CLEVELAND: Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) has named John Dayo-Aliya the 2020-21 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow. Through the fellowship, Dayo-Aliya will develop his play Our Lady of Common Sorrows.
The Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellowship is a program for playwrights and other creators from Northeast Ohio that offers work development opportunities, including readings, staged readings, and workshops. It is awarded to creators alongside participation in CPT’s Catapult, a new-play development program to develop projects from outside the mainstream to become production-ready.
Dayo-Aliya is an Akron Arts Alive and Knight Arts Challenge Award-winning playwright, as well as an actor and musician. He is also the artistic director of Ma’Sue Productions in Akron. His work has been produced at Balch Street Theatre, Akron Civic Theatre, and CPT. His play Our Lady of Common Sorrows follows a Black family whose faith is tested when their youngest member, a 14-year-old virgin, becomes pregnant.
The fellowship is funded by a multi-year grant from the Nord Family Foundation, which endeavors to build community through the support of projects that bring opportunities to the disadvantaged and strengthen the bond of families.
