Coming up

Kelly Strayhorn Theater presents the Alumni Theater Company in “Bad Seeds,” Friday, July 23, at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. The realities of teen life are staged in “Bad Seeds,” an original project of Alumni Theater Company, the resident youth company of the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Through a mixture of hip hop, Broadway and pop culture, ATC addresses how the expectation to handle the everyday pressures with which they are faced may cause teens to be viewed in an unfairly negative light. Bad Seeds introduces the audience to 12 characters that represent different negative teen stereotypes, including; the Indifferent, the Overly Intense, the Self-Important, the Brat, and the Juvenile Delinquent. Through song, dance, and original monologues, ATC gets to the heart of these characters and shares insight into who they really are. Alumni Theater Company is comprised of 26 students, ages 11 through 17. Members hail from throughout schools in Pittsburgh. The mission of ATC is to provide quality performing arts training for talented, committed youth in grades 6-12 in a highly creative, challenging and supportive environment. Evening audience members may arrive early for a preshow mixer. The director and company members will lead a post-show discussion after each performance. Tickets for both Friday, July 23 shows are $10 in advance at the door with $5 pricing for students, artists, and residents of zip code 15206. Order at kelly-strayhorn.org or (800) 838-3006. Special 10 a.m. matinee group pricing is $2.50 per ticket for youth and senior groups and may be arranged by calling (412) 363-3000. Artistic Director Hallie Donner founded the Alumni Theater Company in the summer of 2008. She has been the drama teacher at Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School since 2000 and has directed more than 25 shows since she came to Pittsburgh in 1998. Hallie has a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University and a master’s degree in arts management from Carnegie Mellon University, and is a certified teacher.

The Career Development Center of Jewish Family & Children’s Service offers more than 15 free workshops this month for job seekers and those interested in exploring career options. The final workshop is Cover Letters & More, July 27. A monthly job seeker support group and networking club also are offered. All workshops are free and open to the public. All attendees must register in advance. To register go to careerdevelopmentcenter.org or call (412) 422-5627 for more information.

Israeli violinist Lior Kaminetsky will perform at Temple Shalom, Wheeling, W.Va., Thursday, July 22, at 7 p.m. A seventh-generation Jerusalemite, Kaminetsky earned a master’s degree in violin performance & musicology from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has performed widely abroad — most recently at Lincoln Center in New York — and has also appeared on TV and radio. There is no charge for admission, and refreshments will be served. Kaminetsky appears in Wheeling through Soul Train, an Israel-based program that provides Jewish programs and entertainment for small Jewish communities around the world.

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The Hillel Jewish University Center will hold open houses Friday, July 23, Tuesday July 27, and Friday July 30. All will last from noon to 2 p.m. at the Hillel JUC, 4607 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Staff and students will be on hand, and tours of the building will be given. Visitors will have the opportunity to register to win a welcome basket worth over $100. Contact Hillel JUC at (412) 621-8875 or at info@hilleljuc.org for moreinformation.

The annual Jewish Community Day at Kennywood Park is slated for Sunday, July 25, from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Jewish Community Day is not a fundraiser or a political event. It is a time for Jewish Pittsburghers to come together at Kennywood to enjoy a day at the amusement park together. Tickets will be discounted and kosher food will be available. Discounted tickets are available at Murray Avenue Kosher in Squrrel Hill.

Shaare Torah’s annual summer blood drive will be held Sunday, July 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. To make an appointment, visit centralbloodbank.org and enter sponsor code G0020025, call Linda in the Shaare Torah office at (412) 421-8855 or e-mail Shaaretora@aol.com. All presenting donors will receive a special edition T-shirt.

Schaffer, Schaffer and Gray-Schaffer — the mother/daughter/sister-in-law trio — will give their first performance together, “Songs of the Greatest Generation,” at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Wednesday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m.. One has had her own cabaret show in New York and Philadelphia, another got her big break as a jazz singer in New Orleans and the third is a cantor at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Oakland. There is no charge for the program.

Shalom Pittsburgh will hold a Happy Hour in the Garden Thursday, July 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh, 2705 South Water St. Contact Becca Lehner at (41) 992-5255 or blehner@ujfpittsburgh.org for more information.

(Angela Leibowicz can be reached at angelal@thejewishchronicle.net.)