Pitt’s Kuntu Repertory Theatre Presents 'Traces' Jan. 20-Feb. 5

The University of Pittsburgh-based Kuntu Repertory Theatre will present Traces—an intergenerational epic set in Pittsburgh—Jan. 20-Feb. 5 in the Seventh-Floor Auditorium in the University of Pittsburgh’s Alumni Hall.

Written and directed by Gregory Kahlil Kareem Allen, Traces is the story of two best friends and their struggle to raise a 10-year-old boy who is connected to both of them by one woman. Traces is not about a hero fighting a villain, but rather about the “traces” of many heroes found in every community.

Allen earned his bachelor’s degree in film studies, his master’s degree in literature, and his PhD in critical and cultural studies—all from Pitt. He considers himself primarily a filmmaker and has produced seven films, including the Star Wars-fan film The Fandom Meant Us and the more recent Serpents and Doves. He also has produced more than 20 independent and student films. An instructor of African American theater in Pitt’s Department of Africana Studies, he also teaches screenwriting and film production at a private film school he founded in 2006.

Kuntu is presenting productions this season by playwrights who were influenced by the late Rob Penny, Kuntu’s playwright-in-residence for many years and a professor of Africana Studies at Pitt.

Admission is $20 for adults, $14 for Pitt faculty and staff, $13 for senior citizens, and $5 for students with a valid ID. On preview nights Jan. 20 and Jan. 21, Pitt students with a valid ID can attend for $1. Discounts for groups of 10 or more are available. Tickets can be purchased at the box office of the William Pitt Union, (412-648-7814); through ProArts at 412-394-3353 or www.proartstickets.org; or at Dorsey’s Record Shop, 7614 Frankstown Ave., Homewood (412-731-6607).

For more information, call 412-624-7298 or visit www.kuntu.org.