Cleveland Public Theatre
The Gordon Square Theatre
6415 Detroit Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio
Earth Plays (Part Two of the Elements Cycle)
Through March 9, 2013
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday
7:30 p.m.
A young man travels to the center of the earth searching for answers and closure following his brother’s violent death and parts from the love of his life in mid-journey on what becomes his solitary quest.
A politician fends off attacks on his environmental policy as he tries to cope with a personal tragedy.
A young lady reveals that she has a rather varied appetite for unusual non-food items as a response to the reduction of food availability in the future.
Environmental hope and hopelessness is explored.
Piles of blue grocery bags floating in the ocean come alive and dance.
A young woman who is seeing to her ill mother’s affairs is informed that she grew up near a toxic waste dump which may be responsible for her mother’s illness and may touch her personally in the future.
A sterile biologist talks about sparrows taking over the neighborhood as he tries to raise his children the right way.
Two theories about the formation of the planet earth, one an ancient oral history, the other a scientific lecture are given simultaneously.
Smokey the Bear, The Crying Indian and Mr. Environmental (Bono) try to get some stuff off their chests.
This plus poetry of Walt Whitman and Margaret Wise Brown and much more are in store for you in this dynamic collection of short snippets in “Earth Plays” Part Two of the Elements Cycle now showing at Cleveland Public Theatre. I would also be remissed not to mention the cast members dressed as bee keepers who gently shift you from place to place with kind words rather than smoke.
What makes this production unusual is that the audience is kept in a static condition, being asked to change seats, areas of the theater and even rooms as the work progresses. This change of perspective adds to the excitement of the evening as you are asked to see things from different angles and in different environments. Each vignette is based on ideas of the environment and how desperate the situation has become on earth. Without preaching or pointing fingers, the mini-plays simply tell it the way it is and nothing short of that.
This elaborate production is a very ambitious project involving nineteen actors, some who were among the nine directors plus eight behind the scenes folks. There is quite a bit of group coordination and “chair dancing” as members of the cast completely change the seating arrangements of the theater right in front of your eyes.
The Cast
Molly Andrews-Hinders (Ensemble, Director Whet Appetite), Mark Baldarelli (Bear, Ensemble), Tania Benites (Ensemble), Melissa Crum (Crying Indian, Ensemble and Director of The Natural Order of Things), Lauren Joy Fraley (“A” and Ensemble), Carly Garinger (Euna, Marissa and Ensemble), Benjamin Greg (Ben, “B” and Ensemble), Faye Hargate (Hazel and Ensemble), Val Kozlenko (Bono, Farmer and Ensemble), Caitlin Lewins (Ensemble and Director of Envionmented), Jeremy Lewis (Arthur and Ensemble), Cathleen O’Malley (The Collector and Ensemble), Pandora Roberston (Aubrey, Ensemble and Director of Meantime Anthropocene), Renee Schilling (Girl, Ensemble and Director of A.G.P. & The Family Topography), Adam Seeholzer (Adam, Ensemble and Director of WAIT ‘n See), Chris Seibert (Woman, Ensemble and Director of The Tranced), Michael Silverstein (“C”, Robert and Ensemble), Darius Stubbs (Colin and Ensemble), Beth Wood (Alisha and Ensemble).
The Conceivers and Directors
Molly Andrews-Hinders, Raymond Bobgan, Melissa Crum, Caitlin Lewins, Jeremy Paul, Pandora Robertson, Renee Schilling, Adam Seeholzer and Chris Seibert.
The Crew
Raymond Bobgan, Producer; Ali Garrigan, Costume Designer; Benjamin Gantose, Lighting Designer; Raymond Bobgan and Benjamin Gantose, Co-Scenic Designers; Jennifer Caster (member of the Actors’ Equity Association), Stage Manager; Emily Ritger, Assistant To Producer; Inda Blatch-Gerb, Blanket Designer and Zachery Svobada, Technical Director.
Earth Plays (Part Two of the Elements Cycle) runs through Saturday March 9, in the Gordon Square Theatre, 6415 Detroit Ave in Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District. Performances are at 7:30pm Thursday, Friday Saturday and Monday. Tickets are $10 - $25, with free beer on Fridays after the show!
Reservation Information
Ticket reservations can be made in advance over the phone by calling 216-631-2727 (ex. 501) during box office hours. You may leave a message during non box office hours and your call be returned by the end of the next box office day. If you leave a message after the box office closes on Sunday, please note that your call will not be answered until the box office reopens on Wednesday.
Tickets may be purchased by phone using a Mastercard, Visa, Discover or American Express. All credit card sales are final, no refunds or exchanges, including for late arrivals. All reservations must be paid for in advance.
You can purchases tickets for CPT online!
Click here for tickets to all CPT performances.
You can also purchases in person at the Gordon Square Theatre Box Office. The Box Office opens 60 minutes prior to curtain.
Box office hours are:
Monday: 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Friday: 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
CPT develops new, adventurous work; and nurtures Northeastern Ohio artists, particularly those whose work is inventive, intelligent, and socially conscious.
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