STUDENT THEATRE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM (STEP) 2025

July 24, 2025 - August 03, 2025

Times and locations vary, see below. Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket to our outdoor performances!

FREE

Tour Schedule
(Note that new dates will be added later, so please check back)

Thursday, July 24 — Herman Park, 6198 Herman Ave.

Monday, July 28 — Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus

Thursday, July 31 — Riverside Park Estates Community Center, 17800 Parkmount Ave.  

Friday, August 1 — Outhwaite Homes Community Center, 2452 E. 46th & Quincy Ave.

Saturday, August 2 — Lincoln Park (Arts in August)

Sunday, August 3 — Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Ave.

Photos by Steve Wagner

The Creative Production Team Includes:

Very special thanks to: Council President Blaine A. Griffin and Councilpersons Kerry McCormack, Richard A. Starr, Kevin Conwell, Danny Kelly, Rebecca Maurer, Jenny Spencer, and Charles J. Slife.

Made possible through the generous support of: City of Cleveland Division of Recreation, Cleveland City Council and the City of Cleveland’s Office of Prevention, Intervention, and Opportunity for Youth and Young Adults; Cleveland Foundation; Brewer-Garrett; Dollar Bank Foundation; First Federal Lakewood; Martha Holden Jennings Foundation; David & Inez Myers Foundation; LAND Studio; PNC Bank; Third Federal Savings & Loan; William M. Weiss Foundation

Special thanks to these Community Partners: Bellaire-Puritas Development Corporation; Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc.; City of Cleveland Department of Community Development; City of Cleveland Division of Special Events; Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority; Northwest Neighborhoods CDC; Slavic Village Development; Tremont West Development Corporation, and The Iron Ward and West Town Community Development Corporation.

STEP 2024: CARVED, AN ADAPTATION OF CARLO COLLODI’S PINOCCHIO

What is STEP?

CPT’s Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) is a rigorous, arts-based program that provides hands-on job training, engaging Cleveland youth from families defined as low-income in a powerful learning experience that develops job skills, academic achievement, and interpersonal skills. As part of this eight-week summer program, youth ages 14–19 work together to create, produce, perform, and tour their own play. This program is the longest-running arts-based workplace development program in Cleveland and is an international model for engaging youth. Since its beginning in 1994, STEP has received multiple awards and recognitions, including those from the City of Cleveland, The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Through STEP, teens see themselves as a positive and inspirational force and watch as their work has an impact on the larger Cleveland community.