Start the new year off with a deep dive into the creative…

Into the Depths: poetic theatre creation

CPT is proud to announce a Free Workshop with nationally recognized theatre creator Raymond Bobgan. This workshop will serve as an introduction (or reintroduction for past collaborators) to Raymond’s unique approach to physical, experimental theatre—what he calls “Poetic Performance.”

This workshop will also serve as a selection session/audition for Candlelight Hypothesis. Actors interested in being cast in this show must attend the workshop or complete some other work with Raymond. This workshop is also open to performers who are not intending to be a part of the Candlelight Hypothesis.

Workshop Details:

Who: This workshop is for actors at various levels of development who are interested in alternative approaches to performance and creating theatre. Raymond is excited to work with past collaborators and artists new to this work.

What: Poetic Performance is a style of theatre and a process for creating theatre that is intense, deeply personal, and gives primacy to physical and vocal expression, poetic and nonlinear storytelling, use of poetic and abstract text, use of song as a means for transformation and impact, and multilayered experiences. This workshop will involve intense physicality (similar to a dance workshop), enduring presence, and expansive yet focused imagination.

Where: Cleveland Public Theatre’s Parish Hall and the creative landscapes of the participants.

When: Jan 5-7 at 6:30pm-10:30pm, Jan 8 at 12:00pm – 10:00pm, Jan 9 at 2:00pm-9:00pm. Participants must attend all sessions.

Why: Raymond is offering this workshop freely to deepen his own work and further his research around certain practices and principles. This workshop can benefit performers interested in exploring new avenues of expression in theatre, alternative creation techniques, and to develop their personal presence (onstage and off). This workshop is also offered to meet new potential collaborators and deepen relationship with past collaborators.

How: To apply for this free workshop, performers should send a resume and headshot (if available) and a paragraph email explaining why they wish to take the workshop. Please send email to

ar******@cp*******.org











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“What Raymond is endeavoring to do is not just a performance, but the creation of ritual. When an audience is able to experience ritual making… well that’s something that the audience can take with them outside into their everyday lives.”

−Daniel Gray-Kontar

“Raymond has brought his sprit of innovation to Cleveland that doesn’t stop at creativity. And he does not try and tie things up in a pretty little package and offer a lot of answers. So people are challenged to come up with their own answers to huge life issues and sometimes silly things.”

−Anne McEvoy

About Raymond Bobgan:

Raymond Bobgan creates new performances that are bold, multilayered, and highly physical through an ever-evolving ensemble process. Raymond’s work has been seen in Romania, Brazil, Denmark, Serbia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and has been featured in American Theatre magazine, Canadian Theatre Review, Theatre Journal, and in Lisa Wolford’s book Grotowski’s Objective Drama Research.

Raymond has created many works for CPT, including Dream Rust Workshop (a hypothesis project) for CPT and Kennedy Center’s Arts Across America; Frankenstein’s Wake with Holly Holsinger; Feefer Rising with Faye Hargate; Rusted Heart Broadcast; Insomnia: The Waking of Herselves with Holly Holsinger and Chris Seibert; and Blue Sky Transmission: A Tibetan Book of the Dead, co-produced by CPT and La MaMa ETC (Off-Broadway).

Raymond was the first recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize in the discipline of Theatre. He is a two-time winner of the Creative Workforce Fellowship (theatre and composing) and a recipient of the Ohio Arts Council Fellowship. He is an alumnus of the National Theatre Artist Residency Program (Pew Charitable Trust and TCG).

This is Raymond Bobgan’s 16th season as the Executive Artistic Director at Cleveland Public Theatre.

About Candlelight Hypothesis:

Raymond Bobgan creates new, bold, multilayered, and highly physical performances through an ever-evolving ensemble process. Raymond formed Cleveland CORE Ensemble in an effort to sustain the conditions to develop unique theatre practices, investigate the potential of the craft of acting, and create a distinctive body of theatrical works. The ensemble’s performances feature dynamic movement, poetic texts, original music, and an entrancing, dream-like style all their own.

Actors are paid 100/wk.

Rehearsals are held 4-6 times per week.

Raymond is planning to work with three groups

• Wave One starts Jan 24
• Wave Two starts Feb 28
• Wave Three starts Apr 11
• Show runs May 4-22

There are no rehearsals for a “spring break”: March 28-April 10.