Erin Kouwe’s GRAPPLING blasts off from the Northside this April
(Pittsburgh, PA) March 13, 2026 – This April 16–17, the New Hazlett Theater premieres GRAPPLING, Erin Elise Kouwe’s theatrical dance journey through space and time. This queer, zero-gravity world blends family history and pop culture to explore love and labor with humor, joy, and a cosmic imagination.
It is an exploration that Kouwe hopes will resonate deeply with the audience.
“I hope that the show will allow folks to sit with curiosity about how they spend their own time,” Kouwe says.
Anchored by Kouwe’s background in choreography and personal narrative, GRAPPLING explores how implanted memories affect productivity in an interstellar landscape. The performance follows a researcher who uploads her family history to human subjects to see if they can become more productive versions of herself. Audiences will experience a vivid artistic journey as these astronauts traverse space, with memories and motion colliding. At the center of it all is an 11-foot silver staircase for the performers to move fluidly through the choreography.
GRAPPLING‘s full title is Germinated Recall in Assessment of Personal Productivity and/or Lassitude in Null Gravity.
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Kouwe, a dance artist, creator, and educator, brings lively storytelling to the stage, combining visually stunning dancing astronauts, projections of personal artifacts, 80s pop music, and even some memes.
“In Grappling, Erin takes audiences on a deeply personal journey through family history that somehow also becomes a romp through outer space. What excites me most is her ability to weave movement, narrative, and theatricality together in ways that feel seamless and entirely fresh. Artists like Erin are helping redefine how dance and theater can live together onstage,” states Artistic Producer Melissa Cardello-Linton.
GRAPPLING Workshop 2022, photo by Derek Fowles
Following its shorter 2022 workshop debut, GRAPPLING has evolved into a fully-produced show for the New Hazlett Theater’s Community Supported Art Season 13. This evolution allows Kouwe to revisit the piece, fully expanding its core ideas as both the creator and performer, serving as choreographer and sound designer in addition to being in the production.
Kouwe is particularly looking forward to sharing the work with a wide range of viewers:
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Photo by Ben Viatori
“It’s for anybody who has ever grappled with something personal. It’s definitely for both theater audiences and dance audiences, but it’s also just fun and full of imagination.” Kouwe says.
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The multi-talented cast includes Erin Kouwe (The Researcher), Lindsay Fisher, Kaylin Horgan, Sarah Zielinski (The Astronauts), Ken Sprowls (The Research Assistant), and Andrea Oakes (Understudy).
Joining the production as director is the versatile Pittsburgh artist Treasure Treasure. A familiar force on local stages, Treasure most recently starred in and co-wrote the satirical musical Agnus Teaches Acting at the New Hazlett in February as part of CSA 13. Her career includes acclaimed turns as the title character in Quantum Theatre’s Hamlet and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar.
In addition to Treasure, the GRAPPLING creative team includes Teena Marie Custer (Choreographic Associate), Natalie Rose Marby (Scenic Design), Scott Andrew (Media Design), Erin Kouwe (Sound Design, Choreographer), Kristi Good (Dramaturg), and Andrew Ostrowski (Lighting Designer).
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GRAPPLING has three showings only: Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 PM and Friday, April 17 at 10 AM & 7:30 PM. Individual tickets are available for purchase on the New Hazlett website. Tickets range from $25–$35, with the matinee being pay-what-you-can.
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Meet the Artist
Erin Kouwe (she/they) is a creator, dance artist, and educator. Her choreography has been presented by Nashville Ballet, the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, Tennessee Women’s Theater Project, and multiple universities, amongst others. Kouwe has danced with New Dialect, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Luna Negra Dance Theater. She is a certified Countertechnique Teacher and an Assistant Professor of Dance at Slippery Rock University. Kouwe holds an MFA from Smith College and a BA from Point Park University.
Meet the Director & Creatives
Treasure Treasure
Director
Teena Marie Custer
Choreographic Associate
Andrew Ostrowski
Lighting Design
Kristi Good
Dramaturg
Natalie Rose Marby
Scenic Design
Scott Andrew
Media Design
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GRAPPLING is the final of three productions in the Theater’s 2025-2026 Community Supported Art (CSA) performance series. Now in its 13th season, the CSA allows emerging artists like Kouwe to develop new work for the New Hazlett stage.
Making its debut this season, CSA: Off the Page is a staged reading series designed to amplify voices beyond the main stage. The series, which concludes its inaugural three-work run in April, features runner-up artists whose scripts capture the bold, experimental spirit of the Community Supported Art Performance Series.
2025/2026 Community Support Art Season Lineup:
Birthday at Tiffany’s
A dramedy by Christine CMC Bethea
November 20–21, 2025
1980s Homewood: A middle-class couple will do anything to keep their 7-year-old’s birthday on track—even if it means playing nice with the impossible.
Agnus Teaches Acting
A musical comedy by Zanny Laird, Lucas Fedele, and Treasure Treasure
Feb 5-6, 2026
Agnus Stephenson: acting teacher, self-proclaimed star, and cabaret disaster—class is in session whether students like it or not.
Grappling
A theatrical dance journey by Erin Kouwe
April 16–17, 2026
A queer, zero-gravity world of dance, family, and pop, exploring love, labor, and time with humor, joy, and cosmic imagination.
2025/2026 Off the Page Staged Reading Lineup:
There Goes The Bride
by Noah Van Ess & Catcher Sanchez
Jan 12, 2026
There Goes the Bride is a musical comedy about a caterer who gets stuck working at his ex-girlfriend’s wedding. What follows is a whirlwind of wedding chaos, emotional twists, and show-stopping songs. It’s a heartfelt story about letting go of the past, breaking free from who we thought we had to be, and embracing the unknown.
Cosmic Microwave Background
by Julia Fraser
March 23, 2026
Rita, a former translator of Italian poetry, and her husband leave New York for remote serenity in the desert. There is an odd, persistent buzz that envelops the landscape and pierces her fresh start. When her tech-optimist neighbor echoes her concern, they set off to discover the elusive sound and restore silence before it explodes her marriage and sanity.
Gloria, Jean, and the Sexy Ghost Show
by Matt Henderson
April 20, 2026
It’s the near future, and a nasty virus has shut everything down. Gloria and Jean have no life whatsoever and never leave the house. In a world plagued by isolation, these two middle-aged women living on opposite ends of the country embark on a forbidden romantic journey – constant watch parties bingeing a CW TV show about sexy teen ghosts in love. The farther in they go, season after season, an unsettling question emerges more and more clearly – what does it take to get off the couch?
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Accessible seating and assistive listening devices are available for all CSA Season 13 productions.
The New Hazlett Theater is also eager to invite student groups to the theater, including talkbacks with the artists.
Please email Nathan Wagner with any questions.
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Season art & design: Bootstrap Design Co. | CSA Season 13 Artist Portraits: Matt Dyak | Performance photos: Renee Rosensteel
Supporting sponsors: Simpson McCready and FNB Bank
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**Media Contact:**
Krista Ream
Communications Manager
Krista@newhazletttheater.org
About Community Support Art (CSA)
Since 2013, the New Hazlett Theater’s CSA Performance Series has brought emerging and mid-career performing artists to the stage. We’re passionate about providing a space for Pittsburgh’s amazing pool of creative talent to develop, collaborate, grow, and flourish. From dance to music and original plays to experimental animation, our CSA pushes the boundaries of performance at every show. For more information, visit https://newhazletttheater.org/csa
About The New Hazlett Theater
The New Hazlett Theater is more than a beautifully restored historic building. We’re a nonprofit organization working to nurture and promote art in Pittsburgh through innovation and collaboration. As a creative hub for a diverse range of artists, audiences, and performances, we provide vital resources to creators to enrich our cultural community. For more information on who we are and what we do, please visit www.newhazletttheater.org