Know theatre is 18 years old, and we’re ready to do everything that entails: step into a wider world, fall in love, confront loss, get a crazy summer job, have a history lesson, party with some college kids, give up our childhood toys, obsess over Star Wars again, rail against poverty and injustice, engage in civic discourse, major in the sciences and then, maybe, take a trip to the beach.
We’re so excited to present one of the most ambitious collections of programming Know Theatre has ever undertaken. More shows, more fun, more socially conscious drama, more opportunities for local artists. Just like being 18, it’s going to be a wild ride. And we plan to create some memories that our audiences will carry with them for a long, long time.
“As we near the 10th anniversary of moving into our home at 1120 Jackson Street, I think we’re getting ever closer to the vision that Know Theatre’s leadership has always had for this space,” says Producing Artistic Andrew Hungerford. “From our mainstage to Serials to Fringe, there is so much happening on our stages. It really is a theatrical playground here. And seeing the Underground filled with an audience eager to be a part of the next crazy thing we make reminds me exactly why I took this job. I can’t wait for you to experience what we’ve got in store for you this season.”
M A I N S T A G E
HUNDRED DAYS concept, music and book by The Bengsons
Directed by Anne Kauffman
A Z space and piece by piece production
A folk rock odyssey written by and starring husband and wife duo Shaun and Abigail Bengson. HUNDRED DAYS is the fierce, triumphant story of a young couple who fall in love, only to have their time together cut short by a fatal illness. With the brash intensity of youth, they decide to try and live the 100 days they have left together as though it were the 60 years they had imagined they would have. Know Theatre is thrilled to be a part of the next stage in the development of a wildly inventive new musical, originally commissioned by Z space in San Francisco, that blends the simple magic of storytelling with a no-holds-barred concert.
July 24-August 22, 2015
THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE by Charise Castro Smith
DIrected by Brant Russell
A collaboration with University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
The year is 1504. It’s a freakishly cold day in Spain, and the hunchbacked, adopted sister of the dying queen Isabella has to use her formidable intellect to contend with colonial genocide, a forbidden lover, a dying queen, a hellion of an heir, and the mess that is politics in a changing world. An irreverent comedy that turns historical atrocities on their heads in a Tarantino-esque romp, it’s a collaboration that brings CCM drama students to Know Theatre’s stage for a history lesson you won’t get in college.
October 9-24, 2015
ANDY’S HOUSE OF [BLANK] by Paul Strickland & Trey Tatum
DIrected by Bridget Leak
A development run of a new musical, fresh from the Thunderdome
Andy always was an unusual man, running a store that was part ever-changing emporium of oddities, part Museum of Unmailed Loveletters. And when Sadie, his old school crush, comes back to town for her father’s funeral and shows up with a mysterious machine… well, that’s when the time travel starts. Paul and Trey recount the strange events of the summer they met, working in ANDY’S HOUSE OF [BLANK]. This small town, mystery-spot, time-travel musical graduates from Serials!, Know’s episodic theatre party, to become a full length show about unrequited love and what it means to change your world.
October 30-November 14, 2015
ALL CHILDISH THINGS by Joseph Zettelmaier
Directed by Tamara Winters
A long time ago (2006) in a galaxy far, far away (Norwood)…. Dave, Carter and Max have a problem. Their lives never fulfilled the promise that the Star Wars films made, they never had the means to embark on their own galactic adventure. Now they’re 30, and Dave’s still living in his mom’s basement. And Kendra, Carter’s new girlfriend, doesn’t even know what a nerf-herder is. But they have a plan. They will raid Kenner’s secret warehouse and get all the collectibles they can. Their mysterious buyer has promised them more money than they could imagine (and they can imagine quite a bit). Max may have a bad feeling about this, but when the Force is with you, what could possibly go wrong?
November 20-December 19, 2015
BLACK TOP SKY by Christina Anderson
Directed by Kimberly Faith Hickman
After witnessing police rough up a fellow resident of the housing projects, 18-year-old Ida befriends a young homeless man who sleeps on a bench in the small square of pavement between the institutional high rises. As their unlikely friendship grows, BLACK TOP SKY examines the intersection of love, violence, community, and mental illness on the line between poverty and true homelessness.
January 29-February 20, 2015
BEERTOWN by dog & pony dc
A collaboration as part of Beertown Across America
It’s time for the citizens of Beertown to celebrate The 20th Quinquennial Time Capsule Day! It’s up to you, the audience, to decide which tells the story of your town’s history better: a family’s bible or a pair of spectacles? A meteorite or a lawn sign? This partnership with innovative theatre company dog & pony dc is part Civic Ceremony and part theatrical pageant, mashed up with a Choose Your Own Adventure / Murder Mystery Dinner Party. BLACK TOP SKY explores the dynamic relationship between individuals and their community. Plus, every performance of Beertown begins with a dessert potluck;; so bring a dessert to share!
March 2-19, 2016
SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Tamara Winters
The true story of 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt plays out against a landscape of fierce sisterly love, early feminism, universe-revealing science, and a time when humans were called “computers.” This beautiful play from Lauren Gunderson (author of Know’s Toil and Trouble and Cincinnati Playhouse’s The Revolutionists) reveals how a group of extraordinary women found a way to measure the universe, providing a glimpse of the light within us all.
April 15-May 14, 2016
TBA
Directed by Andrew Hungerford
We’ll have one more show to announce to cap off the season soon!
June 24-July 16 2016.
S E C O N D S T A G E
SERIALS 3! ROUNDHOUSE
Cincinnati’s crazy theatre party returns for all new episodic plays this summer, in a new format chosen by the Serials audience. Five playwrights create five episodic new plays. Each week the writers trade who’s writing which story!
THE ONE MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL
1MPF invites local writers and community members into their unique playmaking process. Writers are asked to consider the world around them, their cities, their communities and the ways in which they view the world, before writing topical moments that say something about the world as it is in the here and now. Local directors, actors, and community members are tapped to stage and shape these moments (70-90 on average) with a unique local flavor. July 10-12, 2015
THE NAUGHTY LIST: THE JOLLY AWAKENS by OTRimprov
Are you on the list? Our annual holiday show featuring OTRimprov returns to Arnold’s Bar and Grill, with new tricks up its hand-knit ugly sweater sleeves.
December 2015
SERIALS 4!
If people keep coming out to play, we’ll keep doing it! Serials continues in Winter of 2016!
THE 13TH ANNUAL CINCY FRINGE (Lucky 13)!
FRINGE EXTRAS AND ENCORES
We’ll continue bringing Fringey back, with old favorites and new shows that keep the spirit of Fringe alive all year round.
…and a few more surprises!
Tickets:
- $25 in advance for Hundred Days
- $20 in advance for all other Mainstage shows
- $15 Fringe shows, Fringe Extras, and Fringe Encores
- $10 Rush tickets at the door 10 minutes prior to curtain (when available)
Six show flex passes that never expire are available for $100 .
FREE performances on select Wednesdays, as part of Know’s Welcome Experiment initiative. Subject to availability;; reserved Welcome Experiment tickets must be claimed 15 minutes before the performance or be subject to redistribution.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting knowtheatre.com or calling 513.300.5669 (KNOW).
One-year sustaining memberships are available for $20 /month or $240 .
About Z Space
Z Space is a hub for artists and audiences to revel in the creation, development, and production of outstanding new work. We commission, develop, present and produce a full season of new works from a variety of disciplines including theater, dance, music, performance art, and new media. We foster opportunities around the nation for these works and we engage diverse audiences through direct interactions with the process, the projects, and the artists.
About dog & pony dc
dog & pony dc is an ensemble based devised theatre company focused on providing audiences new ways to experience theatre. Whether it’s an ultra violent live action version of the Punch and Judy puppet show, or a gathering of a 200 year old secret society charged with generating technological innovations, our shows playfully explore the elastic relationship between artist and audience. We like to think that going to our shows is like going to a concert…a rock concert. Everyone’s energized and engaged in the moment, and sometimes the audience ends up on stage.
About Know Theatre
Since 1997, Know Theatre has been dedicated to creating explosive and evocative live entertainment. We value a playful artistic community where artists can collaborate and grow.
Know Theatre’s work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.
Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate member of the National New Play Network.
!KE: /XARRA //KE A NEW AFRICAN FOLK TALE
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 