Cleveland Public Theatre, Northeast Ohio’s most innovative and adventurous theatre announces the 2013-14 Joan Yellen Horvitz Director Fellows.

The Director Fellows Program is a year-long residency that provides mentoring, formal classwork and practical work. Fellows assistant direct, create new work, and direct at least one show in CPT’s season. Raymond is proud to announce that the two women who have been selected as the 2013/2014 Director Fellows are Melissa Therese Crum and Caitlin Lewins.
“The intent of this new initiative is to address Cleveland’s limited pool of directors with experience creating new theatrical work” said Raymond Bobgan, CPT’s Executive Artistic Director. Each Director Fellow receives an award of $3,000 and full underwriting of all of their learning and artistic activities during the fellowship, culminating in a production in Spring of 2014.

CAITLIN LEWINS studied Theatre, Philosophy, and Music at Baldwin-Wallace College and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2010. In the fall of 2012, she completed the devised directing class at CPT and made her writing/directing debut with “The Environmented” in Earth Plays (Part Two of the Elements Cycle). Ms. Lewins interned in the Education Department and Artistic Department at Cleveland Play House, as well as the Education Department at Great Lakes Theater. Ms. Lewins is currently Grant Program Coordinator at the YMCA and organizes and runs a grant funded after school program at Brooklyn Middle School that serves 70 students. She’s also taught theatre, music, and visual arts at several camps including Shaker Summer Theatre, SmArt in the City and Camp Mendocino, a Boys and Girls Club Camp in Northern California.

MELISSA THERESE CRUM is a Cleveland based performer, director, educator and creator of original work. Melissa has co-created several original works at Cleveland Public Theatre including: “The Natural Order of Things” in Earth Plays (Part Two of the Elements Cycle), “Inquietude,” a part of CPT’s Pandemonium, and Seppuku through CPT’s Big Box Series. Ms. Crum recently completed her second year as a teaching artist for Great Lakes Theatre touring throughout Northeastern Ohio and she was the lead teaching artist for The Musical Theatre Project’s Kids Love Musicals program. Ms. Crum worked as a lead teaching artist for Cleveland Public Theatre’s Brick City Theatre program, creating original work with youth living in public housing.

JOAN YELLEN HORVITZ is an admired couture designer whose work was based in Cleveland. Joan Yellen Couture Designs can be viewed in the permanent collections of the Kent State Museum Costume collection; The Western Reserve Historical Society, The Chisolm Halle Costume Wing; Ursuline College Historical Costume Study Collection. Ms. Horvitz has designed costumes and sets for dance and theatre. At CPT Ms. Horvitz’s stunning work was seen in Fefu and her Friends, Between Life and Death, and most recently Insomnia: the Waking of Herselves. Many local arts organizations and individual artists have benefitted from Ms. Horvitz’s generosity.