Cleveland Public Theatre announces Spring Season: Alive On Line

march 19 – May 1, 2021

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT)’s Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan is proud to announce CPT’s Spring Season: Alive On Line, which delivers on CPT’s mission of raising consciousness and nurturing compassion through theatre that is daring, relevant, and socially conscious.

CPT invests in innovation and diversity and has been recognized regionally and nationwide as a leader in the support and development of new work and the amplification of emerging voices, and for producing and presenting work from artists creating theatre outside the mainstream.

According to Bobgan: “Like flowers growing up through cracks in the sidewalk, water rushing through the Cuyahoga River, or dreams that come to us at night, art will find the way.”

Alive On Line features intimate showings playing in repertory with limited “seats.” Though we cannot gather in person, we can come together as a community to experience and celebrate the power of live art. As theatre artists, we have dedicated our lives to explore, nurture, and deepen human connection—unmitigated, direct, and visceral. It is about connection and more—it gets under the skin and into the heart. Though it is important to remain temporarily distanced, we believe theatre is  where society dreams, debates, and experiments. CPT’s mission has always been boldly aligned with this thinking—theatre is about consciousness and compassion, and we cannot afford to let these qualities atrophy in ourselves or our society.

CPT’s Spring Season has been designed as a special virtual experience. When you come to a CPT virtual performance, you will see and connect with your fellow audience members. Our intimate performances are under an hour, with limited “seats,” and conclude with brief post-show discussions. For tickets to CPT’s Spring Season: Alive On Line, visit www.cptonline.org.

Visit www.cptonline.org to witness Awakenings, A Celebration of Cleveland Public Theatre, a one-hour TV special presented by WKYC Studios.

CPT’s Spring Season: Alive On Line

*New Dates*

Y-Haven Theatre Project | Crossroads to Hope: Scenes of Decision

Created & Performed by the participants of Y-Haven, a branch of the Greater Cleveland YMCA, with Raymond Bobgan
Directed by Raymond Bobgan
Performed by Stacy Azbell, Joseph Fussell, Amir Muhammed, Robert Mueller, Earl Paulton, & Karen Waters

March 19 at 7pm, March 20 at 8pm, March 21 at 6pm (ET)
Livestreamed on CPT’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

What does it mean to choose change, growth, and healing? Crossroads to Hope: Scenes of Decision is a series of short scenes, monologues, and poems that share the experiences and imagination of the residents of Y-Haven as they interrogate their pasts, meditate on their present, and dream of their future selves. Presented in a virtual setting, this performance is broadcast directly from the rooms of Y-Haven with authenticity and a sense of home.

The Y-Haven Theatre Project is a 22-year partnership between Cleveland Public Theatre and Y-Haven, a transitional housing and treatment facility for formerly homeless individuals. CPT collaborates with the clients of Y-Haven to create an original theatre production that shares powerful stories of recovery and personal triumph.

Test Flight

March 25 – April 16
Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 8pm

Presented via Zoom

Test Flight is a multi-week series showcasing new work on its way to full production, presented as virtual staged readings this season. Test Flight provides artists the opportunity to co-produce original works-in-progress and encourages risk-taking and an entrepreneurial spirit towards creating new work.

WEEK 1: MARCH 25 & 26
Van Sonata
By Anthony X
Directed by Ananias J Dixon, 2020/2021 Premiere Fellow

WEEK 2: APRIL 1 & 2
Bedroom Culture, a virtual adaptation
Written & Directed by Hannah Rae Leach

WEEK 3: APRIL 8 & 9
Our Lady of Common Sorrows
Written & Directed by John Dayo-Aliya, 2020/2021 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow

WEEK 4: APRIL 15 & 16
Live Forever
Written & Directed by Obediya Jones-Darrell

Test Flight is generously supported by John P. Murphy Foundation and The Nord Family Foundation.

Station Hope 

Saturday, May 1, TBA
A Virtual Celebration of Hope. A Dialogue for Change.

Livestreamed on CPT’s website and social media pages, details to come.

In partnership with The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio & The Institute at St. John’s, Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack. Ohio City Incorporated, and Restore Cleveland Hope, Inc. & the Cozad-Bates House.

Station Hope—this year, a virtual festival—is a jubilant community event celebrating Cleveland’s social justice history and exploring contemporary struggles for freedom and equity. Engage with local artists as they envision, interrogate, and seek out hope from where they are stationed. Audience members will participate virtually and witness livestreamed performances of theatre, music, storytelling, and dance inspired by the most important issues of our time.

Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP)

April 23 & 24
Streaming details to come.

Cleveland Public Theatre’s celebrated Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) is Cleveland’s longest-running arts and job training program for teens. This Spring, the 2021 STEP ensemble will present a virtual performance followed by a short post-show conversation.

NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT AT CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE

Catapult is an ongoing fellowship program intended to help artists move their projects to a “production ready” stage through multiple readings, rehearsal time at CPT, workshop productions, and/or invitational showings. Catapult playwrights and creators will be awarded a Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellowship and play an active role in the life of the theatre while they are developing their work. The 2020/2021 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow is John Dayo-Aliya.

Premiere Fellowships, made possible by dedicated funding from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), celebrate, reward, and support artists who have demonstrated excellence in and are committed to new play development. CPT’s 2020/2021 Premiere Fellows include Ananias J Dixon, Nina Domingue, Siaara Freeman, and Toby Vera Bercovici.

The Dark Room open mic for playwrights continues pairing playwrights with actors to perform (mostly) cold readings of scripts-in-progress in a fun, low-risk atmosphere.

CPT EDUCATION PROGRAMS CONTINUE ONLINE

Alongside the above programming, CPT continues year-round education programming throughout Cleveland. When the schools and community centers closed and orders were put in place, Cleveland Act Now Academy continued on and immediately moved to a virtual format where CPT Teaching Artists began prototyping how to translate our unique classroom experience into a virtual platform. We’re collaborating with our partners at Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CHMA) to find new ways to serve the youth and families of CMHA. We continue our partnership with Youth Opportunities Unlimited, the City of Cleveland, and our many partners to reinvent CPT’s Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) so that teens can continue to grow and learn through the experience of creating theatre. The Y-Haven Theatre Project is scheduled to have public performances March 2021.

CPT EDUCATION PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

Based on CPT’s guiding education principles of Empowerment, Equity, Excellence, and Enthusiasm, CPT’s Teaching Artists work to build close, long-term relationships with participants, families, and community partners by facilitating trust and open exchange. Our education programming seeks to create a reciprocal collaborative learning environment that supports awareness and fosters powerful and life-affirming artistic experiences, , for participants and teachers alike.

CLEVELAND ACT NOW (CAN)
CMHA CAN (formerly Brick City Theatre) takes place in partnership with Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) at community centers for children and families who live in public housing. Under the guidance of CPT Teaching Artists, young artists learn how to create and perform their own plays, dance, poetry, music, and visual art. These original performances are crafted and presented annually at CMHA and Cleveland community centers as well as arts festivals throughout Cleveland. CMHA CAN is offered at four CMHA community center sites: Lakeview Terrace CAN, Woodhill Homes CAN, Outhwaite Homes CAN, and Riverside Park CAN. CAN also partners with local community centers.

CAN Academy is a free performing arts program at Cleveland Public Theatre for younger teens and youth from Cleveland and surrounding neighborhoods. Young artists engage in rigorous (and fun!) theatre training, learning acting fundamentals, script analysis, storytelling techniques, and play creation. CAN multidisciplinary performing arts activities improve academic skills, instill empathy and responsibility, build character, and enhance creative thinking.

STUDENT THEATRE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM (STEP)
STEP, a rigorous arts-based program that provides hands-on job training, engaging Cleveland youth from families defined as low-income in a powerful learning experience that develops job skills, academic achievement, and interpersonal skills. As part of this eight-week summer program, 30 youth, ages 14-19, work together to create, produce, perform, and tour their own play. This program is the longest-running arts-based, workplace development program in Cleveland and is an international model for engaging youth.

Y-Haven Theatre Project
The Y-Haven Theatre Project is a 22-year partnership between Cleveland Public Theatre and Y-Haven, a branch of the Greater Cleveland YMCA. Y-Haven is a transitional housing facility for formerly homeless individuals recovering from substance abuse and mental health challenges. Every year, CPT collaborates with the clients of Y-Haven to create an original theatre production, performed by the participants, and based on their life stories. The Y-Haven Theatre Project captures an authenticity and emotional power as the cast shares their true-to-life experiences often hidden from the world.

WINTER SEASON TICKETS

Y-Haven Theatre Project | Crossroads to Hope: Scenes of Decision is FREE and will be livestreamed on CPT’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

Test Flight tickets are $1 with a suggested donation of $1 to $99. Patrons must use Zoom to see virtual performances. Patrons will receive an email 1-2 hours before showtime with the meeting login information. Online sales for each performance will close 2 hours before start time.

Station Hope is FREE and will be livestreamed online. Details coming soon.

Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) is FREE. Details about viewing coming soon.

Visit www.cptonline.org for up-to-date information.