Yes, We CAN!, taking place online over three days (90 minutes each day), includes storytelling paired with social-distance curriculum that reinforces health and safety learning, and provides creative coping activities to help young people navigate our current times. At-Home Enrichment packets will also be mailed to participants. OPTIONAL: in person Social Distance Family Workshop at Herman Park for 90 minutes of fun activities that support social-distance learning as well as a face mask distribution. This program is offered at no cost thanks to the support of the Cleveland Foundation and other supporters. Classes are taught by CPT Director of Community Ensembles, Faye Hargate, and CPT Education Associate, Zyrece Montgomery. Read More ›
As Latinos and Latinas today we take pride in our work, and the results of our efforts translate into providing new resources while serving the community we live in. Teatro Público de Cleveland (TPC) started in 2013, opening more doors for our Latino community. I joined TPC in 2014 as an amateur actor, and had never done anything like this before. Now, in my 5th year with the company, I have acted, stage managed, created new plays, directed, curated, and promoted the development of new work by TPC! And as I serve as the Chair of Teatro Público de Cleveland’s Leadership Committee, I feel proud and eagerly encouraged to continue our growth. We are growing in theatre not only as actors, writers, and directors, but also by taking all the in-between opportunities that are leading us into a self-sustained ensemble, which is the path Cleveland Public Theatre and the community have been supporting from the beginning.
-Mónica Cerpa Zúñiga, TPC Leadership Committee ChairRead More ›
We are all grieving as our hearts are broken again and again—not just by police, but by the wider system we are all part of. This onslaught of racism and violence against black lives is not new and it impacts us all, especially those who must witness people who look like them and their brothers, mothers, children, and loved ones murdered in the streets. We acknowledge this. It needs to be said again and again. Black Lives Matter.
And we acknowledge we occupy lands stolen from the indigenous people of this region.
Amidst our anger and hurt is also gratitude to the many black and brown people who have shared their stories with us and continue to share, even when it costs them to do so. We are also grateful to those who lived and worked on this land before us; their stewardship and resilient spirit make our residence possible on the traditional homeland of the Lenape (Delaware), Shawnee, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Iroquois, and other Great Lakes tribes and nations, and we acknowledge the thousands of Native Americans who now call Northeast Ohio home.
We at CPT are committed to learn.
And we are committed to our mission to nurture compassion and raise consciousness.
We are committed to justice for all people and this is so urgent for black people.
We recognize the horrors done unto indigenous people and the countless oppressions against all people of color. And on this day we want to especially emphasize: Black Lives Matter.
We will continue to center black voices and black stories as we strive to disrupt and dismantle racism and oppression.
-Raymond Bobgan, CPT Executive Artistic Director
Cleveland Public Theatre is proud to be a member of the National New Play Network (NNPN). Below you’ll find a statement that Raymond, who is also President of the Board of NNPN, and Nan Barnett, the Executive Director of NNPN, released.
Over the past couple weeks, we’ve been highlighting CPT Fellows, staff members, and folks who call CPT their creative home in our Artist Spotlight series.
This week we’re celebrating Benjamin Gantose and Colleen McCaughey!
Read on to check out snapshots of Benjamin and Colleen’s work here at CPT in recent seasons, why they do what they do, and what they’re up to currently.
Have we mentioned how much we love highlighting the remarkable CPT Fellows, staff members, and folks who call CPT their creative home in our Artist Spotlight series?!
Today, we’re celebrating India Nicole Burton and Caitlin Lewins!
Read on to check out snapshots of their work here at CPT in recent seasons and to discover why India and Caitlin do what they do, and what they’re up to currently.
We love celebrating the incredible CPT Fellows, staff members, and folks who call CPT their creative home.
And this week, the spotlight is on Faye Hargate and Obediya Jones-Darrell!
Read on to check out snapshots of their work here at CPT in recent seasons and to discover why Faye and Obediya do what they do, and what they’re up to currently.
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 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.
