Yearly Archives: 2018

James Dean, Role-Play Games Headline NKU’s Play Festival

NKU_Yes Festival 18 logoHIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts Theatre and Dance Program has selected three plays that will receive their world-premiere productions this April in the 19th Biennial Year-End Series (Y.E.S.) Festival. Fast Young Beautiful by Ethan Warren and Initiative by Jacob York were selected as the winning playwrights of over 300 script submissions. As an added bonus, The Black Boy in Pink written by NKU BFA Playwriting major, Isaiah Reaves, will receive a lightly-staged production in the studio theatre. Performances will take place April 4-14, 2019 at the NKU Fine Arts Center.

NKU_Ethan-Warren

Ethan Warren.

FAST YOUNG BEAUTIFUL
By Ethan Warren
Directed by Nicole Perrone
Corbett Theatre

New to Hollywood, a naive young actor named Dennis is cast in the new James Dean film, and though he’s at first unimpressed with his idiosyncratic co-star, he’s soon seduced by Dean’s mysterious talent. Dean agrees to mentor Dennis, but as they co-star in two films across the spring and summer of 1955, both find themselves struggling to understand what it means to be a great actor, and a good man, before they lose their chance to be either.

Ethan Warren’s first play, Why Are You Nowhere?, received the Playwright’s Award for Staged Reading at the 2016 Midtown International Theatre Festival, as well as the Inkslinger Award from Southeastern Louisiana University, where it had its premiere production in Feb. 2017. His play Hot Dog Christmas was commissioned as part of The Boston Project, the new works initiative at SpeakEasy Stage Company, and his short works have been published in the Stage It! 10-Minute play anthology, and the journal Furious Gazelle. He is also the writer/director of the independent feature film West of Her (2018), and an editor for the film journal Bright Wall/Dark Room.

NKU_Jacob-York

Jacob York.

INITIATIVE
By Jacob York
Directed by Mike King
Stauss Theatre

Playing a pen and paper role-playing game may not be your idea of a good time but, for Dave and his friends, it’s a lifeline. Dave has a particularly aggressive form of cancer and the only way he’ll experience all the memories he counted on having is through his friends creating them around him at the gaming table. A play about friends and the lengths you’ll go for them, Initiative examines stories and why we tell them. And what unexpected demons can lie within.

Jacob York’s writing credits include Homers (World Premiere – Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Roswell, GA), Initiative (Semi-finalist, Playfest at Orlando Shakespeare Festival), Adultery for Beginners (Semi-finalist, Humanitas New Voices Program), lead writer for Middle School The Musical and The Real Tweenagers of Atlanta (World Premiere – Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA), and head writer for The Know Better Effect. In addition to writing, Jacob is known as an actor on stage (Shakespeare in Love at Nashville Repertory Theatre; Women in Jeopardy! at Merrimack Repertory Theatre; Macbeth at Atlanta Shakespeare Company), on screen (Turn: Washington’s Spies on AMC; Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell on Adult Swim), and as an audiobook narrator (To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo; Certain, Dark Things by M.J. Pack).

NKU_Isaiah-Reaves

Isaiah Reaves.

THE BLACK BOY IN PINK
By Isaiah Reaves
Directed by Brian Robertson
The Henry Konstantinow Studio Theatre 

The Black Boy in Pink is a bold new work by a young provocative playwright set in his hometown of Cincinnati. The year is 1959. Wyatt Frost is a young black man who has been forced to make hard choices to survive. Flickering across his fuzzy RCA Victor television set comes the possibility of a different existence. As his life becomes entangled with the legacy of a picturesque local wealthy family, will Wyatt be able to choose the life he has always wanted? Will he be able to color pink his otherwise black and white existence?

Isaiah Reaves is a dramatist and actor based in Cincinnati, OH. Reaves began writing at the age of eleven. At fifteen years old, his play Wyatt’s Bed received a reading at the Tony Award-winning Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Since then, his full-length plays have been staged at The Cincinnati Fringe Festival, where his production of The Blackface Project was named a CityBeat Critic’s Pick in 2018. His work has also been produced as part of the Know Theatre of Cincinnati’s Serials and Underground series, as well as in the One Minute Play Festival, Northern Kentucky University, and the Clifton Performance Theatre. Reaves has received training from the College-Conservatory of Music’s Summer Playwriting Workshop and is currently a junior BFA candidate at Northern Kentucky University, where he is the Ken Jones Playwriting Scholarship recipient.

Tickets will go on sale January 28, 2019 at noon. Single tickets are $15 general admission or 2-show package for $25. Student tickets are $10 or 2-show package for $15. The Black Boy in Pink will have free admission, but reservations are required due to limited seating. Please visit the YES Festival website at nku.edu/yesfestival for more information.

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Auditions Announced for Children’s Chorus for JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at La Comedia Dinner Theatre

LAC_logoCHILDREN: La Comedia Dinner Theatre is doing the production JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT. This spectacular show will be presented on our stage from February 21 through April 14. JOSEPH…is one of the most popular shows La Comedia has ever produced and we’re so excited to be bringing it back for the first time in ten years!

Here is where you come in…We would love to do the show with a children’s chorus. Even though it’s the chorus they play a major role in the show and are on stage the ENTIRE TIME! Some actors wait their entire life for that chance, and we are making it a possibility for you.

If you are between the ages of 7 and 14, all you have to do is come to our open audition on Monday December 10, 2018 at 5:00 pm. Upon arrival to the lobby of the theatre, please fill out an audition form and we will have each child come into the theatre and sing 16 bars of a song that they feel comfortable with. It can be Happy Birthday, a Christmas Carol, church song, or a song they know from school, it doesn’t matter we just want you to audition!

The children will be double cast, so the child will only have to do half of the total amount of shows in the run of the production. We do Thursday, Friday, and Sunday matinees as well as Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings.

Rehearsals will be Monday, February 4 – Friday, February 8 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Saturday, February 9 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10 is a day off
Monday, February 11 – Friday, February 15 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Saturday, February 16 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17 is a day off

Monday, February 18- Wednesday, February 20 are our tech rehearsals. The kids will be needed for one half of our tech day, either 10:00 am – 3:00 pm or 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm.

The show opens for a matinee performance on Thursday, February 21.

This is an excellent opportunity for your child to be in a La Comedia production. If you have never seen a performance of Joseph…you are in for a real treat. The show is set to an abundance of musical styles from country western and calypso to bubble-pop and rock and roll. This biblical retelling of Joseph and his coat of many colors has something for everyone!

Please contact me at 1-800 677-9505 ext. 225 if you have any questions you can email me at producer@lacomedia.com

I will be the director/choreographer for the show so I hope to see lots of you at the audition on the 10th!

Chris Beiser

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The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati Presents MARTIN’S DREAM on the Showtime Stage

TCTC_Martin's Dream ImageCelebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the one-man production of MARTIN’S DREAM.

Created, directed and performed by the talented and charismatic Deondra Kamau Means, this show explores the real person behind the pictures: a funny, intelligent, passionate man whose faith, family and education made him one of the most revered people in our nation’s history. Watch the story of his life unfold — from his childhood in the Deep South all the way to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

MARTIN’S Dream is most enjoyed by those in grades 2-12 (and adults too) and will be presented on the Ralph and Patricia Corbett Showtime Stage, 4015 Red Bank Road, Cincinnati, OH  45227.  Only 152 seats are available for each performance.  Performances will be held:

  • Saturday, January 19 at 11 AM and 2 PM
  • Sunday, January 20 at 2 PM

A question-and-answer session follows every show.

Tickets are $13 each (plus service fees) and are available exclusively through ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.  Tickets available now.

The United States celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day officially on Monday, January 21, 2019.

TCT On Tour is bringing the production of MARTIN’S DREAM to schools and venues around the Tri-State and throughout the region from January 14 – March 1, 2019.  If you’re interested in booking, please contact Violet Rae Webster at 513-569-8080 x20 or by emailing violet.webster@tctcincinnati.com.

Don’t miss our brand-new Podcast, Audio Footlights. Hosted by Producing Artistic Director, Roderick Justice, listeners will get to know Deondra Kamau Means, the creator of MARTIN’S DREAM. This podcast is designed to look at the shows we produce, and to ignite, impact and inspire all of our young listeners to have a lifelong love of theatre. Flex your imagination and join us!

This free TCT Podcast runs about 8 minutes, and will be available soon on iTunes as well as Stitcher, SoundCloud, GooglePlay, TuneIn and Spotify!  Here’s a link to SoundCloud:  https://soundcloud.com/tctcincinnati

TCT On Tour is sponsored by Macy’s, PNC and Mercy Health Foundation.  The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is supported by the Ohio Arts Council and the generosity of more than 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign.

-end-

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Auditions Announced for THE SUNSHINE BOYS at Troy Civic Theatre

TROY_logoDirector Cathie Melvin is seeking 5 men (ages 30s to 70s) and 2 women for our March production of Neil Simon’s THE SUNSHINE BOYS. Auditions will be held Wednesday and Thursday, December 12 and 13 at 7:00 pm at the Barn in the Park, and will consist of cold readings from the script.

Al and Willie as “Lewis and Clark” were top-billed vaudevillians for over forty years. Now they aren’t even speaking. When CBS requests them for a “History of Comedy” retrospective, a grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries, and laughs. The story follows the attempt by a young theatrical agent to re-unite his elderly uncle, a former vaudevillian great, with his long-time stage partner for a TV reunion. Despite their celebrated reputation, the two old men have not spoken in twelve years. Besides remastering their sketch, the two men have numerous issues to work out before they are ready to return to the public eye.

THE SUNSHINE BOYS will be presented March 1-3, 8-10, 2019 – Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm.. Rehearsals are expected to be 3-4 times a week, to be set based on the cast availability. THE SUNSHINE BOYS is being produced with permission through Samuel French, Inc.

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Three Positions Available at Cincinnati Arts Association

caa_logoAPPLICATION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 17, 2018
POSITION OPENINGS

FRONT DESK COORDINATOR

The Cincinnati Arts Association is looking for a Front Desk Coordinator for our Aronoff Center location to manage the front desk on a daily basis and to perform a variety of administrative and clerical tasks. As the Front Desk Coordinator, this individual will be the first point of contact for our organization, offer administrative support across departments, and ultimately ensure the front desk welcomes guests positively, and executes all administrative tasks to the highest quality standards.

Responsibilities:
General responsibilities include but are not limited to: greet and direct visitors accordingly and in a way that represents the organization in the best possible light and provides a welcoming environment; promptly open/close front office area and related; answer central telephone system and direct calls accordingly; requisition and maintaining of office supplies; maintain office equipment including service calls; manage daily metering and distribution of incoming/outgoing mail; oversee postage machine regarding postage refills, updates and maintenance; retain and balance petty cash; prepare monthly allocation reports and maintain database; and coordinate other office services for staff.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate must possess excellent phone etiquette and strong customer service skills; must be detail-oriented and organized; professional appearance and demeanor required. Thorough knowledge of general office procedures a must. Punctuality is essential. Qualified candidates will have previous administrative or clerical experience with solid computer skills including Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook. Basic bookkeeping skills a plus. High school diploma or equivalent and a minimum of three years’ related experience; or equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

HOUSE MANAGER

The Cincinnati Arts Association seeks a House Manager to join our team at our Aronoff Center for the Arts location. The House Manager directs the Aronoff Center’s front-of-house operations and works to promote customer, volunteer, and staff satisfaction while maximizing event attendance.

Responsibilities:
The House Manager’s primary responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: scheduling, supervising, training and evaluating house management and usher staffs; creating a culture of positive customer service in the Aronoff Center’s public staff; overseeing the resolution of customer issues; developing and implementing house policies; overseeing the ticket entry process; managing the audience arrival and departure experience including accessibility; overseeing the front-of-house facilities during events; supporting the design and fulfillment of electronic messaging programming; assisting in supporting the lobby concessions and merchandise for performances; assist in developing and executing audience surveys and data collection; overseeing front-of-house data reporting and analysis; managing the audience safety program; and assisting with the planning and management of special events when needed.

Qualifications:
The successful candidate will have five or more years of management responsibility within the performing arts, entertainment, hospitality, or other relevant field with significant customer service experience. Experience in a multi-venue facility and team leadership experience is preferred; volunteer management experience desired. The qualified candidate will be a self-starter with the ability to exercise good judgment independently. Ability to work effectively with a broad range of people in the community is essential. Must have excellent computer skills; exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including strong presentation skills; a high level of organization and attention to accuracy; ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment; multi-task and meet time sensitive deadlines; schedule flexibility (work on nights, holidays and weekends will be required); and the required physical ability to move rapidly, stand for long periods of time, and lift up to 40 lbs.

OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is seeking a detail-oriented individual to fill this full-time position at our Aronoff Center for the Arts location. The Operations Administrative Assistant will be primarily responsible for providing day-to-day administrative and clerical support to the Operations departments.

Responsibilities:
General responsibilities include but are not limited to: assist in daily office needs and managing the department’s general administrative activities; serve as a central clearing point for information on operations; answer phones and provide general service to clients regarding use of facility and spaces; organize, maintain, and assume custodial responsibilities for all operation department files; record and distribute minutes of operations department meetings and other meetings; order office supplies for operations/volunteer departments; assist Rentals Manager with touring prospective clients and supplying them with necessary information; utilize event scheduling software to assist with bookings; coordinate preparation and distribution of all materials for clients; assist with distribution of information to volunteers throughout the year including newsletter; assist with special activities for volunteers; provide switchboard relief when needed.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate must possess strong written, verbal, interpersonal and customer service skills; strong organization skills with attention to detail. Must be able to function in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment with a positive attitude. Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines. Proficiency in computers including database management, Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook required. A general knowledge of office practices and procedures. Basic bookkeeping skills a plus. High school diploma or equivalent and a minimum of three years’ related experience; or equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

TO APPLY:
Interested candidates may send resume by 12/17/2018 to:
Cincinnati Arts Association
Attn: Human Resources
650 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
or email: HR@cincinnatiarts.org

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