Monthly Archives: March 2025

March 4, 2025 · 4:59 pm

Improv Cincinnati Acquires Local ComedySportz

Local comedy theatre adds national family-friendly improv franchise to their show offerings

Improv Cincinnati, a leading force in the region’s comedy community, is excited to announce its acquisition of the local ComedySportz franchise. This strategic move will bring together two beloved improv comedy institutions, thereby expanding the opportunities for performers and audiences alike in the Queen City.

ComedySportz Cincinnati is a competitive improv show that has two teams go head-to-head in a fast-paced, family-friendly improv “match”. With its unique blend of audience participation and quick-witted humor, ComedySportz has built a loyal following since its inception in 2017.

Improv Cincinnati is excited to integrate ComedySportz’s signature competitive improv format into its already diverse lineup of shows, classes, and community initiatives. Two community initiatives that they are most excited about expanding are the CSz Highschool League, and improv-based summer camp programs.

“We have partnered with Moeller as our first member of the Highschool League. We are very excited to generate interest for other schools to join us next season!” says Alex Morris, the Managing Director of ComedySportz. “Additionally, it’s the second year for our summer camps, and I could not be happier to train the next generation of improvisers!”

For more information about Improv Cincinnati and ComedySportz performances and community initiatives, visit www.improvcincinnati.com.

About Improv Cincinnati

Improv Cincinnati is an award-winning theatre company that teaches classes, produces theatrical improv and sketch comedy performances, and delivers professional team building and keynote experiences. Since our inception in April 2016, we’ve entertained countless members of Cincinnati’s community while also teaching more than 1,000 students through improv workshops, classes, and team building. We foster compassion and a sense of belonging for individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or any other way a person may identify. And we strengthen this commitment through continued learning, scholarships, community engagement and charitable donations.

Our mission is to become a best-in-class institution that helps people of all backgrounds become their best selves through learning, performing, and enjoying comedy of all kinds.

ComedySportz Cincinnati is a high-energy, competitive improv show where two teams of improvisers battle for laughs with audience suggestions fueling the fun. Additionally, ComedySportz offers improv training, summer camps, and corporate workshops that inspire laughter and personal growth both on and off the stage.

Since 2017, ComedySportz has been entertaining families in Cincinnati with a focus on clean, high-energy entertainment. ComedySportz offers a hilarious and inclusive experience for families, friends, and corporate events alike.

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March 4, 2025 · 4:58 pm

Auditions Announced for TALKING WITH… at Xenia Area Community Theatre

Directed by Catherine Shannon

Auditions: March 17th & 18th @7pm

Performances: May 16th-25th
Auditions will take place in the form of cold reads. Actors will have time to look over the sides before their audition.
Casting Breakdown:
Actors of all ages (18+), ethnicities, races, and disabilities are encouraged to audition. All characters are female-presenting and the play is consisted of eleven monologues.
  • 15 MINUTES- (20s-30s F) An insecure actress prepares in her dressing room while musing about the imbalanced relationship between audience and performer and the “self-lacerating exposure” of entertainment, wishing for a deeper connection with the people watching her.
  • SCRAPS- (30s-50s F) A housewife reveals her escapist double-life as the Patchwork Girl from the Wizard of Oz books. Her maladaptive daydreaming transports her into the lands of Oz, but increasingly struggles to navigate between reality and fairytale.
  • CLEAR GLASS MARBLES- (30s-50s F) A woman recounts the time leading up to her mother’s death and the lessons it gave her, learning to let go of each day with the drop of a clear glass marble.
  • AUDITION- (20s-30s F) A jittery young actress exhibits increasing desperation to be cast, going to violent and threatening lengths to secure her spotlight.
  • RODEO- (30s-50s F) An ex-rodeo star reflects on the commercialization of rodeo that ended her career, and the monetization of passion.
  • TWIRLER- (20s-30s F) A champion baton twirler relays her rise to glory and expresses the cathartic revelations of twirling, arguing to the audience the unparalleled spiritual connection of “throwing yourself up to God.”
  • LAMPS- (50s-70s F) An older woman responds to her progressive lonliness and questions of aging with the patterns and versatility of light, filling her home with lamps to conduct shadows.
  • HANDLER- (20s-30s F) A Pentecostal Holiness snake handler presents to the audience her demanding faith and the threat of being bit if you don’t have spirit.
  • DRAGONS- (30s-40s F) A woman giving birth takes pride in her life’s tenacious abnormality through the pains of labour and a doctor “affronted by the extraordinary” of her little dragon.
  • FRENCH FRIES- (50s-70s F) A homeless woman dreaming of living in a McDonald’s balances humor with solemnity as she affirms plastic as God’s proof of eternity.
  • MARKS- (50s-70s F) Having spent too long “unmarked by life,” a woman adorned in scars and tattoos declares the importance of living your life upon your skin- and her mission to help others’ lives truly start.

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March 4, 2025 · 4:57 pm

The American Guild of Musical Artists and Cincinnati Opera Announce New Three-Year Agreement

CINCINNATI (March 4, 2025) – The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and Cincinnati Opera proudly announce a new three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The CBA was ratified by the AGMA Board of Governors on March 3, 2025, after being approved by the artists.

This agreement secures improvements for AGMA members of Cincinnati Opera, including wage increases, better financial support for non-local Artists, stronger workplace protections, and new policies addressing artificial intelligence, data security, and bereavement leave. It also expands rights for Choristers, Corps Dancers, and Principal Artists, enhances conditions for Staging Staff, and ensures fairer policies across all working groups.

“These negotiations were a testament to the strength and solidarity of the artists of Cincinnati Opera,” said AGMA Counsel Martha Kinsella. “We advocated strongly for meaningful wage increases and achieved the best contractual raises in recent memory. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our Negotiation Committee, which represented nearly all working groups, for their dedication, strategic thinking, and unwavering advocacy throughout this process. I also want to thank Cincinnati Opera’s management team, who bargained in good faith from start to finish, demonstrating their commitment to the artists who bring these productions to life.”

The agreement comes as Cincinnati Opera prepares for its 105th anniversary Summer Festival that will feature the prominent involvement of AGMA members onstage and behind the scenes. Its 2025 season, which runs June 12–July 27, includes three mainstage productions—Rigoletto, Tosca, and an all-new production of Fiddler on the Roof—and three Studio Sessions, intimate performances curated and performed by Cincinnati Opera artists.

The agreement begins retroactive to January 1, 2025, and runs through December 31, 2027.

“Cincinnati Opera is deeply grateful for the extraordinary talent and dedication of our artists, who bring inspiring passion and creativity to every production,” said Chris Milligan, The Harry Fath General Director & CEO of Cincinnati Opera. “This agreement reflects our ongoing commitment to fostering a work environment where artists can thrive. I’m grateful to Cincinnati Opera’s negotiating team for their thoughtfulness, preparedness, and collaborative spirit, and to our colleagues at AGMA for a continued fruitful partnership.”

“The 12-member Negotiation Committee is a sign of the profound commitment the artists have to Cincinnati Opera and played an important role in shaping the dynamic and focus of the negotiations. We are pleased with both the process and outcome of the negotiations,” said Stephen Hanna and Jennifer Shaw, Cincinnati Opera delegates and members of the Negotiation Committee.

About the American Guild of Musical Artists
The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the labor union of singers, dancers, staging staff, and faculty, staff, and instructors in opera, ballet and concert dance, and concert choral performance in the United States. A national union with a membership of 7,000 artists, AGMA provides forceful advocacy and defense of its members’ employment and artistic rights. AGMA negotiates and enforces 70 collective bargaining agreements throughout the country, ensuring fair and safe working conditions and enhancing the quality of life of its members. AGMA has a direct charter from the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO Branch of Associated Actors and Artists of America and the Department for Professional Employees (DPE). AGMA is also a part of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG).

About Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera’s mission is to enrich and connect our community through diverse opera experiences. Founded in 1920 and the second-oldest opera company in the nation, Cincinnati Opera presents a thrilling season of grand opera every summer and engaging programs throughout the year. The company’s repertoire includes beloved classics and contemporary masterworks brought to life by some of the world’s most dynamic performers and creative artists.

Cincinnati Opera is supported by the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. Cincinnati Opera also receives general season support from The Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Patricia A. Corbett Estate and Trust, and the Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation, along with general season and project support from many other generous individuals, corporations, and foundations. Cincinnati Opera is a member of OPERA America. Learn more at cincinnatiopera.org.

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March 4, 2025 · 4:55 pm

William Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST Runs March 28-April 5

Photo by Scottie Jackson.

William Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST
Sinclair Theatre
March 28-April 5
Building 2, Branch Hall Theatre [Dayton]

Directed by Kimberly Borst

Cast: Courtney Collinsworth, Emma Smith, Hannah Ramey, Kelly Boehm, Sierra Ward, Shae Trauthwein, Matthew Poliachik, Amelie De La Nuez, Dominick Griffin, Jorge Melo, Henry Ballard, Joy Wood, Falyn Sherck & Adalia Gaynier

Twelve years before the start of the story, Prospera was usurped by her sister, Antonia, and exiled from Milan. Now living on a remote island with her daughter, Miranda, Prospera is presented with an opportunity to wreak havoc on her traitorous sister and her shipmates by way of a magical tempest.

  • Fri-Sat, March 28-29 at 7pm
  • Sun, March 30 at 2pm
  • Tue, April 1 at 7pm
  • Thu-Sat, April 3-5 at 7pm

Official page | Facebook events |

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March 4, 2025 · 4:54 pm

THE BOOK OF MORMON Runs March 25-29

THE BOOK OF MORMON
Broadway in Dayton
March 25-29
Schuster Center [Dayton]

The New York Times calls it “the best musical of this century.” The Washington Post says, “It is the kind of evening that restores your faith in musicals.” And Entertainment Weekly says, “Grade A: the funniest musical of all time.” Jimmy Fallon of “The Tonight Show” calls it “Genius. Brilliant. Phenomenal.” It’s THE BOOK OF MORMON, the nine-time Tony Award® winning Best Musical.

This outrageous musical comedy follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. With standing room only productions in London, on Broadway, and across North America, THE BOOK OF MORMON has truly become an international sensation.

  • Tue-Thu, March 25-27 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, March 28 at 8pm
  • Sat, March 29 at 2pm & 8pm

Official page | Facebook event |

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