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 #6: February 21 – 23 (Double Bill)
The MEchanical Monster: Misunderstood

A Canticle

The Mechanical Monster: Misunderstood

Choreographed by Megan Lee Nicklos
Produced by The Movement Project

The Movement Project, Cleveland’s newest dance company, goes sci-fi and brings to life mechanical droids with human physique and high intellectual functionality. A three segment work begins with a solo piece exploring the Mechanical Monster’s functionality and environment. Next, a duet pushes the physicality of the machine and discovers the possibilities of movement with a partner. Lastly, an ensemble piece highlights the mechanical and human characteristics and asks the question: Can humankind and droids live together in harmony or is the species too feared to let survive?

Artist Bio:
Megan Lee Nicklos is a native of Cleveland, Ohio where she began her training in 2003 at the Royal School of Ballet under the direction of Joanne Hughes Morscher. In addition, Megan studied at The Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, BalletMet, performed with The Pennsylvania Ballet in theirNutcracker and participated in several Northeast Ohio and Ohio Dance Festivals.

In 2012, Megan received her BFA in Performance and Choreography from Ohio University School of Dance where she developed her own artistic voice under the mentorship and direction of Madeleine Scott, Marina Walchli, Mickie Geller, Travis Gatling, Tresa Randall and Gladys Bailin.

While studying at OU, Megan performed the reconstruction of Alwin Nikolais’ piece Noumenon Mobilus, performed in faculty works by Mickie Geller and guest works by Adriana Durant, Stefanie Batten Bland and Sean Curran. July 2010 Megan studied at the Laban Centre in Greenwich, London where she furthered her studies in Limon and Release techniques, choreography and contact improvisation.

Since 2008 Megan’s presented her work in numerous concerts and festivals throughout Ohio and in 2010 set original work as a guest artist at Hathaway Brown in Shaker Heights. In 2011 Megan’s work “Formally Phrased, with the exception of a few” was selected for adjudication at the American College Dance Festival held at Grand Valley State University, Michigan.

Currently, Megan is the Co-Artistic Director and Choreographer, alongside sister Rebecca Nicklos, of the Cleveland based modern dance company The Movement Project. Megan also serves on the Board of Directors for OhioDance, a statewide organization that inclusively supports the diverse and vibrant practice of dance.

A Canticle

Directed and Produced by Tony Cintrony
Adapted and Performed by The Believers
Featuring Tony Cintrony, Erik Logan, Chad Hull, Jeremiah Boswell, Carly Hyer, Lydia Livingood, Gabe Moyer and Teal Holliday

To what depths is humanity capable of exploring the transcendent? A Canticle invites us to engage in the journey of one human subject given to a state of complete anomie in search of the one she loves. Claiming encounters with an otherworldly voice, she finds herself in psychiatric confinement. Under the care of specialized doctors attempting to silence this voice, she is relentless in her striving to know this being who has ravished her heart.

As the subject struggles through sleep deprivation, sexual abuse, and drug induced a hallucination we find that in her world only one thing is certain, her desire. She longs for validation and her obstacle is sanity.

Using the original text of “The Song of Solomon”, A Canticle takes the Holiest of spiritual texts and pairs it with the most depraved of minds.

Artist Bio:
The Believers is a performance art collaborative involving local and Kansas City artists that was started by Tony Cintrony. The company was birthed out of a Kansas City cult centered on an extreme monastic lifestyle and denial of personal identity. Tony and several of the artists in the company, had spent 4 years in contemplative solitude and sheltered community. As they began to question they began to find freedom.

The heartbeat of The Believers is to explore the esoteric nature of scripture and unveil the vulnerable, uncensored truth of the human experience. Blending elements of live theatre, music, and movement they strive to release an atmosphere of spiritual meditation through the lens of a broken and disillusioned existence.