At the invitation of Alexander Titorenko, the director of the Anton Chekhov Museum, playwright Frank Gagliano presented the Keynote Address at the 2012 International Chekhov Conference in Yalta, Crimea. Gagliano, Iroquois Drive, also read his play My Chekhov Light, a monologue in which Professor Peter Paradise expounds on his failed relationships and career. The play received its world premiere in Bamberg, Germany in 1998. Gagliano, a prolific playwright, has had his plays performed off-Broadway and at regional theaters and universities around the country.  He retired in 2010 as the Benedum Professor of theatre at West Virginia University, a chair he had held since 1976. He also was a founder of Carnegie Mellon University Drama’s Showcase of New Plays.

Gagliano thrilled at the opportunity to visit the very site where Chekhov lived many of his final years and where he wrote his masterpieces, The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. Gagliano had the chance to touch the desk on which Chekhov wrote those plays, go on a personal tour of the Chekhov estate and visit the cemetery where Chekhov’s sister Maria Chekhova is buried (Chekhov is buried in Moscow). You can read My Chekhov Light and more about Gagliano’s trip at www.gaglianoriff.com.

Tracy Limegrover has been named executive director of Mt. Lebanon Village, a nonprofit which aims to help aging Mt. Lebanon residents remain in their homes as long as possible. Limegrover, a psychotherapist and psychology professor at Community College of Allegheny County, will be responsible for implementing Mt. Lebanon Village’s strategic plan. Her volunteer service includes working with Family Resources, Mt. Lebanon Library and AseraCare Hospice. She is a member of the board of directors of the Sto-Rox Family Health Center, Mt. Lebanon Newcomers and Neighbors, and La Escuelita Arcoiris in Squirrel Hill. Ann Bateman, former director, is now the program director, continuing to oversee membership services and coordinate volunteers.

Rebecca and Steve Wanovich, Highridge Circle, have moved their insurance agency from Upper St. Clair to the 321 Castle Shannon Boulevard. The staff of 12 at the Pierson and Scott Agency (and the former Polachek Company) handle personal and commercial general insurance. The agency owners/agents are Ray Pierson, Bruce Thomas, Matt Scott and Rebecca Wanovich. Additional agents are Steve Wanovich and Scott Krieger.