Station Hope
Deadline for submissions is Monday, December 11th.
Cleveland Public Theatre is planning the fifth annual STATION HOPE, a one night event of entertainment and art inspired by the history of St. John’s Church and the Underground Railroad, the repercussions of oppression and contemporary struggles for social justice, on Saturday, May 5th, 2018.
How Station Hope Works
Audiences explore St. John’s campus on the corner of W 26th St and Church Ave. With 30+ performances to choose from, attendees will encounter choirs, dance, theatre, intimate solo performance and interactive art – all happening at the same time in multiple indoor and outdoor venues.
Station Hope performances are 10 – 15 minutes in length and presented multiple times throughout the evening. Art installations will range from large to small, depending on the individual needs and space availability.
How to get involved with Station Hope
Station Hope is a large and complex project, and we need a lot of support to ensure its success. There are many opportunities to be involved, ranging from creative to technical assistance. Below is a list of different ways to participate in the event:
| Lead Artist: | Lead a team of collaborators (or work individually) to create an original piece of theatre, performance, choral or visual art. A Lead Artist can be an individual or an organization. Lead Artists will be selected through an application process, outlined at the end of this document. |
| Actor: | There will be multiple opportunities in a variety of performances. CPT will compile and share an “Interested Actor” list with all Lead Artists. Casting decisions are in the complete control of the Lead Artists. |
| Stage Management & Technical Support: | We will need help setting up spaces and running those spaces during the event(s). |
| Volunteer: | We need over 100 volunteers to help make this event run smoothly, such as parking assistance, greeters, runners, etc. Volunteers are required to attend an orientation in the week leading up to the event. |
Individuals interested in being involved in Station Hope through the following roles, Actor, Stage Management & Technical Support or Volunteer, should email CPT New Play Associate, Andrew Valdez (avaldez@cptonline.org), with your name, contact information and role interested in filling.
Individuals and organizations interested in being a Lead Artist should read the additional information and complete the application included in this document.
What to expect…
Station Hope is an ongoing experiment in neighborhood arts presentation. CPT is a learning organization, and we value generosity, professionalism and a spirit of goodwill. We expect our partners to enter into the spirit of this experimentation and the event as a whole.
Limited technical support is available to all lead artists. Each space will have basic lighting and sound support. Elaborate, highly-specific and proprietary technical needs are rarely offered. Station Hope is more about the performance and the art rather than elaborate technical elements, but don’t confuse minimalism and resourcefulness with lack of style and quality. Artists are welcome to make elaborate plans for their space, but they must be ready to implement the plans with little time in the space and technical support from CPT.
Station Hope venues have limitations and sometimes we need to place lead artists in spaces that may not fully accommodate the ideal elements of your performance. We need you, the artist, to work creatively to adapt your program to fit into the event and work well with the other performances.
There will be a Stage Manager (if necessary) available for the event, but lead artists should provide their own artistic collaborators and produce their individual performance or installation. CPT staff will be available for consultation and support where possible.
Proposing a performance or visual art for Station Hope
Proposals should be bold, inventive and thought-provoking. Proposals can range from choirs, dance, short plays, art installations, poetry, performance art, wandering characters, solo pieces, etc.
In selecting works for this event we will be looking at a number of factors.
- Has the artist/organization demonstrated the ability to produce the proposed work? We are not looking for expert producers, but we want to feel confident that the artist/group has a clear understanding of what it takes to pull off a show and the ability assess their own capacity.
- How is the proposed art inspired by contemporary issues of social justice or the Underground Railroad? We are open to all kinds of work, but are most interested in contemporary theatre work that is inspired by the UGRR and its current parallels.
- Can the work be fully accomplished in the time limitations? How will it fit in the spaces available?
We want to curate an aesthetically diverse range of work and are open to educational, community, amateur and professional groups.
We have a special need for interactive performance and visual art, especially pieces that could engage audiences while waiting in line outside and works that could take over a large outdoor area.
Informational Meeting and Tour of St. John’s Church
To make the best proposal possible for Station Hope, we strongly recommend that interested artists and organizations attend the Station Hope Informational Meeting on Saturday, November 18th at 11am. At this meeting we will discuss the history of Station Hope, how the event works and review the application process. Directly following the meeting, there will be a tour of St. John’s Church for those interested.
The meeting and tour are open to anyone considering a proposal for Station Hope but you must RSVP. Please RSVP by emailing CPT New Play Associate, Andrew Valdez, at avaldez@cptonline.org.
Venues for Station Hope
| Outdoor stage | Outdoor Wandering | Parish Hall |
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| Basement | Main Sanctuary | Alternate Venue – Medium |
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| Visual Art Installation | Other Venues | Alternate Venue – Small |
| CPT is looking at a variety of other “venues” for performance including tents and adjacent buildings. |
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