WEEK 3: SPEAK EASY
Written, Composed, & Music Direction by Obediya Jones-Darrell
Directed by Torey Hayward
March 17, 2022 - March 19, 2022
7:00pm, Thu/Fri/Sat, James Levin Theatre.
EVERY TICKET is “Choose What You Pay” and will be offered online, over the phone, and at the Box Office.
Click here for COVID-19 Safety Protocols.
Test Flight is a multi-week series that showcases new work on its way to full production. Test Flight provides both local and national artists with the keys to the theatre and the opportunity to co-produce original works-in-progress. The series encourages risk-taking and an entrepreneurial spirit towards creating new work while offering artists a structured support system. New Play Development.
Content Warning: CPT supports new play development, and social justice oriented-theatre. With Test Flight performances, sensitive material may be explored, and content continues to change as the art is developed. Read the summaries below, and for details or additional content, please contact the Box Office at 216.631.2727 x501 or by emailing boxoffice@cptonline.org.
The James Levin Theatre is ADA-compliant featuring a patron elevator and an all-gender, wheelchair accessible restroom.
Speak Easy
Written, Composed, & Music Direction by Obediya Jones-Darrell
Directed by Torey Hayward
Recently unemployed, Bernard drowns his sorrows at the “Speak Easy” when a mysterious guest shakes up a normal night at the bar. Bernard is faced with a tough decision; what is he willing to sacrifice to succeed? Set presently in Cleveland, Speak Easy examines the struggles of the average working person, the entrepreneurial spirit, and what success truly means.
Company: Sound Body Productions
Artwork by: James Gribbs
Obediya Jones-Darrell is an award-winning writer, music composer, and producer, with a diverse portfolio of theatrical and musical productions. As an emerging artist in Canada, two of his radio plays won Outstanding Achievement in Creative Production (NCRA). In N.E. Ohio, his directorial debut was the production of Double Indemnity for Radio on the Lake Theatre (2020). Speak Easy is a play with music he has written inspired by his journey immigrating to the United States and moving to Cleveland. Building on how our relationship with work and citizenship defines who we are to ourselves and the world, this play explores how the stress of a job can make or break anyone. With an original score that includes Jazz, Soul, and Broadway-inspired music, Obediya wrote this play with music during his residency at Cleveland Public Theatre as their 2019/2020 Kulas Theatre Composer Fellow. facebook.com/soundbodyculture
Torey Hayward is a Big Easy award-winning Director and the Co-Artistic Director of The Radical Buffoons. A Louisiana native, Torey has been working in education and theatre in New Orleans over the last nine years. New Orleans theatre credits include acting, scenic design, dramaturgy, and directing work with the Tennessee Williams Theater Company, The NOLA Project, Southern Rep Theater, and The Radical Buffoons. Hayward studied physical acting at the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy, holds a B.A. in Theater Arts from Hendrix College, and a Master’s of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University. He directed the performance of Speak Easy in New Orleans during Infringe Fest.
The goal of Test Flight is to support new work and local/national 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 Test Flight dedicate themselves to creating new and original work, or stretching their artistic powers by working in new disciplines.