Cleveland Public Theatre announces 17/18 Season: STAND

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT)'s Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan announces the 2017/2018 season, which delivers on CPT's mission of raising consciousness and nurturing compassion through theatre that is daring, relevant and socially-conscious.

CPT invests in innovation and diversity, and has been recognized regionally and nationwide as a leader in the support and development of new work, the amplification of emerging voices and for producing and presenting work from artists creating theatre outside the mainstream.

The theme of CPT's 2017/2018 season is STAND.

According to Bobgan: "The playwrights of the 2017/2018 season are bold leaders of thought and action. They are taking a stand. From the surreal vision of Lisa Langford wrestling with race, gender and how we grapple with our own desires and sense of self, to Leila Buck's groundbreaking, hilarious and heart-wrenching exploration of immigration and prejudice, to Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm's look at one family's struggle to escape the slavery of slavery's past, these are plays that stretch the imagination as they delight and challenge. And CPT is following their lead and taking a stand, once again programming a season with a majority of playwrights of color-almost unheard of among non-culturally specific theatres-women playwrights and works that expand the vision of what theatre can be."

CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE's 2017/2018 SEASON

PANDEMONIUM 2017: UNLEASH
One Night Only. Saturday, September 9, 2017; Cleveland Public Theatre, various locations; 7:00 pm; Tickets $165 ($95 tax deductible).

Cleveland Public Theatre's annual fundraising extravaganza transforms the CPT campus into a labyrinth of theatre, dance, visual and performance art in every corner. Ticket is all-inclusive with fabulous local food and complimentary drinks served all night long. A feast for the eyes, mind, appetite and imagination-proceeds benefit CPT's groundbreaking artistic work and life-changing education programs.

THE FAMILY CLAXON
Previews October 5 - 7 & 12. Runs October 13 - 28. Gordon Square Theatre.
Written by Eric Coble, 2016/2017 Nord Family Foundation Catapult Fellow. Directed by Craig George.

Andrew Claxon wants to help Grandad Claxon celebrate his 150th birthday in a last ditch effort to buck for a promotion in the company Grandad founded. If only his wife would stop losing jobs, and their daughter stop blogging, while all the neighbors keep desperately flooding into their home because of nearby rampages and plumbing explosions. And did we mention the Korean Flu that makes house-pets spontaneously combust?The Family Claxon is an insane romp into the absurdity of life in our communally duct-taped home. World Premiere.

TEATRO PUBLICO DE CLEVELAND 10 MINUTE PLAY SERIES
Runs October 5 - 7. James Levin Theatre.
Created and Directed by Teatro Publico de Cleveland Ensemble Members.

Now in its fifth year, Teatro Publico de Cleveland launches a workshop series of new scripts and scenes created by local Latino artists. This series will feature 10 minute plays and showings of material in a staged reading format. New Play Development.

THE ART OF LONGING
Previews October 26 - 28 & November 2. Runs November 3 - 18. James Levin Theatre.
Written by Lisa Langford. Directed by Jimmie Woody.

Set in Cleveland, The Art of Longing follows the lives of six "third-shift" people-those who guard and take care while the rest of us are asleep. The characters' secrets mask deeply held yearnings that manifest in fantastical abilities and anatomical switch-ups. Race, gender and the nature of art and perception are at the focal point of this theatrical experiment. The Art of Longing fashions a world where dream and reality interpenetrate each other. World Premiere.

Y-HAVEN THEATRE PROJECT
Runs November 2 - 5, Gordon Square Theatre.
The one-weekend only production at CPT is followed by a community-wide tour.

The Y-Haven Theatre Project is a nineteen-year partnership between Cleveland Public Theatre and Y-Haven, a transitional housing facility for homeless men recovering from substance abuse and mental health challenges. Since 1998, CPT and Y-Haven, a branch of the Greater Cleveland YMCA, have annually collaborated to create an original theatre production, performed by the men and based on their life stories.

THE LOUSH SISTERS GET HARD FOR THE HOLIDAYS; YIPPIE-KAI-YAY MOTHER-LOUSHERS
Previews November 24 - 26 & 30. Runs December 1 - 17. Gordon Square Theatre.
Created by Beth Wood, Liz Conway and Michael Seevers, Jr. Directed by Beth Wood.

This holiday season, the infamous sisters are BACK! This time, taking matters into their own hands... wink wink. Join Holly and Jolly Loush (aka The Loush Sisters) for their deeply anticipated return to the stage in a bawdy, boozy, over-the-top holiday cabaret. Fueled by song, sidekicks and a hefty dose of "holiday cheer," the Loush Sisters battle villains and attempt to avert disaster in this radical satirization of America's favorite holiday classic... Die Hard. World Premiere.

ENTRY POINT
January 18 - 21. CPT Campus, multiple venues.
Featuring work by various Northeast Ohio artists.

Grab a pass and step into a festival-like atmosphere of raw art-in-progress. Entry Point is a platform for artists to develop their work in the early stages of creation, then share that work with the public in a festival forum. Entry Point activities include staged readings, works-in-progress, open rehearsals, guest panel discussions and facilitated feedback between artists and audience after every showing. New Play Development.

HOW TO END POVERTY IN 90 MINUTES (WITH 199 PEOPLE YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW)
Runs January 24 - 28. Gordon Square Theatre.
Conceived and led by Michael Rohd. Created by Sojourn Theatre and collaborators.
Presenting Sponsor: United Way of Greater Cleveland.

How do we tackle poverty in America? In our community? Over the course of 90 minutes, audiences listen, explore and ultimately decide how to spend $1,000 cash from that evening's box office sales. An experiment in dialogue, collective decision-making, shared responsibility and the potential for art to transform our world, How to End Poverty is spectacularly eclectic in form, often delightful and occasionally uncomfortable. The production engages audiences alongside community experts, blending adventurous theatricality with real time, task-based connective encounters amidst strangers. Regional Premiere.

AMERICAN DREAMS
Previews February 8 - 10 & 15. Runs February 16 - March 3. James Levin Theatre.
Written by Leila Buck. Directed and developed by Tamilla Woodard. In collaboration with Varín Ayala, Monte Bezell, Osh Ghanimah, Ahmad Maksoud, Jens Rasmussen, Imran Sheikh and Rasha Zamamiri.

You are invited into the live studio audience of "American Dreams," where you will decide which of three contestants will receive the ultimate prize: citizenship to "the greatest nation on earth." Weaving playful audience engagement with up-to-the-moment questions about immigration and more, this participatory performance-in-process explores how we navigate between fear, security and freedom; who and what we choose to believe-and how those choices come to shape who we are. World Premiere.

EN EL TIEMPO DE LAS MARIPOSAS / IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES
Previews February 22. Runs February 23 - March 10. Gordon Square Theatre.
Written by Caridad Svich based on Julia Alvarez's novel.

Based on Julia Álvarez's extraordinary novel "In the Time of the Butterflies," En el Tiempo de las Mariposas is a fictionalized account of the courageous Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic. The sisters inspired resistance cells throughout the country against the dictatorial regime of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. The 'butterflies,' their secret code name, were brutally murdered by the regime in 1960. En el Tiempo de las Mariposas paints a visual dreamscape of the activist sisters' interior lives, the beauty and ferocity of the natural world and the music heard on the radio of the time. Performed in Spanish with English Supertitles. Regional Premiere.

BR'ER COTTON
Previews March 29 - 31 & April 5. Runs April 6 - 21. Gordon Square Theatre.
Written by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm.

Lynchburg, Virginia. The former site of a thriving cotton mill is now an impoverished neighborhood. Deeply affected by recent killings of young black men like himself, Ruffrino, a 14 year old "militant," incites riots at school and online. More and more at odds with his mother and grandfather, the boy's anger grows beyond containment while the family home literally sinks into the cotton field and no one seems to notice but him. National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.

TEST FLIGHT
March 29 - April 28. James Levin Theatre.
A 5-week play development series featuring works-in-progress by local and national artists.

Test Flight is a multi-week series that showcases new work on its way to full production. Test Flight provides both local and national/International Artists with the keys to the theatre and the opportunity to co-produce original works-in-progress. The series encourages risk-taking and an entrepreneurial spirit towards creating new work while offering artists a structured support system, activating an art-focused environment. New Play Development.

STATION HOPE 2018
May 5, 6:30 - 10:00pm. St. John's Episcopal Church in Ohio City.
A Beacon of Freedom. A Convening of Community. A Celebration of Hope.

Now in its fifth year, Station Hope is a jubilant community event that celebrates Cleveland's social justice history and explores contemporary struggles for freedom and equity. Engage with over 250 artists as they envision, interrogate and seek out hope on the grounds of Cleveland's first authenticated Underground Railroad site, St. John's Episcopal Church. Audiences explore the historic properties while viewing works of theatre, music, storytelling and dance inspired by the most important issues of our time.

DANCEWORKS 2018
Runs May 17 - June 9. Gordon Square Theatre.
Featuring Northeast Ohio choreographers.

Every year, Cleveland Public Theatre welcomes Northeast Ohio's most adventurous contemporary dance companies to the Gordon Square Theatre stage for four weeks of single and double bill performances.

A CLEVELAND CORE ENSEMBLE WORLD PREMIERE
Previews May 24 - 26 & 31. Runs June 1 - 16. CPT Campus, multiple venues.
Created by Raymond Bobgan and Cleveland Core Ensemble. Directed by Raymond Bobgan.

In the spring of 2018, the Cleveland Core Ensemble, comprised of Raymond Bobgan, Dionne Atchison, Faye Hargate, Adam Seeholzer and Darius Stubbs, will premiere an original work created by the company and directed by CPT's Executive Artistic Director, Raymond Bobgan. World Premiere.

NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT AT CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE
In addition to the Entry Point festival and Test Flight series detailed above, an ongoing fellowship program throughout the 2017/2018 season,Catapult, is intended to help artists move their projects to a "production ready" stage through multiple readings, rehearsal time at CPT, workshop productions and/or invitational showings. Catapult playwrights and creators will be awarded a Nord Family Foundation Fellowship and play an active role in the life of the theatre while they are developing their work.

And, as always, The Dark Room open mic for playwrights continues the second Tuesday of every month (7:30pm at The Church at CPT), pairing playwrights with actors to perform (mostly) cold readings of scripts-in-progress in a fun, low-risk atmosphere.

TICKETS AND LOCATION
Cleveland Public Theatre's box office is located at 6415 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102, and unless otherwise noted, all performances take place in venues inside the CPT campus.

Cleveland Public Theatre's campus is comprised of two primary venues-the historic Gordon Square Theatre and James Levin Theatre. Both mainstage venues are fully ADA compliant, featuring a newly installed patron elevator and the addition of all gender, wheelchair accessible restrooms.

In addition to CPT's primary spaces, the campus includes three auxiliary venues, the Storefront Studio, The Church at CPT and Parish Hall, the latter two of which are located on the east end of the CPT campus. Due to the historic nature of The Church and Parish Hall, these venues are not ADA compliant at this time.

Unless otherwise noted, shows at the Gordon Square Theatre begin at 7:30 pm and shows at the James Levin Theatre and other venues begin at 7 pm. For special venues and event times, check the website for details.

Single tickets are $12 - 30, with premium pricing for CPT's holiday show and other special events. Student and senior discounts are available for Friday and Saturday nights. For more information, go to www.cptonline.org or call the CPT box office at 216-631-2727 ext. 501.

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT @ CPT
Cleveland Public Theatre's audience engagement initiatives seek to provide opportunities for our patrons to engage in meaningful pre- and post-show activities, towards enriching the audience experience and brokering connections between audience members and the art presented on our stages.

FREE BEER FRIDAY - Every Friday at CPT is "Free Beer Friday." Audience members are invited to mingle with the artists after the show and discuss the performance in a lively, social atmosphere-your drinks are on CPT.

AUDIENCE INTERACTION - At CPT we believe everyone is an artist, and our audience interaction installations invite audience members to engage with ideas surrounding the show by participating in hands-on lobby installations that visually and powerfully transform the space for select shows.

POST-SHOW ENGAGEMENT - Curated panels, artist talks and other post-show enrichment invites CPT audience members to deepen their experience.