NEXT Up: Brad Stephenson
In addition to working as director of marketing at Carnegie Museum of Art and as a consultant for the New York-based artist service organization Creative Capital, Brad is a regular performer and board member with Arcade Comedy Theater, where he co-produces and stars in the popular monthly Knights of the Arcade live Dungeons & Dragons improv comedy show. He knows that sounds geeky, and it is. He promises that it’s also one of the funniest ways to spend a Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Welcome to Brad’s world below.
Monday, May 25
Since it’s Memorial Day, our schedule is thankfully light. I’ll spend a lazy morning having breakfast with my wife, Gayle, and our 6-year-old daughter, Sadie. Then we’ll likely color, play Disney Infinity on the PlayStation, or head outside for a visit to a nearby playground. We live in the Parkview area of O’Hara Township, so our local playground is Sacco Park. Highland Park is our favorite, though.
Around 3 p.m. we’ll head to a cookout at the home of our good friend, musician Nathan Zoob. A member of the Pittsburgh-based band Wreck Loose, Zoob is one of the best guitar players you’ll ever encounter.
Tuesday, May 26
My wife and I drag my daughter, Sadie, out of bed for school at about 7:30 a.m each day. She’s six and in the closing weeks of kindergarten. She hates waking up for school, but has no problem getting up on weekends when we could all be sleeping late.
Lead the museum’s weekly marketing meeting at 10 a.m., discussing the week ahead. We’re currently preparing for the May 30th opening of She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World. We’re also getting ready for the museum’s presentation of Leonard Nimoy’s one-man play Vincent on June 13th and 14th. It’s unusual for CMOA to present a play (our current Visiting Van Gogh exhibition prompted this event), so there are communications and logistics issues to manage that are outside our normal scope.
In the evening, I’ll head home for dinner with Sadie and my wife, Gayle. We will likely end the evening with a viewing of Cartoon Network’s The Amazing World of Gumball or America’s Funniest Videos, which was wildly popular in 1993 and currently popular with my daughter. Her dream in life is to be part of the show’s live studio audience.
Wednesday, May 27
I’ll start the day with a 9 a.m. meeting about an upcoming Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh social media campaign, which will give our online friends the opportunity to vote for their favorite objects at each of the four museums: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center and The Andy Warhol Museum.
Lunch with Fred Betzner, creator and co-producer of Knights of the Arcade. We have two shows on Saturday night, May 30th, and we typically meet during the week to discuss ticket sales, promo materials and show logistics. We’ll also discuss an August tour of the show to the geek bar The Side Quest in Cleveland.
Meeting at Wall-to-Wall Studios on the Northside to kick off a CMOA branding project.
Rushing to Kerr Elementary School at 5 p.m. to pick Sadie up from the YMCA after-school program. Gayle is in tech rehearsals for PICT Theatre‘s production of How the Other Half Loves, opening on Saturday, May 30th.
Sadie and I love tabletop games, and we ordered a vintage copy of the ’70s classic Mastermind. If Amazon delivers as promised, we’ll have dinner and dig into a handful of games before bedtime.
Thursday, May 28
Lunchtime visit to Phantom of the Attic Games on Craig Street to possibly add to my growing tabletop collection. Afternoon exhibition design review meeting about CMOA’s Edward Hopper show that opens in July.
Planning to host a few friends for an edition of what has become a regular game night at my house. Not sure what we’ll play exactly, but some of our faves are Mansions of Madness, Pandemic, Star Trek: Attack Wing and Escape: The Curse of the Temple.
Friday, May 29
Early breakfast meeting with a CMOA board member, followed by a review of ad concepts by one of our creative agencies, Big Picture Communications, for the upcoming exhibition Silver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk.
Lunch with Laura Zorch of eatPGH, who was recently named CMOA’s manager of social and entrepreneurial experiences. She doesn’t officially start until July 6th, but I’m trying to get as much advance time with her as possible before she gets married and goes on her honeymoon. Congrats, Laura!
Gayle has a preview performance with PICT, so Sadie and I will do a daddy-daughter date night at Aladdin’s Eatery in the Waterworks.
Late night Netflix binge. Recent favorites include Daredevil, Bloodline and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Anxiously anticipating the July release of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.
Saturday, May 30
A bowling alley birthday party for one of Sadie’s friends, and a little rest for both myself and Gayle. We each have shows in the evening, so Sadie will be hanging with a sitter. Arcade’s Knights series has recently added midnight shows in addition to our 10 p.m. performances, and it’s Gayle’s opening night with PICT, so it will be a late night for us both.
Sunday, May 31
A day of rest and relaxation with some outdoor play, weather permitting, or a visit to Phipps Conservatory to make use of our new membership.
We’ll end the week with some ice cream at Oakmont’s Brr-Kee’s, our favorite.
