Bars aren't the only South Side story
A lot of people already think of the South Side as theater. The story line's always the same, though - too many unruly young drunks spilling out of too many bars.
City Theater and actress Tami Dixon want to hear the other ones.
If you're a South Sider, bring your story to a workshop at City Theater, 57 S. 13th St., this Sunday at 5 p.m. and it might end up as part of the documentary "Slope Stories: Tales from Pittsburgh's South Side." Register by emailing her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Ms. Dixon has three years of funding from the Fox Foundation Fellowship to create this work based on the stories people bring her.
She has lived in the Slopes for four years and is focusing her interest there, but her research is bringing out a fascination for the entire neighborhood.
Living in the Slopes is so quiet, she said, "sometimes all I hear is a bird singing or a train in the distance.
"I'm 500 feet from the Flats, and the difference is so striking. I was recording sounds one day, and the closer I got to the Flats, the more the sounds grew - traffic, people shouting."
She has read up on how geography enabled the social divide, with the workers living on the Slopes, using the steps to get to work and shop, and the industry captains living below.
"It's amazing the extent of the industry and the human spirit in the midst of terrible hardship, with people working 14, 15 hour days, coming home to sleep and then going right back out to work again."
She said she does not have an agenda, that the stories people bring are the stories she will work with as an actress. But as a history buff, she said she hopes some stories take her back in time.
"I have all these ideas for how personal stories support community development," she said. "It speaks volumes that everyone wants to be remembered and acknowledged, wants to tell who their ancestors were and of all the hard work and sacrifice."
She is looking for at least 10-15 people who have good narrative from depth of experience. "We will do some [conversation] exercises to get the dialog flowing, then I think it will all just open up."
In the meantime, send me your South Side stories. If you don't want to go to the trouble of registering, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will post them.