Our production of Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night by Alec Silberblatt is a world premiere, but what exactly does that mean? Basically, this is the very first time this play will be performed publicly anywhere in the world. The performance is a full, professional production complete with all the sets, costumes, and lighting you would expect from any production at Third Avenue PlayWorks, but as an audience member, you’ll be among the first ever to see the new work brought to life on stage.
The Playwright: Alec Silberblatt
Playwright Alec Silberblatt is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the setting for Ryan’s Pub. Most recently, Pittsburgh Public Theater commissioned his play, A Tell-Tale Heart, that premiered online during the pandemic and in 2023 premiered live to sold-out audiences at Pittsburgh Public Theater where he also starred in the production. His play, The Vampire, will be workshopped and performed as part of Theatre Aspen’s 2025 Solo Flights Festival.
Silberblatt has been a finalist for the Road Theatre Summer Playwrights Festival and his plays have been developed by Theatre Aspen, Curious Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and of course Third Avenue PlayWorks! Additionally, Alec acted in and co-directed a filmed version of his play The Mon Valley Medium for The Studios of Key West. An alum of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Playwrights Collective, when Alec is not working on theater, he is a senior interpretive guide at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
About his work, Alec says “I seek to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Make the mundane poetic. Make heroes out of the flawed folks you meet at the local bar.”
The Play: Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night
A semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and workshopped at the 2023 Seven Devil Playwrights Conference, Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night demonstrates Alec’s quirky and distinctive storytelling that will take you on twists and turns. This story about trivia night, cheaters in billowy khakis, bosses with big watches, bartenders in tight t-shirts, and about coming face to face with demons, is a story worth the price of the theater tickets, a baby sitter, dinner, and drinks.
Previous World Premiere at Third Avenue PlayWorks
The last world premiere produced at Third Avenue PlayWorks was Jennifer Blackmer’s I Carry Your Heart with Me in 2023. The one-actor, multi-character play explored a middle-aged woman’s conflicted memories of her top-secret post and captured the experiences of soldiers during the Vietnam War. Inspired by her mother’s stint as a young stenographer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the script went on to become a finalist for the Steinberg/ATCA (American Theatre Critics Association) New Play Award in 2024. This award recognized the best scripts premiered professionally outside of New York City in 2023.
“Regional theaters remain a vital incubator for the development of new works,” said Cameron Kelsall, co-chair of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award committee. “Past winners of this award have gone on to major productions on Broadway and around the world, and have been adapted into successful film and television projects.”*
Why Attend a World Premiere?
Attending a world premiere play provides a unique and memorable experience that connects you directly with the creative process and the artists involved. It’s your chance to be a part of theater history and see a brand-new story unfold for the first time. As one of the first audience members, your reactions and responses during the premiere run have the potential to help shape the final version of the play for future productions.
Your ticket for Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night is more than a unique opportunity to become a part of the creative process, it’s a way to directly support new playwrights. By purchasing a ticket, you play a vital role in encouraging new theatrical works and help us bring theatre worth talking about to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and the world.
*Quote from American Theatre Critics Association press release.