The goal of Big Box is to support new work and local artists. CPT provides:

– The James Levin Theatre
– Basic production staff, stage management, box office support
– Marketing and advertising support

The artists provide the rest! The writers, directors, actors, and designers selected for Big Box dedicate themselves to creating new and original work, or stretching their artistic powers by working in new disciplines.

Week #2 : January 24 – 26 (Double Bill)
The Bird Behind the Curtain

When the Moon was green cheese, the cracker maker was king

The Bird Behind the Curtain

Written by Amy Schwabauer
Directed by Adam Seeholzer
Featuring Tania Benites and Caitlin Lewins

Trapped in an undefined room, Claire and Esther’s fate seems to be sealed. They follow a daily routine to find a way out, but maybe today will be different. Today something could change; they could learn something new and find the way out by reliving their self-destructive past.

Based on the poem “The Tulips” by Sylvia Plath, The Bird Behind the Curtain teeters on the fine line between sanity and insanity.

Artist Bio:
Amy Schwabauer is a graduate from Cleveland State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance. She is currently a teaching artist for The Musical Theatre Project’s program Kids Love Musicals!Within the last year she has appeared in The Secret Social, Akarui and At-TEN-tion Span at CPT. Other favorite roles include Metamorphoses (Myrrha), The Fantasticks (Louisa), The Tempest (Trinculo), andNight of The Living Dead (Karen Cooper).

When The Moon Was Green Cheese, The Cracker Maker Was King

A New Musical
Written by Michael Andrews-Hinders
Music and Lyrics by Molly Andrews-Hinders
Directed by Alison Garrigan
Featuring Denise Astorino, Ali Heffernan, Joe Milan, Elaine Feagler, Lauren B. Smith, Stephanie Wilbert and Nathaniel Leeson

When The Moon Was Green Cheese, The Cracker Maker Was King interweaves a children’s story a father is writing with the alarming changes in his daughter’s behavior and attitude, causing the fantasy world of the story to collide with the hard reality of his daughter’s growing problems.

With NASA, a grown up “Little Prince,” space invaders, hand puppets, helicopter parenting and hitting rock bottom, this whimsical yet gritty musical is a fable about time and space, addictions and the consequences of over-protective parenting.

Artist Bio:
Michael Andrews-Hinders has been active in Cleveland theater since 2001, performing with Cleveland Public Theatre (Open Mind Firmament, The Alice Seed, The Other Shore, Fever/Dream),Theater Ninjas (Heddatron), Cassidy Theater (Assassins) and Near West Theatre (Beauty and the Beast, Godspell, Chess, Zorba, Evita and others). This is the first play he has written and it’s for his son, Matt.

Molly Andrews-Hinders is an actor, teaching artist, and lifelong student. She was most recently seen onstage at CPT in Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays. Molly has taught with CPT’s Brick City program and STEP (Student Theater Enrichment Program). She is a graduate of Wright State University’s professional actor training program. Much love and thanks to my family, immediate and extended.

Alison Garrigan has designed, acted and directed at CPT for over 10 years. Her designs may be remembered from such shows as Akarui, Open Mind Firmament, My Barking Dog, Our Town, PULP, The Rocky Horror Show, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, A Bright Room Called Day and Hedwig and The Angry Inch, among many others. Designs elsewhere include Anna Bella Eema (Theater Ninjas); Xanadu, Spring Awakening, Velocity of Autumn, The Producers, Hamlet, The Seagull (Beck Center); The Oresteia, The Alchemist, Oh Dad Poor Dad, Checkhov in Yalta(Cleveland State University); and Cleveland Institute of Music’s Opera Stage, where her designs have been seen in such works as Hansel And Gretel, Cendrillon, La Finta Giardiniera and Xerxes, to name a few. She has acted in numerous productions here at CPT as well, and her directing credits include: The Alice Seed, And Then You Die and Kill Will. Alison is Executive Artistic Director of Tailspinner Children’s Theatre.