Category Archives: Events

May 9, 2022 · 9:20 am

Get geared up for the 2022 Southwest Regional OCTAFest Convention!

ACT_logoIt’s been a long two years, but we’re back and ready and rarin’ to have an in-person convention once again! 

​Excited? Giddy? You should be~ we are, too! The 2022 OCTAFest and ACT Cincinnati Convention Registration forms have been mailed out old school style via USPS, but if that’s not your jam, you can also register online for excerpts, lunch, banquet, and awards starting today: https://www.actcincinnati.org/registration. While you’re at it, take a look at our new website at http://www.actcincinnati.org. We hope you like our new look!

If you haven’t already, be sure to make hotel reservations at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Blue Ash before June 5, 2022. ACT Cincinnati has a group rate at the Embassy Suites for the weekend of June 16-19, 2022. ​

Booking Link: https://group.embassysuites.com/uj6g46
Hotel: Embassy Suites by Hilton Cincinnati Northeast Blue Ash

Group Name: Act Cincinnati
Group Code: CESXAC

Excerpt schedule |

​And finally, don’t forget our split the pot! We’re selling tickets online up until the weekend of the convention when we will switch to selling with cash only. Tickets are $10 for 1, $25 for 3- a great way to help ACT and earn a little spending money for yourself!

​Get excited to be back watching live theater in person again! Can’t wait to see your smiling faces in June!

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May 6, 2022 · 11:30 am

Pones and Partners Reimagine GRAPHIC, a Walking/Dance Tour of Downtown Murals as Part of Cincinnati Ballet’s 2022 BOLD MOVES FESTIVAL

PONES_Graphic logo(Cincinnati, OH) Pones will partner with Exhale Dance Tribe, Yarroway Productions, Revolution Dance Theatre, Heroes Rise Street Dance Academy, and Q-Kidz Dance Team to reimagine Graphic, originally produced by Pones in 2016, as an interactive dance experience that includes a walking tour of our city’s iconic downtown murals.

Dance pieces will be performed in front of the murals, extending these backdrops off their walls, telling stories inspired by the visuals and related to issues and subjects vital to each company and our community. The presentation will be featured as an add-on experience in the Cincinnati Ballet’s 2022 Bold Moves Festival.

“I am most excited about the enthusiasm of so many local companies in coming together and showcasing the wide range of dance diversity our city has to offer. It’s not something that has happened in the past decade, and we all agree it has potential to be the start of an annual coming together of the Cincinnati dance community,” said Kim Popa of Pones.

Carolyn Guido Clifford of the Cincinnati Ballet shared her reason for including this revival in Bold Moves: “In 2016, Graphic was one of my first introductions to the Cincinnati arts scene – not only to the fabulous performances and beautiful murals, but the incredible conversations our community was having at the time and continues to have today. I hope remounting it as part of the Festival, with so many members of the Cincinnati dance community, will provide a similar introduction to Cincinnati Ballet’s subscribers and patrons. As Cincinnati Ballet moves into a season of growth and discovery, what better way than by celebrating and promoting the diversity of the dance scene that already exists in our city!”

Murals and Performance Pieces:

  • At Visionary Reality Threshold by Saya Woolfalk (1005 Walnut St), Exhale Dance Tribe will perform “#thisisOTR,” choreographed by Missy Lay Zimmer & Andrew Hubbard and featuring music by Ian Forsgren, Ian Gullet, and Jai Washington
  • At Homecoming (Blue Birds) by Charley Harper (119 E Court St), Yarroway Productions will perform “Where Creation Has Been Drawn,” choreographed by Katie Chal and featuring music by Rob Keenan
  • At Self-Portrait, Elizabeth Nourse by Elizabeth Nourse and Still Life by Tom Wesselmann (811 Main St), Pones will perform “Her,” choreographed by Glenda Figueiredo and featuring music by Preston Bell Charles III
  • At Black Box by Michael A. Coppage (Walnut St at Gano St), Revolution Dance Theatre will perform “Say Their Names,” choreographed by David Choate and Kim Popa and featuring music by Galen Tipton
  • At Vibrant Minds, Colorful Lines by KiiK Create and Jenny Ustick, Heroes Rise Street Dance Academy will perform “Antiviral Still,” choreographed by Julius Eclypse Jenkins and featuring music by Flying Lotus, Abiyah, and Nathan Singer
  • At The Genius of Water by Ferdinand Von Miller (Tyler Davidson Fountain at Fountain Square, Vine St at Fifth St), Q-Kidz Dance Team will perform “Just Boom!” choreographed by Mariah Jones, Chariah Jones, and Marquicia Jones-Woods featuring music by Cary Davenport

About the Partners:

  • Exhale Dance Tribe, named among the 2008 “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine, is rooted in rhythmic storytelling existing to leave an emotional imprint on our audiences, uniting our community through the universal language of dance and creating a hypnotic human experience. org
  • Yarroway Productions comprises a trio of local artists: a dancer, a painter, and a musician. Katie Chal, formerly of Nashville Ballet and DeLa Dance Company, now works as a Cincinnati Waldorf School teacher and independent dance artist. Patricia Chal studied painting at NKU and DAAP, but her most rigorous schooling has been from her three young children. She teaches an art class for adults that aims to reignite the inner child. Rob Keenan, a guitarist and singer-songwriter, studied music at Berklee College of Music and played guitar and synthesizers for beloved local duo Dawg Yawp. He is currently working as a farmer at Rose Hill Farm and pursuing his solo music project.
  • Pones provides artistic opportunities for community growth by creating engaging new ways for audiences to experience dance. The company creates site-specific performances through a fusion of movement and dance with other art forms. Pones performers use their bodies to speak their minds. The collective uses its signature pedestrian-inspired movement to spark collaboration, connection, and community. Pones believes that art creates powerful change. org
  • Revolution Dance Theatre, Cincinnati’s ONLY African American Dance company in residence at the prestigious Aronoff Center for the Arts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building cultural diversity in the world of dance. Intent on inclusion in ballet, RDT is committed to work that raises the level of access, visibility, and representation of American Americans in dance. com
  • Heroes Rise Street Dance Academy teaches a comprehensive curriculum of fundamental street dance movement along with history and culture, striving to set a new standard for what is expected of street style dance and street style dance teachers and to share the beauty of the street dance arts. Heroes Rise Always. com
  • Q-kidz Dance Team improves the lives of Cincinnati youth through dance instruction and educational programs that build strong character, confidence, teamwork, and a mindset for success. The organization plays an essential role in the community by offering youth a safe and supportive platform for creative expression, communication, and accountability. Q-kidz.org

Performance Schedule:
Performances will take place Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, 2022, with tours beginning at the Fifth Third Bank Theater at the Aronoff Center for the Arts (corner of Seventh and Main Streets). Start times are 11:15, 11:30, and 11:45 am both days. Each tour will last approximately 70 minutes, and the total distance walked will be 1 mile. For reservations, visit https://bit.ly/Graphic2022.

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May 6, 2022 · 9:57 am

May 19: Legendary Singer/Songwriter Janis Ian Performs in Cincinnati at Memorial Hall on Her Last US Tour

MISC_Janis IanNashville, TN – Legendary singer/songwriter Janis Ian performs in Cincinnati on May 19 at Memorial Hall on her “Celebrating Our Years Together Tour.”  She will be supporting her new album The Light at the End of the Line which was released in January. The Light at the End of the Line is Ian’s first album of new material in 15 years, and is also her last solo studio recording – a “swan song,” she notes. The “Celebrating Our Years Together Tour” is also Ian’s final North American tour in 2022. Ian’s single “I’m Still Standing” is the perfect statement for this enthralling album and tour; listen HERE. Ticket info is HERE.

The Light at the End of the Line bookends a kaleidoscopic catalog that began with her 1967 self-titled debut at age 15. The songs are intimate portraits of getting older but wiser (“I’m Still Standing”), of knowing when to stand up and not take any more shit (“Resist”), of celebrating life’s fleeting beauty (“Swannanoa”), of exalting in your true identity (“Perfect Little Girl”), of paying homage to a lifelong hero and her demons (“Nina,” as in Simone). The Light at the End of the Line feels like a victory lap for an artist who has nothing to lose and nothing left to prove. You hear that in the risks Ian took in both her lyrics and the inspired production choices.

“I love this album,” Ian says. “There is an element of, ‘This is the absolute best I can do over the span of 58 years as a writer. This is what I’ve learned.’ And I realized that this album has an arc, and I’ve never really done anything like that before.”

Janis Ian began her iconic career at age 14 when she wrote her socially and politically impactful song “Society’s Child” about an interracial romance between teenagers.  Her honest songwriting has translated into timeless, culturally significant tracks including “At Seventeen,” “Jesse” and “Stars,” the latter which was covered by Nina Simone, Cher, Mel Tormé and a host of other artists who felt the song spoke to their own lives. She has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and won two: one in 1976 for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female (“At Seventeen”) and one in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Recording (Society’s Child: My Autobiography).

Over her extraordinary career, Ian has forged deep connections with her fans, and she cherishes those associations. She notes, “As I wrote The Light at the End of the Line, I realized that it’s really a love song. I didn’t understand that so many years of meeting my audience after shows, of corresponding with them, had created this very real relationship that few artists are privileged to have.”

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May 5, 2022 · 11:16 am

Cincinnati Opera and CCM Announce Next Opera Fusion: New Works Workshop, ROBESON Opera

co_logoMusic by Scott Davenport Richards
Libretto by David Cote and Scott Davenport Richards
Dramaturgy and stage direction by Robin Guarino

Free public performance of excerpts at Music Hall on Saturday, May 14, at 3 p.m.

Cincinnati, Ohio—Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) are pleased to announce the next workshop in their groundbreaking joint program, Opera Fusion: New Works.

The featured opera currently has the working title of ROBESON Opera and includes music by Scott Davenport Richards and a libretto by Richards and David Cote, with CCM Professor Robin Guarino as dramaturg. Guarino will also serve as stage director. ROBESON Opera will receive a 10-day workshop culminating in a public performance of excerpts on Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 3 p.m. in Music Hall’s Wilks Studio.

ROBESON Opera is the next work from the creative team behind the critically acclaimed 2019 opera Blind Injustice. It is an epic and inspiring biographical examination of Black singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson (1898–1976). A global superstar, Robeson leveraged his fame to fight on the frontlines for equality. His heroic and uncompromising efforts against fascism and racism worldwide led Robeson to be entangled in the tragic power struggle between the two superpowers of the twentieth century—the United States and the USSR—with his own life and career hanging in the balance. Inspired by historical events, ROBESON Opera also resonates with today’s ongoing fights for social justice.

Admission to the public presentation of excerpts on May 14 is free, and reservations are required. Reservations are available through the Cincinnati Opera Box Office by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting cincinnatiopera.org.

Opera Fusion: New Works presents
ROBESON Opera

Music by Scott Davenport Richards
Libretto by David Cote and Scott Davenport Richards
Dramaturgy and stage direction by Robin Guarino

Public performance of excerpts: Saturday, May 14, 3 p.m.
Location: Music Hall’s Wilks Studio, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati
Admission: Free; reservations are required. Reservations are available by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting cincinnatiopera.org.

About Opera Fusion: New Works
Funded through a generous gift from the Mellon Foundation, Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) is a partnership between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) dedicated to fostering the development of new American operas. This collaboration is jointly led by Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, professor of opera at CCM. OF:NW offers composers or composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a residency in Cincinnati. Residencies utilize the facilities, personnel, and talent of both Cincinnati Opera and CCM. The workshops are cast with a combination of CCM students and professional artists, and each workshop concludes with a free public presentation of excerpts followed by an audience Q&A session, all of which is streamed online. For more information, visit ofnw.org.

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.

Season Presenting Sponsor of Cincinnati Opera’s 2022 Summer Festival is Huntington. Cincinnati Opera is supported by the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. Cincinnati Opera also receives generous season support from the Ohio Arts Council, 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 proud member of OPERA America.

To learn more, visit cincinnatiopera.org.

About CCM
Nationally ranked and internationally renowned, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a preeminent institution for the performing and media arts. The school’s educational roots date back to 1867, and a solid, visionary instruction has been at its core since that time. CCM offers nine degree types (BA, BM, BFA, MFA, MM, MA, AD, DMA, PhD) in nearly 120 possible majors, along with a wide variety of pre-collegiate and post-graduate programs.

Declared a top college vocal program by Backstage Magazine and described as “one of the continent’s major music schools,” by the Toronto Star, CCM’s Departments of Opera and Voice provide one of the most comprehensive training programs for opera singers, coaches and directors in the United States. CCM offers an international faculty of dedicated educators who are also celebrated professionals in their own right, widely and currently active in their respective fields. Several national opera companies hold auditions at the conservatory, and CCM students frequently advance to the final rounds of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. CCM graduates have performed on the stages of the world’s greatest opera companies, including Cincinnati Opera, the Metropolitan Opera (New York), Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera (London), La Scala (Italy) and more.

To learn more, visit ccm.uc.edu.

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May 3, 2022 · 11:16 am

ETC Presents Ten Chances to See ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS Beginning May 13, 2022

ETC_logo(Cincinnati, OH) During the observation of International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day and annual Pride Celebrations, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) is proud to partner with Caracole to present Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens by Bill Russell and Janet Hood. This piece shares the stories of 31 people from all walks of life who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Free performances of Elegies at various locations and times across the city are made possible by American Rescue Plan funds from the City of Cincinnati, administered through ArtsWave.

A celebration of lives lost to AIDS, Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens is told through free-verse monologues and songs with a blues, jazz, and rock score. Through the perspectives of both those who died and those they left behind, this piece offers a broad look at the impact of the AIDS crisis on individuals, families, and communities – stories sometimes forgotten with today’s commonplace treatment and prevention methods. They inspire hope and healing amid tragedy, as well as ACTION to continue reducing the spread of the virus and seeking a cure.

This essential piece of theatre brings renewed awareness and education about the spread of HIV. Data shared by Caracole shows Hamilton County among the 1.5% of US counties which accounted for over 50% of new HIV diagnoses in 2016 and 2017. At least 35% of new diagnoses in 2019 included needle use, and there was a 1,375% increase in HIV diagnoses for people who inject drugs from 2015-2019. The 2019 new diagnoses were also split nearly evenly between heterosexual transmission (34%), and homosexual transmission (35%). Like COVID-19, HIV does not discriminate, and is still spreading in our community.

This production contains strong language/adult content, including descriptions of violence, homophobia, adultery, and drug use, and discussion of sexual identity.

About our partner:
Caracole is Greater Cincinnati’s nonprofit devoted to positively changing lives in the fight against HIV/AIDS. For people living with HIV, we provide housing, case management, and pharmacy services to improve health and well-being. Our prevention services focus on outreach, testing, education, and harm reduction to help people reduce their risk for HIV. The work we do to end the HIV epidemic is central to a healthy community. Volunteer, donate or find out how we can help you or someone you love at caracole.org.

Performance Information:

Friday, May 13 at 7:00 pm
Xavier University Gallagher Student Center Theatre (Evanston), 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati OH 45207

Saturday, May 14 at 3:00 pm
Hoffner Park (Northside), 4101 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati OH 45223

Sunday, May 15 at 2:00 pm
Seasongood Pavilion (Eden Park), 1600 Art Museum Dr, Cincinnati OH 45202

Saturday, May 21 at 3:00 pm & 6:00 pm
ARCO (Price Hill), 3301 Price Ave, Cincinnati OH 45205

Sunday, May 22 at 2:00 pm
Burnet Woods Bandstand (Clifton), 3251 Brookline Ave, Cincinnati OH 45220

Saturday, June 4 at 2:00 pm
Stanbery Park (Mt. Washington), 2221 Oxford Ave, Cincinnati OH 45230

Sunday, June 5 at 2:00pm
Westwood Town Hall (Westwood), 3017 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati OH 45211

Saturday, June 18 at 6:00 pm
Mt Auburn Presbyterian Church (Mt Auburn), 103 W H Taft Rd, Cincinnati OH 45219

Sunday, June 26 at 2:00 pm
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (OTR), 1127 Vine St, Cincinnati OH 45202

Registration:
For more information or to register online, visit www.ensemblecincinnati.org or call (513) 421-3555. Free admission.

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2021-2022 Season Presenting Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is a professional theatre dedicated to producing world and regional premieres of works that often explore compelling social issues. We fulfill our mission through our stage productions and educational outreach programs that enlighten, enliven, enrich and inspire our audiences.

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