Cleveland Public Theatre Marks Decade of Playwright Development With TEST FLIGHT
Cleveland Public Theatre will showcase new playwrights with this series.
Cleveland Public Theatre has announced the 10th anniversary of its quintessential play development series, Test Flight, back with six established and up-and-coming Northeast Ohio playwrights.
This year's event will run January 29 through February 14 and feature a double bill each weekend. There will be pieces by Molly McFadden, fresh off her successful run at Edinburg Festival Fringe, and a dance theatre piece by Assembly for the Arts 2025 Creative Impact Awardee Elizabeth Pollert and more. The last weekend Feb. 12 – Feb. 14 features a double bill of CPT's two community ensembles Teatro Público de Cleveland and Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi. The two companies have been dreaming of working together for a few years, so we are excited for this collaboration which expands on CPT's mission to “raise consciousness and nurture compassion…"
Since 2017, Test Flight has given 53 local playwrights a platform and resources towards self-producing. To be selected, playwrights submit their projects in teams that usually include a producer and director so they can focus on the creative process. Previously, playwrights were responsible for writing and producing including coming up with their own show images which they continue to do.
Once teams are selected, they receive workshops on producing to marketing, minimal marketing support, production support and a stipend and percentage of the box office.
Productions are staged with minimal sets, props and costumes and are often performed with script in hand.
Several productions that were developed through Test Flight have gone on to receive full productions such as Showin' Up Black by Jeanne Madison, Our Lady of Common Sorrows by Jaiie Dayo Aliya, ALTER by Tania Benites, Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation by India Nicole Burton which received the highly sought National New Play Network Rolling World premiere in Chicago and Indiana. The musical Everything is Okay (and other Helpful Lies) by Melissa Crum and Caitlin Lewins received a reading at the prestigious New York Musical Festival after its CPT run.
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Disney's Frozen Renaissance Theatre (11/21-11/29) |
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Dracula: A Horror Story Renaissance Theatre (10/02-10/18) |
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The Fantasticks Theatre in the Circle (9/11-9/13) |
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Radium Girls Beck Center for the Arts (2/26-3/07) |
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Dinner Detective Cleveland Hilton Garden Inn Cleveland Downtown (9/19-9/19) |
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Si te Mueres, Te mato ( If you die, I'll Kill you) LatinUs Theater Company (5/21-6/06) |
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A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum Near West Theatre (4/16-5/02) |
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Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Great Lakes Theater (10/23-11/08) |
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WALDEN Dobama Theatre (1/28-2/21) |
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Les Misérables Great Lakes Theater (3/12-4/04) |