKE OWNERSHIP OF HIS ACTIONS. AND I THINK THAT THAT OWNERSHIP AND THE LEADING WITH KINDNESS IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ALL USE EVERY DAY IN OUR LIVES. YOU KNOW, TIME TO ACT. CLOSED ITS PITTSBURGH RUN BACK IN MARCH. ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES ARE SCHEDULED FOR AROUND THE U.S. WE WILL LET YOU KNOW IF IT RETURNS TO PITTSBURGH OPERA. THAT\u2019S ALL FOR TODAY\u2019S. FOR THE RECORD, THANKS FOR WATCHING. WE\u2019LL SEE YOU NEXT SUNDAY MORNING AT 11 A.M.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
‘A living, breathing art form’: 4 The Record learns about opera with Pittsburgh roots<\/p>\n
Host Shannon Perrine goes behind the scenes of ‘Time To Act’<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 11:00 AM EDT Apr 12, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n