UC-CCM Musical Theatre's RUNAWAYS Heads to Know Theatre This Fall

Know Theatre will welcome University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music students to come and play at Your Theatrical Playground with a special co-production of Elizabeth Swados' Runaways.

This groundbreaking musical, originally conceived in the 1970's, is based on hundreds of interviews with teenagers who had run away: from home, from predators, and from themselves. Swados' memorable score draws from an eclectic array of musical styles--from pop to hip-hop, jazz to reggae--while asking why children can't remain children.

Opening Wednesday, September 21 at 8 PM, this co-production with the University of CIncinnati College-Conservatory of Music features 22 student performers from CCM's Musical Theatre Program: Bryce Baxter, Dylan Dougal, Zach Erhardt, Louis Griffin, Delaney Guyer, Ciara Harris, Marissa Hecker, Tyler Jent, Kendall McCarthy, Emily Ashton Meredith, Jordan Miller, Jenny Mollet, Dylan Mulvaney, Kyle Pollak, Gabriela Rodrigues, Emily Royer, Tyler Sodoma, Alex Stone, Donelvan Thigpen, Shauna Topian, Zack Triska, and Amanda Valenzuela.

Directed by Vince DeGeorge, with Musical Direction by Luke Flood, this collaboration underscores Know Theatre's commitment to providing opportunities for local artists that cannot be found anywhere else. "We're thrilled to invite CCM Musical Theatre students into our theatrical playground, giving them a chance to perform on a professional stage. And we're especially excited that they have the chance to explore this pioneering musical in our raw, intimate space," says Know Producing Artistic Director Andrew Hungerford.

The New York Times praised how Swados' script "captured the rampaging moodiness of what it means to be young and unmoored in a drifting culture." Now, see for yourself how CCM Musical Theatre's rising stars will bring this innovative American musical to life, starting this Wednesday at the Know.

For tickets to this limited run and more information, visit knowtheatre.com or call 513.300.5669 (KNOW). The Know Theatre of Cincinnati is located at 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 in historic Over-the-Rhine. Tickets: $25 Regular; $15 Rush tickets at the door 10 minutes prior to curtain (when available). FREE performances on Wednesday, as part of Know's Welcome Experiment initiative. Advance reservations to Welcome Experiment performances are $5.00. Walkup tickets are available for free the day of the show.

Director Vince DeGeorge joined the CCM Musical Theater and Opera Departments as Visiting Professor, Joseph Weinberger Chair of Acting for the Lyric Stage Fall 2013. Vince recently completed his MFA in Directing and Public Dialogue at Virginia Tech and obtained his BFA at CCM in Musical Theater Performance.

Following his graduation from CCM, Vince performed as an actor and dancer in regional theaters across the country and was a member of the New York based contemporary Dance Company dre.dance under Artistic Directors & Choreographers Taye Diggs & Andrew Palermo. In addition to numerous other works, in New York Vince directed New York City's first fully staged production of The Exonerated (2011) to critical acclaim, and co-wrote and directed the award winning musical revue Nashville (2009 Nightlife, Bistro and MAC Awards).

At Virginia Tech, Vince directed and designed A Dream Play by August Strindberg, and productions of Chekhov's The Vagabond and Three Sisters. He also developed, directed and designed The Jo Carson Project, a new musical based on the writings and theories of the Appalachian storyteller and playwright, Jo Carson. During his studies at Virginia Tech, Vince was also a company member of Building Home, a participatory theatre and music engagement project that uses theater to foster healthy civic dialogue among the citizens of the New River Valley concerning pressing regional issues and planning for sustainable communities.

As a part of the Blacksburg Summer Arts Festival 2014, Vince was engaged to design and build Life In The Trees - an art installation, purposed as both a gallery exhibition and the theatrical setting for two performance pieces, adapted and directed by Vince as well. While working on Life In The Trees, Vince collaborated with Alaskan artist Kesler Woodard, as well as novelist Tom Gardner.

Music Director Luke Flood holds a BM in Piano Performance from UMass Amherst and is currently pursuing an MM in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati - CCM. Previous credits include: North Shore Music Theatre (Sister Act, Billy Elliot, Disney's The Little Mermaid, and The Wizard of Oz). Other recent regional credits include Sister Act, Billy Elliot (Gateway Playhouse), Wonderful Town, and Singin' in the Rain (Reagle Music Theatre). Mr. Flood has also subbed on the National Tours of Kinky Boots and Sister Act.

Playwright Elizabeth Swados (February 5, 1951 - January 5, 2016) composed, wrote and directed for over thirty years. Some of her works include the Obie Award-winning Trilogy at La MaMa, Alice at the Palace with Meryl Streep at the New York Shakespeare Theater Festival and Groundhog, which was optioned by Milos Forman for a film. Her work has been performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, at La MaMa, Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Carnegie Hall, and locations all over the world. She has composed highly acclaimed dance scores for well-known choreographers in the US, Europe and South America. Ms. Swados has also attributed scores to many films, including the upcoming documentary, Auf Wiedersehen, about a family searching for the truth about the Nazi participation in Vienna and the Jews who may have aided them.

Ms. Swados created issue-oriented theater with young people for her entire career. This work has culminated in a theatrical extravaganza for New York University, The Reality Show, about the trials, tribulations and joys of college in New York City. The piece uses rock and roll, dance and edgy humor and is performed each year by NYU students at venues such as Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall. Recently, The Reality Show became international and will be performed for the brand new NYU campus in Abu Dhabi.

Her recent musical, Kaspar Hauser: a foundling's opera premiered at the Flea Theater in Manhattan in the Spring of 2009, and was featured in PAPERMAG's list of Downtown Theater Favorites of 2009. Other recent productions include Books Cook! at the Atlantic Theater Company, Atonement, a theatrical oratorio presented by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, an adaptation of S. Ansky's The Dybbuk at NYU/Tisch, Spider Operas at PS122 (with Mabou Mines), and Political Subversities, a political revue that has been presented in two Culture Project festivals as well as at Joe's Pub.

In conjunction with Forward Face, Ms. Swados released a children's CD called Everyone is Different that has been distributed to three thousand schools around the country. She has published novels, non-fiction books, and children's books to great acclaim and received the Ken Award as well as a New York Public Library Award for her book My Depression: A Picture Book. Ms. Swados published a theatrical text book, At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater, and released her first collection of poems through Hanging Loose Press. The One and Only Human Galaxy explores the life of Harry Houdini and experiments with the idea of escapism.

Other awards include five Tony nominations, three Obie Awards, Guggenheim Fellowship, Ford Grant, Helen Hayes Award, Lila Acheson Wallace Grant, PEN Citation and others.

Know Theatre is Cincinnati's Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible.

Know Theatre's work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.

Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate member of the National New Play Network.