FREE SUMMER SEASON OUTDOORS. LIVE. IN-PERSON.

July 01, 2021 - August 07, 2021

all performances are at 7:00pm
no tickets, free performances
choose a chair provided by CPT
stage located between CPT's Parish Hall & Church buildings
ART IS ESSENTIAL

Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation | 70 min |Thursday, July 1; Friday, July 2; Saturday, July 3; Thursday, July 8; Friday, July 9
Eric Schmiedl's The Kardiac Kid | Saturday, July 10
The Dark Room | Tuesday, July 13; Tuesday, July 27
Teatro Público de Cleveland (TPC) (performance with Papo Ruiz Y La Dulzura De La Salsa) | Friday, July 16
CPT’s 2021/2022 Season Announcement | Saturday, July 17
Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi مسرح كليفلاند العربي | Friday, July 23
Twelve Literary Arts | Saturday, July 24
Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) | Thursday, July 29; Saturday, August 7
Siaara Freeman's Black Women & Femmes: A Lineage Of Language | Friday, July 30

For Content Warnings for individual productions, scroll down.

CPT will also offer programming at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens as part of their World on Stage line-up, a series of multicultural music, dance, spoken word, and theatre at the Gardens’ new Centennial Peace Plaza. Scroll down for more information.

And continue the summer fun during Arts in August! Stay tuned for information about free performances in Lincoln Park, in partnership with Tremont West, Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack, and LAND Studio.

Have questions? Email boxoffice@cptonline.org.


CPT OUTDOOR STAGE DETAILS

CPT is located at 6415 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44102. The outdoor stage is placed between CPT’s Parish Hall and Church buildings.

There are no tickets and the performances are free. Choose a chair provided by CPT. CPT asks audience members who are not vaccinated to wear masks.

Click here or on the image above to enlarge the calendar.


PANTHER WOMEN: AN ARMY FOR THE LIBERATION

Written & Directed by India Nicole Burton
CPT Stage (7:00pm): Thursday, July 1; Friday July 2; Saturday, July 3; Thursday, July 8; Friday, July 9
Cleveland Cultural Gardens Stage: Saturday, July 10 at 5:30pm; Sunday, July 11 at 4:30pm

70 min

Cast: DayShawnda Ash, Courtney Black, Chennelle Bryant-Harris, Mary-Francis R. Miller, Maya Nicholson, Khemi Shalahuddin, De’Aja Mona’e

Producer: Raymond Bobgan | Line Producers: India Nicole Burton, Beth Wood | Assistant Director: Zyrece Montgomery | Stage Manager: Lisala Peery | Assistant Stage Manager: Cait Butler | Choreographer: Alexis Britford | Consultant to the Choreographer: Lexy Lattimore | Scenic Design: Sequoia Bostick | Costume Design: Marti Coles | Assistant to the Costume Designer: Janya Robinson | Dramaturg: Kenya Ann Hall | Music Director: Mary-Francis R. Miller | Fight Choreographer: Maya Nicholson

Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation follows the stories of three prominent women who were members of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Movement, and explores the lives and unique experiences of Black Women in America.

Content Warning: Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation includes explicit language, as well as some words people may find offensive, sexual content or innuendo, and discussion of racism and violence against women.

This production is supported in part by a Bridge Program grant from the National New Play Network.


ERIC SCHMIEDL’S THE KARDIAC KID

Written & Performed by Eric Schmiedl
CPT Stage (7:00pm): Saturday, July 10

Director: Bill Hoffman | Sound Designer: Richard Ingraham | Composer: Gary Grundei | Composer: Mark Lutwak

It is January 4, 1981. The temperature in Municipal Stadium is thirty-six below zero. The ball hangs frozen in the air as people from Avon to Aurora perch wide-eyed in front of their television screens, clutching the hands, and knees, and faces of anyone nearby. Think you know what happens next? Maybe. And then again, maybe not. The Kardiac Kid is a theatrical love letter uniting five stories of Cleveland joy, tears, hope, and most importantly, a passion for these people and this place and this team to change history… forever.


THE DARK ROOM

Led by Mindy Herman & John Busser
CPT Stage (7:00pm): Tuesday, July 13; Tuesday, July 27

Adults Only

The Dark Room is an “open mic” for playwrights where writers take center stage and their work has a chance to grow. Held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, The Dark Room is open to all writers and performers, as well as audience members interested in cold readings of new scripts. Part of CPT’s New Play Development programming, The Dark Room provides new and experienced writers the opportunity to test drive their new play, novel, poem, or any other written material in a supportive, yet critical, environment.


TEATRO PúBLICO DE CLEVELAND (TPC): LA frontera and the heart

(with Papo Ruiz Y La Dulzura De La Salsa)

CPT Stage (7:00pm): Friday, July 16
Cleveland Cultural Gardens Stage: Sunday, July 18 at 2:30pm (performance with Papo Ruiz Y La Dulzura De La Salsa and Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center!)

25 min – following the TPC performance, join us for live music and dancing with Papo Ruiz Y la Dulzura De La Salsa!

Cast: Bianca Flores, Eliberta Flores, Sonia Fonseca, Elena Foulis, Ricardo Ortega, Jonathan Rodriguez, Felicita Sanchez, Selena A. Vicario

Director: Raymond Bobgan | Stage Manager: Georgina Galindo-Godinez

Teatro Público de Cleveland is a collective of Latino theatre artists and produces performances that preserve and promote the cultures of Cleveland Latinos for Spanish-speaking audiences and the broader public. TPC will present spoken word performances of poems, in collaboration with Raymond Bobgan and Faye Hargate, that seek to connect with Latino and non-Latino audiences in a powerful experience of cross-cultural work.

Content Warning: Teatro Público de Cleveland’s (TPC) workshop performance includes descriptions of U.S. policy on the border, sensitive issues that arise around that subject, and elements of injustice.


CPT’s 2021/2022 SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT

CPT Stage (7:00pm): Saturday, July 17

Join us in celebrating CPT’s 2021/2022 Season Announcement and enjoy complimentary beverages, as well as delicious food from Frank’s Falafel House and Rincon Criollo. Be the first to get a sneak peek at the year to come!


MASRAH CLEVELAND AL-ARABI مسرح كليفلاند العربي  

CPT Stage (7:00pm): Friday, July 23
Cleveland Cultural Gardens Stage: Sunday, July 25 at 4:30pm

30 min

Cast: Rebal Alhalabi, Abbas Alhalali, Sarah Arafat, Ebaa Boudiab, Issam Boudiab, Jamal Julia Boudiab, Amro Handousa, Ahmed Kadous, Hesham Morsy, Ahlem Zaaeed

Director: Raymond Bobgan | Line Producer: Faye Hargate

Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi مسرح كليفلاند العربي —a project developing work by, for, and with Arabic-speaking communities—shares life-affirming stories that honor community, family, and the freedom of expression. The ensemble will present spoken word performances of poems, in collaboration with Raymond Bobgan and Faye Hargate, that seek to build bridges between performers and audiences in a powerful experience of cross-cultural work.

Content Warning: Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi’s workshop performance includes topics of racism and the violent effects of conflict.


TWELVE LITERARY ARTS  

CPT Stage (7:00pm): Saturday, July 24

90 min

Twelve Literary Arts brings performance poetry to public spaces while supporting poets and writers of all ages with youth programming, adult professional development, and brave spaces to dream, write, and teach into reality a world of social justice and equity.


STUDENT THEATRE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM (STEP) 2021: Song of Sankofa

CPT Stage (7:00pm): Thursday, July 29; Saturday, August 7
Cleveland Cultural Gardens Stage: Sunday, August 1 at 4:30pm

1hr

Producer Raymond Bobgan, Education Director Nicole Sumlin, Director John Dayo-Aliya, 2020/2021 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow, Co-Director Melissa Crum, Assistant Director, Fight, Choreographer, & Teaching Artist  Avery LaMar Pope, Education Associate, Stage Manager, & Teaching Artist Allyse Corbin, Tech Team Leader Garrett Markgraf, Costume Designer Inda Blatch-Geib, Assistant Costume Designer & Craftsperson  Dred Geib, Dance Instructor Kenya Woods

Performance Ensemble: Paris Burrell, Kyondalyss Cruz, Yousif Elberri, Taylor Mahone, Jaiyah Pryor, Janiely Santiago, Easton Sumlin, Alija Toles

Cleveland Public Theatre’s celebrated Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) is Cleveland’s longest-running arts and job training program for teens. STEP returns to outdoor venues this summer, celebrating its comeback to in-person performances with an original play, Song of Sankofa.

After a relocation from her idyllic homeland and the death of a loved one, Jetta, a once free-spirited teenage girl, embarks on a journey through the natural world to recapture the magic of her fading childhood. Led by her childhood companion and a reluctant spiritual guide, Jetta learns the connection between youth and the natural world is deeper and more mystical than even she imagined.

Song of Sankofa showcases the ensemble work of eight young artists who are currently navigating the balance between the worlds of childhood and adulthood. Join us to experience this unique piece of free outdoor theatre!

For more information on the 2021 STEP performance and tour dates, click here.


SIAARA FREEMAN’S BLACK WOMEN & FEMMES: A LINEAGE OF LANGUAGE

Presented & Performed by Siaara Freeman, 2020/2021 CPT Premiere Fellow
CPT Stage (7:00pm): Friday, July 30

Performers: Ali Black, Natasha T Miller, Meaca Moore, Natasha Oladokun, Michelle R. Smith, Zuggie Tate, Rachel Wiley

Black Women & Femmes: A Lineage of Language showcases spoken word artists, accompanied by artists from a variety of artforms, to center and celebrate Black women, girl, and femmehood in its fullness.

Click here to learn about each performer.


CPT AT THE CLEVELAND CULTURAL GARDENS

CPT will also offer programming at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens as part of their World on Stage line-up, a series of multicultural music, dance, spoken word, and theatre at the Gardens’ new Centennial Peace Plaza at 1051 Martin Luther King Blvd. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens celebrate more than 40 cultures and countries. They feature symbolic monuments, landscaping, and sculpture which depict world cultural heritage and the immigrant experience in America.

Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation | Saturday, July 10 at 5:30pm; Sunday, July 11 at 4:30pm
Teatro Público de Cleveland (performance with Papo Ruiz Y La Dulzura De La Salsa and Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center!) | Sunday, July 18 at 2:30pm
Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi مسرح كليفلاند العربي | Sunday, July 25 at 4:30pm
Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) | Sunday, August 1 at 4:30pm

Visit www.clevelandculturalgardens.org for more information.

Click here or on the image above to enlarge the calendar.


ARTS IN AUGUST

Continue the summer fun! Stay tuned for a detailed release about free performances in Lincoln Park as part of Arts in August, in partnership with Tremont West, Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack, and LAND Studio.

Visit www.experiencetremont.com for more information.