‘Mindhunter’ actor Smith will open barebones’ 15th season

Cotter Smith, whose most recent TV role is Unit Chief Shepard on the Pittsburgh-filmed “Mindhunter,” will help reintroduce barebones productions’ Braddock theater as the star of the 2017 play “Rules of Seconds.”

Mr. Smith, who will join a cast of 10 for barebones, will soon be seen as William Macomber in Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” and also has appeared as the deputy attorney general on the FX series “The Americans” and as the president in “X-Men 2.” Barebones’ Patrick Jordan had a small role in the first season of the Netflix drama “Mindhunter,” which will be returning to Pittsburgh for season two.

The 70-seat black box theater in Braddock was the site of two other barebones shows while it was still under construction, and now will ring in the 15th year of the company on Jan. 26. That is exactly a year since the previous barebones show, “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” played the gym of the Ace Hotel in East Liberty.

“Rules of Seconds” is by John Pollono, whose “Small Engine Repair” was presented in the Braddock space when it lacked even the walled-off bathrooms and dressing rooms it now enjoys. Melissa Martin will direct the play, which had its world premiere in March in Los Angeles.

The L.A. Times described the cheeky play as “a lively anachronistic mix,” in which “even the most minor infractions to male self-esteem are settled through the arcane code of dueling.” The setting is 1855 Boston, but the characters’ “F-bombs could get them cast in Quentin Tarantino’s next movie.”

Barebones black box is at 1211 Braddock Ave., behind the Superior Motors restaurant and directly across the street from the Edgar Thomson Works. “Rules of Seconds” runs Jan. 26-Feb. 17. Tickets and other details: www.barebonesproductions.com