CLEVELAND: Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) has announced its second set of spring programming, to add to the previously announced Alive On Line offerings. These new offerings extend CPT’s virtual programming through the end of May.
The month of May will feature pop-up virtual performances from CPT, streamed on CPT’s Facebook and YouTube pages. The series will begin with Frankenstein’s Wake (May 6), created by Holly Holsinger and CPT executive artistic director Raymond Bobgan, which restages the Mary Shelley classic to offer a deeper, evolved perspective on the story’s themes. Holsinger will star and Bobgan will direct.
Next up will be …Or Does It Explode? (May 7), written and directed by 2020-21 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow John Dayo-Aliya. Using poetry, dance, and other forms of contemporary theatre, the production explores what it means to be a young Black man in the 21st century by blending stories gathered from men ages 16-35 in Akron, Ohio.
Following will be Dream Rust Workshop (A Hypothesis Project) (May 13), with text by Bobgan and contributions from CPT community ensembles. Bobgan will direct this surreal theatrical experiment, which follows a network of dream lines from a group of dreamers looking for meaningfulness and managing to blend the borders of identity, home, country, and kin.
David Hansen’s Savory Taṇhā (sixteen short plays performed by a rotating ensemble) (May 14) will be next. Caitlin Lewins will direct this virtual memory play about longing, loss, happiness, hopefulness, and navigating the pathways of human desire.
Closing out the May pop-up performances will be Dragon Hypothesis (May 27), with text by Bobgan and created jointly between Bobgan and Cleveland CORE Ensemble, for a work that seeks theatrical poetry in an effort to discover and articulate the experience of meeting the mind.
May will also feature live Zoom performances of An Extraordinary Love (Three Short Plays in Progress), directed by Nicole Sumlin and running May 21-23. Featured will be Ananias J. Dixon’s The Proposal, Lisa Langford’s Smoking, and Christian St. Croix’s Tiana. Through these three 10-minute plays, Black artists explore Black love and relationships. Post-show discussions will also be held.
Alongside this programming, CPT is continuing to offer new-play development and online education programs. More information on both is available online.
Cleveland Public Theatre strives to develop new, adventurous work, nurture Northeastern Ohio artists, and engage communities through its education programs.
