Category Archives: Uncategorized

Celebrating Denis M. Griesmer, Hillary Wheelock, & Beth Wood!


Witnessing artists deepen their craft, sharing their important work on (or behind!) CPT stages, is a true joy.

CPT strives to be an incubator for homegrown art and local talent, and earlier this week we announced the CPT Artist Spotlight Series, where we’ll be highlighting Fellows, staff members, and folks who call CPT their creative home.

Today, we’re excited to celebrate artists and staff members Denis M. Griesmer, Hillary Wheelock, and Beth Wood! Read on and check out some of their work here at CPT in recent seasons, why they do what they do, and what they’re up to currently.

-The Cleveland Public Theatre Staff Read More ›

Hoping for Hope

The 7th annual Station Hope was scheduled for May 2—which we understand now is not a time in which we can gather together. After Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s Friday announcement and clarification with the City, we are hoping for HOPE. We are marching forward, and rescheduling the festival in hopes we can safely convene on Saturday, June 27, 2020.

Everything in us wants to believe this can happen. Before we cancel the rest of the 2019/2020 season, and remove any possibility of an important event like this from happening, we are choosing to hope we can move forward. We’d hate for June 27 to come around, and look back and regret our decision.

We are artists and that means we are dreamers, and hope is intrinsic to our work. To even begin something, we have to believe in its potential. We know hope will carry us through this time—and that hope lives in our day-to-day actions and behaviors. Staying home today is an act of hope. Planning for the future is an act of hope. Choosing to believe in our interconnectedness while we are physically isolated is an act of hope.

We recognize fully that Station Hope may not happen on June 27, and we will of course follow the orders and guidance of our State and City. We want to assure you we understand how serious this public health concern is—and are obviously not asking artists to rehearse in conditions that are unsafe (for example). If we do this event, we will do it responsibly. We are leading with hope, and acting with safety, care, purpose, and integrity.

We started this festival because we felt a need for our communities to come together to address our current moment, because the Underground Railroad is not just about past, it is about present. This pandemic is underlining the systemic failures we live within, and we hold strong to hope that person to person, moment to moment, we can continue to fight for and believe in change.

Art is essential. And hope lives on.

Raymond & the CPT Staff Read More ›

Shining a light on CPT Artists


Core to our mission, Cleveland Public Theatre nurtures Northeast Ohio artists—particularly those whose work is inventive, intelligent, and socially conscious.

We’re honored to serve as an incubator for local talent and homegrown art, and over the next couple of weeks we’ll be celebrating artists in what we’re calling the “CPT Artist Spotlight Series”, highlighting Fellows, staff members, and folks who call CPT their creative home.

This week, we’re excited to gush about 2019/2020 CPT Premiere Fellows Aaron Benson, Sheffia Randall Dooley, Les Hunter, Andrew Aaron Valdez, and Jimmie Woody.

The Premiere Fellowship celebrates, rewards, and supports artists who have demonstrated excellence in and are committed to new play development. The Fellowship is made possible by dedicated funding from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC). Click here to learn more.

Read on and check out snapshots of the Fellows’ work here at CPT in recent seasons. Several of the artists have also shared a bit about why they do what they do, and what they’re up to currently.

CPT artists: It is a tremendous joy to witness you grow in your craft, and a gift to be in the room when your important work sparks conversations, raises compassion, and nurtures consciousness. Thank you for all you do, and for being an inspiration to us all!

-The Cleveland Public Theatre Staff Read More ›

CPT COVID-19 UPDATE 3-18-2020

CPT Family,

At this point, we all know what’s happening, and we all know the importance of decisions and communications. And we know you are getting a bunch of these emails, updating you with challenging decisions people are making every day. We are grateful to you all and will continue to update you as our plans develop.

Here are the current updates:

  • We announce that both the DanceWorks and Test Flight 2020 series are cancelled. We are heartbroken this work will not take the CPT stage this season.
  • The Absolutely Amazing and True Adventures of Ms. Joan Southgate is rescheduled for next fall. We’ll let you know specific dates soon (…our 2020/2021 Season Announcement is in the works…).

We will keep you apprised and continue to reach out.

Raymond & the CPT staff

CPT COVID-19 UPDATE

Last updated: 3/13/2020

CPT Family,

We are writing with the unfortunate news that all remaining performances of Breakout Session (or Frogorse) and Marisol are canceled. Though we are saddened by these cancellations, we are grateful for the abundance of caution being taken.

The health and safety of our patrons, artists, and staff is our number one priority. If you have tickets for these performances, we would be happy to exchange them or offer a refund. Please stay tuned to our website and social media platforms for more information as the situation evolves.

Thank you for your continued support of Cleveland Public Theatre.

Raymond & the CPT Staff

We’re open.

CPT Family,

We are grateful for those working to ensure the safety of our community, and our hearts go out to those who are affected by the spread of disease and its repercussions.

The health and safety of our patrons, artists, and staff is our number one priority and we are following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As you know, this is a changing situation, and if we need to reschedule or cancel any performances, we’ll let you know.

If you have tickets to a CPT show and you are feeling under the weather, please contact our Box Office at 216.631.2727 x501 to exchange or refund your tickets. Though this is not our usual policy – we understand the circumstances at hand and want to make sure folks are safe, healthy, and have the best experience possible when they enter our spaces.

For more information on COVID-19, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health.

If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to call us at 216.631.2727 x501.

Thank you for your continued support of the arts here in Cleveland – we couldn’t do this without you!

Raymond & the CPT Staff

CPT Announces Catapult Request for Proposals

CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE ANNOUNCES

CATAPULT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS MONDAY, April 13, 2020


Cleveland Public Theatre’s New Play Development

CPT’s mission is to raise consciousness and nurture compassion through groundbreaking performances and life-changing education programs. CPT’s programming agenda is to produce work that is outside the mainstream, offering a much broader range of work available to the Cleveland public and expanding the impact and originality of theatre across the country. CPT strives to make work that is excellent, extraordinary, locally impactful, and nationally competitive.

Our new play development programs are based on our years of experience, community input, and key principles of focusing on artists; valuing diversity of approach, aesthetics, and perspective; and balancing impact with investment.

We envision CPT as a nationally recognized hub for the development of new theatre that is extraordinary, edgy, and relevant. We hope to be a model for nurturing local talent in similar sized markets, the most regarded cultivator of new theatre for Cleveland audiences, a laboratory for promising research and investigation, and a launcher of nationally significant new plays.


Catapult Summary

The most extensive of CPT’s development programs, Catapult is intended to move projects that are outside the mainstream and align with CPT’s aesthetic from early to mid-development phase to being “production-ready”. Each process is customized to the work. Projects may receive a series of readings, significant rehearsal time, and workshop productions.

Playwright/Creators of Catapult projects will receive the Nord Family Foundation Fellowship and, while developing their work, will play an active role in the life of the theatre. Read More ›

CPT is hiring a unique full-time summer seasonal position: Theatre Creator/Director

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) produces groundbreaking performances and life-changing education programs inside of our mission to raise consciousness and nurture compassion. CPT seeks up to three experienced collaborative theatre artists to fill a unique two-month position with CPT’s nationally recognized education program – Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP).  For more information, visit www.cptonline.org or www.cptonline.org/education/student-theatre-enrichment-program


Program Description

STEPCPT’s Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) is an arts-based job training program that engages Cleveland teens from families defined as low-income in a powerful 8-week intensive that focuses on excellence in performance, play creation, physical theatre, writing, production, and set design/construction. Students ages 14-19, with little or no previous performance experience, are eligible for participation, and earn money while learning and practicing valuable job skills such as timeliness, communication, commitment, and teamwork. Under the guidance of CPT artists, teens develop an original play and then tour it to public parks throughout the city of Cleveland. Since its beginning in 1995, 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. STEP is the longest-running arts-based, job-training program in Cleveland and has been utilized as an international model for engaging youth. Through STEP, teens see themselves as a positive and inspirational force, and watch as their work has an impact on the larger Cleveland community. Read More ›

CPT Announces Auditions for the Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP)

CPT’s STEP is a summer arts-based job training program that engages Cleveland teens from families defined as low-income in a powerful 8-week intensive that focuses on excellence in performance, play creation, physical theatre, writing, production, and set design/construction.


2020 STEP Auditions

CPT is hosting virtual auditions for STEP. These will be 10 to 15 minutes and must be scheduled with Molly, Program Director of STEP. To sign up for an audition slot, email Molly at mollyah@cptonline.org with your availability in the afternoon and evenings Mon-Fri.

  • Must be 14 – 19 yrs. old (Cuyahoga County residents)
  • Cast Audition – Perform a 1-minute piece (dance, monologue, or song)
  • Tech Audition – Prepare to work creatively to design and create structures
  • Must RSVP by contacting Molly Andrews-Hinders, STEP Program Director (info below)
  • Leave name, phone number, & preferred audition
  • STEP runs June 15 – August 7 including a two week Cleveland Tour!

Read More ›

Cleveland Public Theatre is hiring a paid part-time summer Pandemonium Intern

Every September, Cleveland Public Theatre hosts its one and only fundraising spectacular: Pandemonium. It takes over 6 months to plan; hosts over 1,400 guests, features 300 artists who donate their time, engages 150 volunteers; and raises between $250,000 and $315,000 each year for our programming. The intern would work directly with our Director of Organizational Advancement and other Development staff on a wide variety of event planning tasks.

These tasks include, among others: proofreading content, coordinating mailing lists, liaising with vendors and the artistic department, helping to orient the volunteers, co-managing day-of guest registration, and building relationships with ticket buyers and funders. Pandemonium will be held on September 12, 2020, with the bulk of the work taking place in the months prior.

Additionally, as our fiscal year ends on June 30, our Finance department spends a large portion of each summer preparing for our annual audit. The intern would work directly with our CFO & General Manager to prepare all documents in alignment with our external auditor’s requests. Read More ›