What They Said About Love at PIT Loft

Bay Area actor Steve Budd brings his award winning docu-style solo show What They Said About Love to PIT Loft on June 27, 2018. In this show, Budd wonders why other people can—and he can’t—tie the knot. From a series of in-depth interviews with real Bay Area couples, combined with his own compelling search for love, he explores how people search for love, how they keep it, and what it takes to make it to the altar.

What They Said About Love, directed by Mark Kenward and developed with David Ford, will play on June 27, 2018 at The PIT Loft, 154 W 29th St, NY 10001. For tickets ($8), the public may visit https://thepit-nyc.com/events/what-they-said-about-love/ or call 212-563-7488, or send an email to info@thepit-nyc.com.

In What They Said About Love, audiences meet a whole cast of characters portrayed by Budd, including a New Age couple who could swear they met before they met, an unsuspecting couple who met on Craigslist, a pair of metalheads who thought it would be a hoot to get married on 6-6-06, as well as others. Budd captures the physical and vocal nuances of each of the twelve individuals, shedding light on their unique perspectives, using their own words taken from hours of in depth interviews, and throughout he weaves in his relentless search for “the one.”

Critics have called Steve “an ingenious storyteller” (East Bay Express), presenting “truly a jaw-dropping audience experience” (Joint Forces Journal), “hilarious and poignant” (East Bay Express), “a sweet and bittersweet exploration” (Berkeleyside), “leaves us warm in all the right places” (Theatrius). Previous versions of this riotous and touching documentary piece appeared in the September 2016 San Francisco Fringe Festival, where it won “Best of Fringe”; as a Marsh Rising in November 2016; in the June 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and a current feature in the 2018 Ottawa Fringe Festival. Talkin’ Broadway hailed the San Francisco Fringe production of What They Said About Love as “theater at its best. Funny, poignant, thoughtful, and revealing about the search for love.” This solo show was also developed with assistance from David Ford, John Coppola, and Slater Penney; Skye Pelicrow served as script consultant.

Steve Budd is an actor, writer, storyteller, standup comic, and solo performer living in Oakland, CA. He has acted with many local theater companies, including San Francisco Playhouse, Custom Made Theatre Co., New Conservatory Theatre Center, Impact Theatre, and Marin Shakespeare Company. Budd has also been seen at numerous Bay Area Venues, including The Marsh, The San Francisco Fringe Festival, Tell It On Tuesday, T.M.I., Busting Out, The Shout, The Vent, and Stage Werx’s Solo Sundays.

Mark Kenward (Director) a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Nominee and two-time selection for the Best of San Francisco Solo Series, as performed his work in more than 40 cities throughout the US and Canada, including a reception for The House of Representatives. He is the creator and performer of eight solo shows, receiving kudos as “a commanding storyteller” (San Francisco Weekly) and “a master of the craft” (Contra Costa Times). Kenward is the director of more than 30 full-length solo shows. Directing credits include Wayne Harris’s Tyrone ‘Short Leg’ Johnson and Some White Boys, David Caggiano’s Jurassic Ark, and Jeremy Greco’s Keeping Up with the Jorgensons, all three of which won “Best of San Francisco Fringe” honors.

David Ford (Developer) has been collaborating on new and unusual theater for three decades. The San Francisco press has variously called him “the solo performer maven,” “the monologue maestro,” “the dean of solo performance,” and “the solo performer’s best friend.” As a director, Mr. Ford has directed both solo and ensemble work regionally at The Public Theater, Second Stage, St. Clement’s, Dixon’s Place, One Dream Theatre, and Theatre for the New City (NY), Highways Performance Space (LA), and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (DC), and more. He is also a published playwright.

The PIT Loft is a theater space owned by The People’s Improv Theater. The PIT is dedicated to the instruction, performance, and development of original comedy. The PIT strives to entertain and educate the community about the comedic arts in a safe and nurturing environment.