The Opening House: Immersive Performance and Open House
October 10, 2026 - October 11, 2026
The Joan Yellen Horvitz Performance Gallery
Free, however, a $10 donation is suggested.
Sat., October 10 | 5:00pm – 8:00pm
(post-show reception & dance party from 8pm to 9pm)
Sun., October 11 | 3:00pm – 6:00pm
After years of planning and a year of construction, Cleveland Public Theatre reopens the former St. Mary’s Orthodox Church as the Joan Yellen Horvitz Performance Gallery with a free and open to the public CPT-style soft opening with two dates to choose from.
In addition to exploring the newly transformed space, guests get to experience a performance of The Opening House a new immersive show by CPT Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan and Cleveland CORE Ensemble. In the piece, performers engage in poetry, storytelling, song, and movement throughout the building. Every 20 minutes, one audience member will have an intimate one-of-a-kind opportunity to enter a special journey with the performers.
The Joan Yellen Horvitz Performance Gallery is ADA-compliant featuring a wheelchair lift, and an all-gender, wheelchair accessible restroom.
Ensemble Members:
Eric Wloszek, Kyla Kyles, Katie Boissoneault, Colleen McCaughey, Noah Christopher, Maddy Cox, Brooke Lynlee, Nnamdi Okpala, Kalindi Stockton, Anastasía Urozhaeva
The Creative Production Team Includes:
Conceived by Raymond Bobgan & Cleveland CORE Ensemble
Directed by Raymond Bobgan
Lighting Design by Tom West
Costume Consultants: Anastasía Urozhaeva, Ali Garrigan, Katie Boissoneault
ABOUT JOAN YELLEN HORVITZ
Joan Yellen Horvitz, for whom the Joan Yellen Horvitz Performance Gallery was named, was an admired civic leader and cherished collaborator and supporter of Cleveland Public Theatre who designed couture fashion as well as intricate costumes and sets for dance and theatre. Her couture designs can be viewed in the permanent collections of the Kent State University Museum, the Western Reserve Historical Society Chisolm Halle Costume Wing, and the Ursuline College Historic Costume Study Collection. Joan’s stunning work for CPT included Fefu and Her Friends, Between Life and Death, and Insomnia: The Waking of Herselves.
In 2012, she funded CPT’s Joan Yellen Horvitz Director Fellowship, giving emerging directors (originally exclusive to women) the opportunity to participate in a season-long residency to receive mentoring, training, and production opportunities for new work. The current iteration of the fellowship, which was also generously funded via Joan’s bequest, includes directors of all backgrounds and career stages.
Click here to read more about Joan Yellen Horvitz.
From “the opening house”
Performance by Cleveland CORE Ensemble photos by Steve Wagner
about raymond bobgan
Raymond Bobgan creates new performances that are bold, multilayered, and highly physical, through an ever-evolving ensemble process. Raymond’s work has been seen in Romania, Brazil, Denmark, Serbia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and has been featured in American Theatre magazine, Canadian Theatre Review, Theatre Journal, and in Lisa Wolford’s book Grotowski’s Objective Drama Research.
Raymond has created many works for CPT, including Dream Rust Workshop for CPT and Kennedy Center’s Arts Across America; Frankenstein’s Wake with Holly Holsinger; and Blue Sky Transmission: A Tibetan Book of the Dead, co-produced by CPT and La MaMa ETC (Off-Broadway). Raymond’s ongoing experimentations and creations are produced as The Cleveland CORE Ensemble. His most recent major work includes: Into the Heart of One Star (which he also performed in and co-wrote), Golden Flame Invitation, Candlelight Hypothesis and Reverie Oracle. Last season, Raymond directed the U.S. professional premiere production of Hanoch Levin’s Requiem, the longest running play in the Israeli canon.
Click here for complete bio.