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WHEREAS, 2012 is the twelfth year that The Pittsburgh Newspaper Guild/CWA 38061 and the Pittsburgh Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have joined forces to "satirize Pittsburgh for a good cause" with their creation and performance of Off The Record; and
WHEREAS, eleven years ago Post-Gazette reporter-columnist Gary Rotstein and theatre maven Chris Rawson joined forces to write and produce this annual musical satire, which benefits various local charities and features a mixed cast of acting professionals and amateurs; and
WHEREAS, this riotous event has raised $300,000 to date for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in its eleven-year history and also contributes toward the Pittsburgh Newspaper Guild/CWA and the Pittsburgh SAG-AFTRA scholarship funds and, this year, to the August Wilson Center; and
WHEREAS, this year's performance of Off The Record XII, directed by Gregory Lehane, is titled Reassess This! and, in addition to the acting styles of Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak, features emcee Ken Rice and guest humorists-or "prebuttalists," as they're given a chance to plead their cases before the curtain opens-County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and longtime NAACP chair and founder of the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP) Tim Stevens, and will be performed Thursday, October 4, 2012 at the Byham Theater downtown; and
WHEREAS, this year's performance pays tribute to the work of August Wilson, having used his ten-play "Pittsburgh Cycle" magnum opus as a loose inspiration, utilizing some themes and characters for present-day satiric effect, skewering the county housing reassessments, University of Pittsburgh's season of bomb threats, the misadventures of "too many public officials to mention," and more.
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THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby proclaim Thursday, October 4, 2012, to be Off The Record XII Day in the City of Pittsburgh.