Our Mission Statement
The New Renaissance Theatre Company illuminates the joy and passion captured in the best of live theatre by connecting the classic to the contemporary through ensemble-based development and performance.
Our Mission Statement
Who We Are
Andy Kirtland, Artistic Director
Andy's Pittsburgh acting credits include Pittsburgh Public Theatre (Our Town), The REP (By The Way… Meet Vera Stark, The Flick), Unseam’d Shakespeare Company (Complete Works… Abridged, Orlando), Prime Stage (Walk Two Moons), Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks (The Tempest) and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater (The Festival in Black & White). NYC credits include: The Public Theatre / Amerinda Theatre (Thieves), Folding Chair Classical Theatre (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Raised Spirits Theatre (Macbeth). Regional and touring credits include: The New England Shakespeare Festival (As You Like It, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night), The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (Macbeth, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Tempest, The Cherry Orchard, The Winter’s Tale), Hampstead Stage Company, Chamber Theatre and others. For NRTC Andy has produced most of our productoins; directed The Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet, The Tragedie of Macbeth, As you Like it, The Life of Henry the Fift; The Tragedie of Othello, and The Tragedie of Richard III; and taught various workshops. Directing credits include: Twelfth Night (Prime Stage Theatre), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Unseam’d Shakespeare Company using the unrehearsed cue script technique), Don't Dress for Dinner and Wait Until Dark (Greensburg Civic Theatre), Henry IV, Part 1 (Poor Yorick's Players) and The Servant of Two Masters (Pittsburgh Savoyards). Andy presented his paper ‘An Unrehearsed Cue Script Perspective on Love’s Labour’s Lost’ at La Société Française Shakespeare’s 2015 conference in Lyon, France. He earned his BA in Theatre from Dickinson College and studied classical theatre at the British American Drama Academy. Andy is a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Association.
Charlene Baker, Company Stage Manager
Charlene has been working with theatre her whole life. She graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2012 with a degree in Theatre Design/Technology and a degree in Communication Emerging Technology and Multimedia. Charlene works full time as an Assistant Pre-K teacher with a local daycare as well as a summer lifeguard for the center. She has worked with Unseam'd Shakespeare Company (Stage Manager, Assistant Stage Manager), Greensburg Civic Theatre (Stage Manager), Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center (Stage Manager, Production Assistant), and Riverview High School's Spring Musical (Sound Designer). She also is on the Tech Team for the Western PA United Methodist Church Conference. She has worked with the Unrehearsed Shakespeare Project for the past 3 years and is a board member of The New Renaissance Theatre Company. In her “spare” time Charlene is a dance team coach for Riverview Jr./Sr. High School.
Nick Benninger, Ensemble Member
Nick Benninger is a Pittsburgh-based actor. He gratuated from Slippery Rock University in 2013 with a degree in Theatre for acting. He works as a Box Office Assistant for City Theatre Company and as a barista at Starbucks. He appeared with The Unrehearsed Shakespeare Project's productions of Much Adoe About Nothing, A Midsommer Nights Dreame, and The Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet. Other credits include Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Park (As You Like It, King Lear, Comedy of Errors), Unseam'd Shakespeare Company (The Tempest, or The Enchanted Isle), Future Tenant 12 Festival, and The Pittsburgh Fringe Festival.
Joanna Getting, Ensemble Member / Community Connections Coordinator
Joanna Getting is delighted to become an NRTC company member in 2018, having
first joined the company for the 2017 Unrehearsed Shakespeare Project Tour. Her
theatrical endeavors include turns as actor, director, playwright, co-deviser, costume
designer, dialect coach, and stage combat choreographer. During her studies at the
University of Pittsburgh, Joanna earned recommended passes in unarmed and knife
combat from the Society of American Fight Directors. Her honors include
nomination for Best Actress in the New York City Take Ten Play Festival. One of
Joanna’s biggest weaknesses is Shakespeare, so accordingly many of her favorite
roles have been as Shakespeare’s men, including Falstaff (Merry Wives of Windsor),
Gloucester (King Lear), and MacDuff in the 2017 Tour of Macbeth.
first joined the company for the 2017 Unrehearsed Shakespeare Project Tour. Her
theatrical endeavors include turns as actor, director, playwright, co-deviser, costume
designer, dialect coach, and stage combat choreographer. During her studies at the
University of Pittsburgh, Joanna earned recommended passes in unarmed and knife
combat from the Society of American Fight Directors. Her honors include
nomination for Best Actress in the New York City Take Ten Play Festival. One of
Joanna’s biggest weaknesses is Shakespeare, so accordingly many of her favorite
roles have been as Shakespeare’s men, including Falstaff (Merry Wives of Windsor),
Gloucester (King Lear), and MacDuff in the 2017 Tour of Macbeth.
Tonya Lynn, Ensemble Member
Tonya Lynn is a Pittsburgh-based fight choreographer, actor, and director whose credits include work for Colonial Williamsburg’s Hallam Players, Prime Stage Theatre, Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, Throughline Theater, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater, the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival, and several local universities including the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), Seton Hill University, Slippery Rock University, Marietta College, and the University of Pittsburgh.
In addition to her theatrical work, Tonya is a teaching artist in Pittsburgh with Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theatre, Gateway to the Arts, and Hope Academy for Music & the Arts, and she is an adjunct faculty member in the CCAC South Campus Department of Theatre. She is an Advanced Actor-Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and has trained with the United Stuntmen’s Association.
In addition to her theatrical work, Tonya is a teaching artist in Pittsburgh with Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theatre, Gateway to the Arts, and Hope Academy for Music & the Arts, and she is an adjunct faculty member in the CCAC South Campus Department of Theatre. She is an Advanced Actor-Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and has trained with the United Stuntmen’s Association.
Adam Rutledge, Ensemble Member
Adam Rutledge is a Pittsburgh-based actor, fight choreographer and director, working primarily on Shakespearean productions. His company credits include The New Renaissance Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, Throughline Theatre, Prime Stage Theatre, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, Poor Yorick's Players and Greensburg Civic Theatre. Adam has performed, choreographed or directed over two dozen outdoor Shakespeare productions, and has also spent three years playing at Fringe Festivals, including the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival and Rochester Fringe, with Brawling Bard Theater. Adam has trained with the Society of American Fight Directors since 2004.
Board of Directors
Andy Kirtland, President
Adam Rutledge, Treasurer
Charlene Baker, Secretary (acting Vice President)
Tonya Lynn
James Baker
Adam Rutledge, Treasurer
Charlene Baker, Secretary (acting Vice President)
Tonya Lynn
James Baker