Category Archives: Press Releases

CAA Announces 2023 Overture Award Winners

CAA_Overture Awards$38,000 Awarded for Excellence in the Arts
Arts Educator Award Winners Also Announced   

[CINCINNATI, OH] – The Cincinnati Arts Association is pleased to announce the winners of its Overture Awards Competition, held on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater, and the winner of its Arts Educator Award for Excellence in Arts Instruction. The competition awarded $3,000 to six area students for education and training and $1,000 each to the eighteen runners-up. The winner of the 2023 Arts Educator Award received $1,000 and two finalists received $500 each.

The Overture Awards recognizes, encourages, and rewards excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12 and is the area’s largest solo arts competition. Students are nominated by their schools and/or private studios to compete in one of six disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. There are three levels of competition: Regional, Semi-Final, and Final.

The Arts Educator Award promotes and rewards excellence in arts instruction throughout Greater Cincinnati. An educator who teaches any of the following arts disciplines may be nominated: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. A nominee may be a high school arts specialist, teaching artist working with high school students, or an arts professional or educator providing private lessons or instruction. Students between the ages of 14-19 who are currently enrolled in high school submit nominations for their favorite educators. A panel of arts professionals select the Arts Educator Award finalists and winner from the nominations.

OVERTURE AWARDS WINNERS

CAA_Anna MatuCREATIVE WRITING: Anna Matu, grade 11, William Mason High School
HOMETOWN: Kings’ Mills, OH – Anna is co-editor-in-chief of her school’s literary magazine and a varsity member of its academic team. Her poetry has won three Scholastic Art and Writing silver keys, and Anna’s second love, painting, has most recently been recognized with a gold key. In her writing, she marries her love for art and art history with a vivid passion for language.

CAA_Ying Lei PhamDANCE: Ying Lei Pham, grade 11, Ursuline Academy / Movement Emporium
HOMETOWN: Batavia, OH – Ying Lei trains at Movement Emporium in many genres of dance. She also enjoys learning and being exposed to other styles of choreography at conventions. She has won numerous awards, scholarships, and titles, both regionally and nationally. As a dedicated student, she intends to pursue a double major to focus on both dance and academics in college.

CAA_Ari WebbINSTRUMENTAL MUSIC: Ari Peraza-Webb, grade 12, Wyoming High School
HOMETOWN: Wyoming, OH – Ari is a seventeen-year-old cellist and has practiced the instrument for the past fourteen years. At age six, he debuted at Carnegie Hall as winner of the AFA String Competition. He has journeyed to Germany, Switzerland, and numerous states to advance his proficiency on the cello. Ari has performed on NPR’s From The Top radio show with hosts Tessa Lark and Peter Dugan. He will perform the first movement of Samuel Barber’s Cello Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony in the annual “Side by Side” concert in April.

CAA_Chanduni HerathTHEATER: Chanduni Herath, grade 10, Notre Dame Academy / Slater Music Academy
HOMETOWN: Traemore/Union, KY – Chanduni has had a passion for singing since she was very young. She decided to try out taking part in musicals at summer camps and schools, and soon learned that people seemed to enjoy her acting skills as well. Now, she is taking every opportunity she can to bring her closer to her Broadway dreams.

CAA_Michelle ChenVISUAL ART: Michelle Chen, grade 12, William Mason High School
HOMETOWN: Forest Park, OH – Michelle is a senior at Mason High School and loves creating art in all forms and mediums, including colored pencil, posca pens, and acrylic. In college, she hopes to combine her interests in STEM and the arts through engineering and studying an interdisciplinary field such as product design. One of her favorite pastimes is sleeping, although she also is known for painting in her bathroom at 2:00 AM.

CAA_Sophia TroyerVOCAL MUSIC: Sophia Troyer, grade 12, School for Creative and Performing Arts
HOMETOWN: Mount Lookout, OH – Sophia began studying the upright bass in seventh grade. She performs in her high school’s Jazz and Symphony Orchestras. Her Jazz director encouraged her to study voice. Sophia is the principal bassist for CSO’s Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the bassist and vocalist for CCM Prep’s Youth Jazz Orchestra. She was awarded Outstanding Vocal Soloist at the Essentially Ellington competition in 2022. Sophia is pursuing a Jazz Studies Degree in college.

2023 ARTS EDUCATOR AWARD WINNER

Hong Cheng, Hong Cheng Violin Studio
Discipline: Instrumental Music
Nominated by Vivian Chang 

The Overture Awards Regional Competitions were held in January 2023. The top twenty-five percent of competitors in each discipline advanced to the Semi-Finals, which were held in February 2023.

Now in its twenty-seventh year, The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a program of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber). The Overture Awards is funded and administered by the Cincinnati Arts Association and relies on hundreds of volunteers from the community who help raise funds, adjudicate and manage the competitions, and nurture the program.

THE OVERTURE AWARDS ARE ENDOWED BY THE OTTO M. BUDIG FAMILY FOUNDATION.

Overture Awards Presenting Sponsors: The Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.; Otto M. Budig Family Foundation; Summerfair Cincinnati; TriHealth

Scholarship Sponsors: Arthur Murray – Cincinnati, Douglas Beal, Doreen Beatrice, Bonita Brockert, Maura Garuccio, Jozsef Parragh, Punky’s Pixels, Summerfair Cincinnati, Josh Tilford, Western & Southern Financial Fund

Printing Sponsor: Harlan Graphics 

THE 2023 OVERTURE AWARDS FINALISTS
Winners listed in bold.

CREATIVE WRITING

  • Edward Li, grade 11, The Seven Hills School
  • Yujia Li, grade 12, William Mason High School
  • Anna Matu, grade 11, William Mason High School
  • Yoshie Vinton, grade 11, Sycamore High School

DANCE

  • Hannah Herbert, grade 9, Turpin High School / Just Off Broadway
  • Ying Lei Pham, grade 11, Ursuline Academy / Movement Emporium
  • Erin Stethem, grade 9, Mount Notre Dame High School / McGing Irish Dancers
  • Alexandria Yetter, grade 10, Sycamore High School / Otto M. Budig Academy – Cincinnati Ballet

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

  • Vivian Chang, grade 10, William Mason High School / Hong Cheng Violin Studio
  • Christy Kim, grade 11, William Mason High School
  • Erica Nam, grade 10, Walnut Hills High School
  • Ari Peraza-Webb, grade 12, Wyoming High School

THEATER

  • Franny Bell, grade 11, Indian Hill High School / Kate Brauer-Bell Acting Studio
  • Brooke Chamberlin, grade 12, Milford High School / CCM Prep
  • Chanduni Herath, grade 10, Notre Dame Academy / Slater Music Academy
  • Morgan Robbins, grade 12, Sycamore High School / Cincinnati Music Academy

VISUAL ART

  • Megan Bauer, grade 12, Oldenburg Academy
  • Michelle Chen, grade 12, William Mason High School
  • Karen Kiganda, grade 12, Fairfield High School
  • Caitlyn Tuttle, grade 12, Lakota West High School

VOCAL MUSIC

  • Ella Clark, grade 11, Dixie Heights High School / Talia Zoll’s Studio of Music
  • Sela Foster, grade 12, Homeschool / Keen Voice Studio and Kelly MacKenzie Thurley Vocal Studio
  • Sabine Huhn, grade 11, Sycamore High School / Musical Arts Center
  • Sophia Troyer, grade 12, School for Creative and Performing Arts 

2023 ARTS EDUCATOR AWARD FINALISTS

Winner listed in bold.

Kathy Cammett, The Golden Voice Studio
Discipline: Vocal Music
Nominated by Luis Vega-Torres

Hong Cheng, Hong Cheng Violin Studio
Discipline: Instrumental Music
Nominated by Vivian Chang

John Ingram, Private Instructor
Discipline: Instrumental Music
Nominated by John Paul Shannon

ABOUT THE CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of two of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves upwards of 700,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more than two million students and adults. 

CAA is proud to be a member of Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Greater Cincinnati Alliance for Arts Education, Visit Cincinnati (formerly Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau), Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, and Performing Arts Center Consortium. 

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World Premiere of BANKERS at Know Theatre

KTC_BankersWhat would you take out of a world on fire?
BANKERS
By Brant Russell
April 21 – May 14, 2023

For deposit: one landmine, never used.

Things aren’t great in Bialystock – for one thing, the world’s ended, and its residents are pretty sure it’s the only town left. Then it gets worse: strangers arrive, tensions rise, and a battle for the unparalleled resources the town protects seems inevitable. Faced with the destruction of all they hold dear, the people of Bialystock must decide what’s worth saving in the apocalypse … and in the world that comes after. 

Know Theatre of Cincinnati‘s 25th Anniversary Season closes with a darkly funny and explosive world premiere by College-Conservatory of Music’s chair of Acting Brant Russell and directed by the Know’s Producing Artistic Director Andrew J. Hungerford.

Bankers is a home-grown world premiere, which first hit the stage as a developmental reading in the 2019 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Andrew was immediately inspired by how Bankers used a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world to wrestle with immediate, real-world questions about environmental justice, community care, and how we come together in times of crisis. Andrew knew this show deserved a wider audience on the Know MainStage.

Brant’s work has been a fixture at the Know for years. He appeared onstage as the Sheriff in Whisper House (2018), and directed The Hunchback of Seville (2015), Darkest Night at the Gnarly Stump (2016), The Man-Beast (2018), Theatre: A Love Story (2021) and Dickless (2021). Now, Cincinnati audiences can experience his singular wit and piercing insight as playwright of our latest world-premiere adventure. 

Why Bankers, right now?

Bankers is all about what we do when the chips are down on a societal level. It’s about how we take care of ourselves, our community, and our world at large when we realize we’re living in a world that’s changed beyond recognition. 

It’s about finding the empowerment to take steps to build something greater than what came before, instead of giving into despair.

It’s about how we deal with what’s been broken beyond repair, and how we come together to find a way to mend it anyway.

Who is this show for?

Bankers is for lovers of sci-fi, speculative fiction, and post-apocalyptic stories.

It’s for fighters for environmental justice.

It’s for anyone who’s ever grappled with moral questions about what we owe each other on a communal or a global scale. It’s for anyone who’s realized that the world can’t be mended by one person – and who’s decided to keep doing the work anyway.

It’s for anyone who’s had the urge to give apathy a strong poke in the eye.

It’s for you.

Here’s our team for the apocalypse:

We’re delighted to welcome two friends of the Know to their MainStage acting debut: Aisha Josiah, the playwright of this season’s Dickless, joins the cast of Bankers to play Surrey, whose family has protected the land of Bialystock for generations, and k. Jenny Jones, intimacy director and fight choreographer extraordinaire, takes on the role of Sharon, who’s driven to distraction from grieving the family she lost at the end of the world.

Returning to the Know MainStage for the second time is Jim Hopkins, who previously appeared in 2018’s The Man-Beast, to play the Old Man, whose unexpected arrival in Bialystock may not be the happy accident he’s claiming. His traveling companion, the Migrant, is played by Eileen Earnest, who’s appeared on our MainStage in Beertown (2016), The Fisherman’s Wife (2016) and Mercury (2019).

Rounding out the cast are James Creque as Hunter, Bialystock’s one-man security detail; Know audiences will remember James from Hearts Like Fists (2015), The Fisherman’s Wife (2016), Mercury (2019), All’s Faire (2021), and The Twunny Fo’ (2022), and Ben Dudley as Herbie, for whom the battle for Bialystock’s resources becomes fiercely personal. Ben’s previous Know appearances include All Childish Things (2015) and Puffs (2019).

Bankers opens April 21 and runs through May 14. Tickets are available on our website, knowtheatre.com, or by calling our box office at 513-300-5669.

CAST

  • James Creque as Hunter
  • Ben Dudley as Herbie
  • Eileen Earnest as the Migrant
  • Jim Hopkins* as the Old Man
  • Jenny Jones* as Sharon
  • Aisha Josiah as Surrey

* Appearing Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, appearing under a Special Appearance Contract. 

PRODUCTION TEAM

  • Director, Lighting & Scenic Designer: Andrew J. Hungerford
  • Costume Designer: Noelle Wedig-Johnston
  • Sound Designer: Douglas J. Borntrager
  • Props Designer: Danielle Robison
  • Technical Director: Jim Stark
  • Stage Manager: Grace Wohlschlegel 

AT A GLANCE

Production: Bankers, by Brant Russell

Dates: April 21 – May 14, 2023. Wednesday – Saturday shows are at 8 PM; Sunday matinees are at 3 PM. 

Where: Know Theatre, 1120 Jackson Street in Over-the-Rhine.
Livestreaming on select dates beginning April 26. 

Themes: tragi-comedy · dystopia · environmental justice · apocalypse 

Tickets: The standard ticket price is $25. Audiences may opt to support the Know’s initiative to pay all artists and employees a living wage by selecting the $40 Living Wage Ticket.

Low-cost admission available for $15. On Wednesdays, as part of a program we call “The Welcome Experiment,” tickets are $5 in advance, or FREE at the door.

Know Theatre is Cincinnati’s Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible. 

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. 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.

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A Return Home:  The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati at the Emery 

TCT_The Emery TheaterCincinnati – The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) has embarked on a campaign to purchase, restore, and reimagine the historically significant Emery Theater. This partnership will revitalize the theatre, a treasured cultural asset, and provide a permanent home for The Children’s Theatre in Cincinnati’s vibrant urban core.   

What TCT envisions is not simply a restoration, but a reinvention of the theater into a modern and memorable venue equipped with the latest technology that inspires and teaches diverse audiences. TCT’s plans to incorporate the most modern technology, stage lifts and projection mapping will enliven the audience experience and overcome backstage and wing limitations. Through this remarkable technology and planned expanded programming, TCT will revitalize an icon, return to its original home, and put Cincinnati on the map as a family theatrical destination.  

This move will allow TCT to expand its annual production schedule beyond the 40 days currently allowed within their home in the Taft Theatre, enabling the theater to expand their programming and produce more original works.  

It will also preserve a rare, theater-style, symphonic concert hall – one of only four in the United States – that has hosted the likes of George Gershwin, Bette Davis, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.    

TCT’s Managing Director and CEO, Kim Kern, states, “This project is of vital importance to our community for so many reasons. First, providing a permanent home for the nation’s oldest professional theatre for young audiences, but also restoring an iconic venue while honoring Mary Emery’s wishes of keeping it a place of gathering and education. TCT’s future home will continue to revitalize our city’s core – keeping Cincinnati a place where people wish to live, work, and play.”  

“Restoring the Emery for theatrical use has long been a challenge,” says GBBN associate principal, Steve Karoly. “Because the size and configuration of the stage was originally designed for an orchestra, it did not have the depth or wing space of a traditional theatrical stage. We had to develop some innovative solutions—such as using a large video screen at the back of the stage to create depth and using a large lift to access the basement for quick scene changes—to overcome that challenge.”   

“Working within the constraints of a historic theater like this has been really rewarding,” observes GBBN Director of Arts, Marcene Kinney. “This will not only be a space that weaves together different historical moments, but it will also be a space that welcomes children. So, the design is really embracing whimsy and illusion as we create a fully immersive environment that brings the magic of the theater beyond the bounds of the stage.”  

Celebrating 103 years this season, The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is the oldest children’s theatre in the country and the only professional theater in the region that devotes its entire MainStage season to children. Its mission is to educate, entertain and engage audiences of all ages through professional theatrical productions and arts education programming. Its vision is to awaken a lifelong love of theater in children and the young at heart. Today, the Children’s Theatre brings art to life for audiences through three key programs: TCT MainStage at the Taft Theatre, TCT on Tour and Workshops, and TCT Academy. Each season TCT strives to reach more than 200,000 people in the Cincinnati region.    

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Human Race Theatre Company Presents BARBECUE

HRTC_BarbecueUp next at The Human Race Theatre Company: Barbecue, by Robert O’Hara, pairs America’s fascination for self-destruction with an unexpected twist in this hilarious and devastating comedy. Performances run from April 13 – 30, 2023 at the Loft Theatre.

The four O’Mallery siblings have planned a barbecue picnic for their youngest sister, Barbara, but they secretly plan to stage an intervention to confront her outrageous behavior and reckless drug and alcohol use. We soon learn that each sibling needs their own intervention; Lillie Anne calls James “white trash” – blackout. When the lights return, so do the four siblings: same park, same situation, same personalities, different actors! From that moment on, the two parallel families alternate, and the day becomes raucous and unpredictable.

“Robert O’Hara has an extraordinary way of leaving you with changed perceptions while your sides split with laughter,” comments Emily N. Wells, Human Race Theatre Company artistic director.  “His understanding of our flawed humanity provides a way to see and respect one another as complex, individual beings.” This marks the first time that one of O’Hara’s works has been produced in the area, despite growing up in nearby Cincinnati.  Also a skilled director, O’Hara was nominated for a Tony Award for his 2021 Broadway production of Jeremy O’Harris’ Slave Play.

Houston director Eboni Bell Darcy makes her directing debut with The Human Race. The 10-person cast comprised of returning and first-time artists includes A.J. Baldwin and Mierka Girten (Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help) as Marie, Burgess Byrd (Gloria: A Life) and Darlene Spencer (Around the World in 80 Days) as Lillie Anne, Rico Parker and Josh Aaron McCabe (Deadline) as James T, Marva M.B. Williams-Parker (Gem of the Ocean) and Lisa Stephen Friday as Adlean, and Oluchi Nwokocha and Erin Eva Butcher as Barbara.

Joining Darcy on the Barbecue production team are: Tammy Honesty, Scenic Design;  John Rensel, Lighting Design; L’Amour Ameer, Costume Design; Antonio Lopez, Sound Design; Sarah Gomes, Props; Mark Tynan, Production Stage Manager; Rachel Heine, Assistant Stage Manager; ErinMarie Suscheck, Production Assistant. For press ticket requests, please contact Tara Lail, Creative Producer, at tara@humanracetheatre.org

Barbecue will play in the Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton, April 13 – 30, 2023.  Tickets are on sale through Dayton Live box office, 937-228-3630, or online at www.humanracetheatre.org   More details about the show can be found on our website. The Human Race Theatre Company continues its commitment to high quality theatre with access points for all with two ticket initiatives sponsored by Morris Furniture Company: two sections of $20 seats available at any time through the box office, and ten $10 rush seats available 90 minutes before any performance.

Special Nights at The Loft:   

  • Pay What You CAN – Wed. April 12, 8 pm – admission by non-perishable food donation for The Foodbank OR a cash donation to benefit onefifteen
  • Inside Track – Thursday, April 13, 8pm – Pre-show Discussion at 7:15pm
  • Sawbuck ($10) Sunday – Sunday, April 16, 7 pm – $10 tickets available 5:30pm at the door
  • While We’re On The Subject – Sunday, April 23, 2pm – Post-Show Discussion with guest speakers

The Human Race expresses gratitude for the public and private support which makes these productions possible: The Loft Season Sponsors: Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation; Production sponsor: Barbara N. O’Hara; Sustainability sponsors:  Anne F. Johnson, Steve and Lou Mason, ELM Foundation, and Morris Furniture Company;  Additional Season support:  Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts, Erma R. Catterton Trust, The Shubert Foundation;  Organizational support:  Culture Works, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Dayton Region Arts Renewal Grant. Media Sponsor: WDPR Discover Classical. Pay What You Can Sponsor: Enterprise Holdings Foundation.

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Experience the Best of Broadway with A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING at NKU

NKU_A Grand Night for SingingHIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – Get ready to experience the best of Broadway at Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts with their upcoming production of A Grand Night for Singing! Running from April 14-23, 2023 at the NKU Stauss Theatre, this Tony-nominated musical revue is a fresh take on the beloved works of Rodgers & Hammerstein. A Grand Night for Singing is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

  • What: A Grand Night for Singing
  • When: April 14-23, 2023
  • Where: NKU Stauss Theatre
  • Tickets: nku.edu/tickets

Conceived by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, A Grand Night for Singing features an impressive lineup of songs from some of the most popular shows in musical theater history, including Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. But it’s not just the big hits that take center stage. The revue also includes songs from lesser-known works such as Allegro, Me and Juliet, and Pipe Dream, offering a true celebration of the Rodgers & Hammerstein canon.

The cast includes Katherine Sharp, Kelly Messer, Tasha Conzelman, Lawson Smith, and Tre Taylor. The production team features Savanah Kennedy as Stage Manager, Dee Anne Bryll as Choreographer, Ron Shaw as Scenic & Props Designer, Annie Yuan as Costume Designer, Chanelle Dau Pino as Lighting Designer, Kevin Havlin as Sound Designer, and Damon Stevens as Music Director. The show is directed by Ed Cohen & Dee Anne Bryll.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at nku.edu/tickets.

About NKU: Founded in 1968, we are a growing metropolitan university of more than 15,000 students served by more than 2,000 faculty and staff on a thriving suburban campus near Cincinnati. Located in the quiet suburb of Highland Heights, Kentucky—just seven miles southeast of Cincinnati—we have become a leader in Greater Cincinnati and Kentucky by providing a private school education for a fraction of the cost. While we are one of the fastest growing universities in Kentucky, our professors still know our students’ names. For more information, visit nku.edu.

About SOTA: The School of the Arts at Northern Kentucky University, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, is made up of three programs: Theatre and Dance, Art and Design, and Music. The Theatre and Dance program relies on intensive student involvement both inside and outside the classroom. At the program’s center is a vital balance of process and production, giving each student opportunities to stretch boundaries and discover new possibilities. Graduates have gone on to successful careers in professional theatre, film and television. For more information, visit theatre.nku.edu.

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