I Wear My Dead Sister’s Clothes
By Amy Schwabauer
Directed by Ray Caspio
"Schwabauer weaves a galaxy of emotions."
—Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene
December 04, 2025 - December 20, 2025
James Levin Theatre
I Wear My Dead Sister’s Clothes, written and performed by Amy Schwabauer, is an autobiographical dark comedy about what it means to love and grieve a difficult person. While cleaning out her deceased sister’s house, Amy sorts through the messy baggage of their relationship and asks herself the tough questions, like why did her sister need four identical dish drainers? Loss haunts Amy as she empties out every closet, but laughs come just as easily as tears when she wears her dead sister’s clothes.
Click here for COVID-19 Safety Protocols. (Sunday COVID-Conscious performances)
The James Levin Theatre is ADA-compliant featuring a patron elevator and an all-gender, wheelchair accessible restroom.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Amy Schwabauer is an award-winning actor, playwright, and toy theater creator based in Cleveland, Ohio. In July 2024, her workshop/festival production of I Wear my Dead Sister’s Clothes won the Char and Chuck Fowler Audience Choice Award at the Borderlight Theatre Festival. In 2022, she won the CAN Journal Best Visual Theatre Award for Coco and Gigi, a toy theater show co-created and performed with Jill Levine. Her solo show This Is Not About My Dead Dog, won her Cleveland Scene‘s Best Actress award in 2017. Other recent credits include: performing and co-creating Stage Frights (Imposters Theater 2023); Bell, Book, and Late Nite Drive Thru, co-created and performed with Carrie Williams (CPT Pandemonium 2021, Borderlight Festival 2022); co-creating, performing, and touring the toy theater production The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut with Mike Geither (2015–2019). In 2020, she created and performed in Playing with a Purpose, a YouTube series for kids edited by Jasmine Golphin and produced by Lake Erie Ink with support from the Cleveland Foundation. Amy spent much of her early career on CPT stages. She performed in classics such as Akarui, directed by Raymon Bobgan; The Loush Sisters; The Secret Social; and Fire on the Water, as well as a variety of pieces for Pandemonium over the years. She is a current member of the Dobama Playwright’s Gym and the Chicago Midwives Artist Collective. For more information about Amy and her various projects, you can visit her website at AmySchwabauer.com.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Ray Caspio is a multidisciplinary artist creating intimate performance installations. Their work has been performed at Cleveland Museum of Art, BorderLight, Theater Ninjas, CPT’s Pandemonium & Playhouse Square. Ray is the recipient of a Creative Workforce Fellowship, a SPACES Satellite Fund grant, and a 2024–25 Premiere Fellowship with Cleveland Public Theatre.