The goal of Big Box is to support new work and local artists. CPT provides:

– The James Levin Theatre
– Basic production staff, stage management, box office support
– Marketing and advertising support

The artists provide the rest! The writers, directors, actors, and designers selected for Big Box dedicate themselves to creating new and original work, or stretching their artistic powers by working in new disciplines.

Week #8: March 7 – March 9

These are the Times

Written by David Hansen
Directed by Mark Cipra
Featuring Kyle Carthens, Thomas W. Cullinan, Joseph Dunn, Eric Fancher, Tim Keo, Doug Kusak, Valerie C. Kilmer, Laura Rauh and Carrie Williams

Fact and fiction overlap in this theatrical panorama of Cleveland’s heyday. Bernard Schrader discovers a life in the theater during the Cleveland Centennial, 1936, but decisions made then bring down a fledgling improv comedy troupe during the 1950s Red Scare.

Act One is presented as a Federal Theater Project “Living Newspaper” recounting the events of 1936. It is told in reverse chronology, following the career trajectory of Bernard, a college drop-out and would-be activist who discovers a life in the theater through luck and pluck.

Act Two is presented as a sketch improv comedy show. Spanning the years 1954-60, it follows the development and success of a small company of young comedians, mentored by Barney Silver. Events from the 1930s return to haunt these young performers, culminating in an appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Creative Team
Costume Designer Heather Brown
Video Designer Joshua D. Brown
Lighting Designer David Krupla

Follow the playwright’s blog http://clevelandcentennial.com

Transport back to Cleveland 1936

Transport back to Cleveland 1954

Artist Bio:
David Hansen is a playwright living in Cleveland Heights. Works include Great Lakes Theater’s outreach touring productions Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles, On the Dark Side of Twilight, and most recently Double Heart (The Courtship of Beatrice and Benedick) which debuted in February, 2013. Previous works in CPT’s Big Box series include And Then You Die (How I Ran a Marathon in 26.2 Years), The Vampyres and his award-winning solo performance on stillbirth, I Hate This (a play without the baby) which world-premiered in the first Big Box series in 2003. David is Supervisor of the Great Lakes Theater School Residency Program, and GLT Grants Writer. He has been a contributor to Muse, Angle and Cleveland magazines. David was a 2010 Creative Workforce Fellow, a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, generously funded by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

Learn more about David Hansen http://www.davidhansen.org