FRANKENSTEIN’S WAKE

Created by Holly Holsinger & Raymond Bobgan
Directed by Raymond Bobgan
Performed by Holly Holsinger

Scenography: Holly Holsinger & Raymond Bobgan | Stage Manager: Jaytionna Wells | Special Table Design: Brad Krumholz | Special Thanks: Craig George, Brad Krumholz, Brett Keyser, Caitlin Lewins

This twisted adaptation of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece revives a tour-de-force performance, first performed off-Broadway in 1997 by Cleveland’s own Theatre Labyrinth. Frankenstein’s Wake met critical acclaim and was described as “an exhilarating bravura performance,” by Time Out New York. With this virtual restaging of the work, the creators seek to reflect a deeper knowledge and evolved perspective on the themes of longing, the search for one’s origin, conflict with the maker, and what it means to be human.

…OR DOES IT EXPOLDE?

Written & Directed by John Dayo-Aliya, 2020/2021 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow
Performed by Austin Sasser, Benjamin Black, De Andre Hairston-Karim, Dar’Jon Bentley

Line Producer: Beth Wood | Stage Manager: Cole Wyeth Sajovie | Designer: KIX

This theatrical piece uses poetry, dance, and other contemporary theatre forms to explore questions of what it means to be Black, male, and young in the 21st century. …Or Does it Explode?, an unflinching portrayal of profound anger, hurt, and joy, blends stories gathered from men ages 16-35 in Akron, Ohio. Thought-provoking vignettes display social conditions and contradictions, and what it means to do justice to one another.

DREAM RUST WORKSHOP (A HYPOTHESIS PROJECT)

Text by Raymond Bobgan with contributions from CPT community ensembles
Directed by Raymond Bobgan
Performed by Ebaa Boudiab, Issam Boudiab, Jamal Julia Boudiab, Alisha M. Caraballo, Faye Hargate, Omar Kurdi, Daniel McKinnon, Zyrece Montgomery, Kat Shy, Anastasía Urozhaeva, Hillary Wheelock, Eric Wloszek

Stage Manager: Colleen McCaughey | Contributing Broadcast Consultant: Benjamin Gantose | Co-Master Electrician: Marissa Green | Design Consultant / Dramaturg Assistant: Faye Hargate | Broadcast Consultant: Ryan Holsopple | Light Board Operator: Brandon X. Mc Swain | Assistant Lighting Designer / Co-Master Electrician: Jaemin Park | Lighting Designer: Jakyung C. Seo

Emerging from the increase of dreamtime in 2020, this surreal theatrical experiment follows a network of dream lines. Borders of identity, home, country, and kin blend as a group of dreamers look to the past, present, and future for meaningfulness and purpose.

SAVORY TAṆHĀ (SIXTEEN SHORT PLAYS PERFORMED BY A ROTATING ENSEMBLE)

Written by David Hansen
Directed by Caitlin Lewins
Performed by David Hansen, Anne McEvoy, Zyrece Montgomery, Zach Palumbo, Brian Pedaci, Hillary Wheelock

Line Producer: Beth Wood | Stage Manager: Amanda Lin Boyd | Composer & Pianist: Molly Andrews-Hinders | Visual Artist: Emma Wolpert

Savory Taṇhā (sixteen short plays performed by a rotating ensemble) is a virtual memory play of longing and loss, happiness and hopefulness, and navigating the pathways of human desire. An ensemble of five performers will play different roles from the same text each evening.

dRAGON HYPOTHESIS

Text by Raymond Bobgan, Dragon Hypothesis jointly created by Raymond & Cleveland CORE Ensemble
Performed by Raymond Bobgan, Kat Shy, Anastasía Urozhaeva, Eric Wloszek

Stage Manager: Beth Wood | Video & Broadcast Design: Ben Gantose | Scenography: Raymond Bobgan | Design Consultant: Faye Hargate

Dragon Hypothesis is a mythical meditation on worlds of dream and divinity. Follow the river to the sea, follow a blind man falling into the depths, follow his daughter as she leaps beneath the waters, and the sea captain who plucks a flower off the water’s surface. Follow four actors who dive beneath the surface, seeking. Calling us to listen to the stories, and to the flame within, Dragon Hypothesis explores sacrifice and loss, hunger and dreams, birth and blindness, and above all, our deep interconnectedness. Magical storytelling digs at the surface world, and beneath the deep. For as we know, as infinitely as we can go outward, we can go as infinitely within. To fulfill our destiny, we go on…

Part of The Hypothesis Project, created by Raymond Bobgan, this work continues to seek a theatrical poetry, where image and idea, sound and substance, vision and virtuosity weave together in an effort to discover and articulate a piece of the ineffable human experience of meeting the mind.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.