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. The resulting performances are always amazing and well attended. Big [BOX] performances and artists often go on to receive larger exposure and production at CPT.

Week #1: January 14-January 16 (Double Bill)

Ya Mama!

Written by Nina Domingue
Directed by Cathy Hartenstein
Featuring: Nina Domingue*
*Member / Actors’ Equity Association

Ya Mama! is a one woman show that explores how being an artist, a wife, a mother, a Christian, and a Black woman collide in my life. I have an unrealized relationship with my biological mother, who died when I was very young and a confusing relationship with my stepmother, who is living. The experiences are diametrically opposed as I shape who I am as a mother of three; something neither of them did. And how do I balance all of the things that make me, “me”? Sometimes, I don’t…How will this fadge?

Artist Bio:
Nina Domingue (pronounced like “lemon meringue”) is an Artist/Educator from New Orleans, Louisiana, who currently calls Cleveland home. Nina was last seen in Cleveland Public Theater’s critically acclaimed production of No Child… by Nilaja Sun, which was heralded as “Must see theater” by Tony Brown, and mentioned as one of the 2008-2009’s most memorable performances on WCPN’s Around Noon Year End review. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts from Dillard University of New Orleans and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from West Virginia University. She was named Best Actress in a Play in 2005 by the Cleveland Theater Collective for her work as “the lady in red” in Karamu’s production of for colored girls. In 2004 she received and award for, “Memorably Distinctive Performances” in several shows at Cleveland Public Theater. Nina has several solo pieces, Mo Pas Conin and Wade in the Water, both set in her native New Orleans, and A Jewel of a Tale, and The Little Mermaid (onstage at the end of January) both performed in the Cleveland Playhouse Children’s Series. She made her Off-Broadway and National Black Theater Festival debuts in a piece entitled It Hasn’t Always Been This Way by Ntozake Shange, directed by Diane McIntyre. Nina has also been a teaching artist for over 12 years, teaching with Young Audiences, The Great Lakes Theater Festival, Karamu House, the Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland Public Theatre and The All City Arts Program. She has been a part of the Cleveland Playhouse’s esteemed Playwright’s Unit, and a member of the Education Department in various capacities for over 9 years. Nina is also a part of the original and touring company of Eat: It’s Not About Food, directed by Fred Sternfeld.

She Cried at the Circus

Written by Jeff Glover

She Cried at the Circus is the story of Darby Fuller, a woman who discovers at a young age that she possesses an incredible ability which brings her power beyond her dreams, wealth beyond her imagination, and inspires fear in the hearts of everyone she meets. The story is told in a series of vignettes which encompass twenty years of Darby’s life. The scenes focus on Darby’s relationships with the men in her life but carry with them an underlying tension caused by the one person Darby can’t ever seem to control. The play is presented as an “imagination drama,” skirting the edges of reality while maintaining a naturalistic tone. The piece is intended as a statement on feminism in the modern age and the grotesque extents to which people who are considered “different” must go to gain credibility within a crumbling society.

Jeff Glover, is no stranger to CPT or Big [BOX]. His one-man show, Claus for a Moment, was part of Big [BOX] 2009. Although he has been writing for 35 years, She Cried at the Circus represents the first female character to appear in one of his plays. “I never felt like I knew women well enough to write about them,” Glover says, “but now I’m old enough to know I never will. I had things I wanted to say about the way women are perceived and treated, and I didn’t think two bums in a train car could adequately tell that story.”

Artist Bios:
Jeff Glover (Playwright) is a local actor/playwright from Lakewood, Ohio. He has been seen previously at CPT in Discordia and his one-man show Claus for a Moment which was part of Big [BOX] 2009. Jeff has also appeared at the Beck Center in such shows as The Producers, Zombie Prom, Mr. Bundy and Of Mice and Men. When not in the theatre, Jeff likes to spend time with his beautiful wife, Nicki, and his sons, Dylan and Owen. Jeff’s next writing project is a locked room mystery taking place during the Bay of Pigs massacre in 1961, currently titled, Bay (B) Mine.