Category Archives: Press Releases

May 31, 2022 · 10:20 am

Street Stage Project Powered by ArtsWave Brings 800+ Performances to OTR & Downtown Between Now and BLINK®

AW_Street Stage Project logoCINCINNATI (May 31, 2022) – Starting May 31 and culminating with the return of BLINK, music will once again fill the streets of Downtown Cincinnati. The Street Stage Project powered by ArtsWave and produced by CMA & 3CDC, will return this summer with over 800 performances from over two-dozen local musicians across the city. This is a 20-week program that will run until October 16.

The Street Stage Project was launched in 2019 by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) and the Cincinnati Music Accelerator (CMA) as a way to bring vibrancy to the streets of downtown and OTR and to support local musicians. Since the program began, it’s been made possible with the support of the tens and thousands of community residents who give generously to ArtsWave, the main funder in this project. This venture enables new musicians to perform throughout key gathering places that are essential to creating and maintaining a vibrant urban core.

“ArtsWave is pleased to enliven the neighborhoods of Downtown and OTR through the Street Stage Project, where you will experience first-hand that live arts are back and ready to greet and connect us all.” said Alecia Kintner, President & CEO of ArtsWave.

Performance locations may change throughout the 20 weeks but will be split between OTR and the Central Business District. Time slots at each location will vary between lunchtime (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) and early evening (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) for 20 weeks: May 31 to October 16. To find out where musicians are playing, follow The Street Stage Project on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/thestreetstageproject/.

The Cincinnati Music Accelerator will manage and facilitate talent for the project. The current musicians that will kick off the series are alumni who have graduated from the Accelerator program. CMA will also accept new submissions from local musicians throughout the project. Interested musicians should visit www.streetstageproject.com for more information.

“CMA aims to make Cincinnati to be known and recognized as a music city. We do this by teaching them how to monetize their talent and learn all aspects of the business at a level that’s catered around their craft. Kick Lee, founder of CMA, said. Projects like The Street Stage Project provide exposure and an opportunity for artists to demonstrate their skills to a broader audience that they normally might not be able to reach.”

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May 30, 2022 · 10:26 am

INNOVAtheatre Presents CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD

INNOVA_Considering Matthew Shepard logoINNOVAtheatre presents Craig Hella Johnson’s CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD in five performances:

  • Thursday through Saturday, June 2nd -4th, 8:00 PM
  • Saturday & Sunday June 4th & 5th, 3:00 PM

CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD explores the life, death and legacy of Matthew Shepard. With the Musical Direction of Sarah Plaugher, INNOVA will be joined by a diverse ensemble of musicians to bring this work to the Sorg Opera House.

A three-part fusion oratorio, CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD speaks with a fresh and bold voice, incorporating a variety of musical styles seamlessly woven into a unified whole. Johnson sets a wide range of poetic and soulful texts by poets including Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne, and Rumi. Passages from Matt’s personal journal, interviews and writings from his parents Judy and Dennis Shepard, newspaper reports, and additional texts by Johnson and Browne are poignantly appointed throughout the work.

In October of 1998, Matthew Shepard, a young, gay student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie was kidnapped, severely beaten, and tied to a fence. He died five days later. Approaching the eve of the 20th anniversary, Craig Hella Johnson responded with his composition, Considering Matthew Shepard.

“Matt Shepard and his story have led me on an inspiring, challenging and deeply meaningful journey that I continue to this day. In composing Considering Matthew Shepard I wanted to create, within a musical framework, a space for reflection, consideration and unity around his life and legacy.” — Craig Hella Johnson, composer

Tickets available in advance or at the door: $25.00.

Visit www.SorgOperaHouse.org.

Parking for The Sorg Opera House is free and located on either side of the theatre as well as in the public parking lot behind the theatre.

INNOVAtheatre and The Sorg Opera House is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501 [c](3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

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May 30, 2022 · 10:13 am

Satirical Clown Show Taking Aim at Multi-Level Marketing Debuts at Cincy Fringe

CFF22_Upline logo

Image by Jonny Woolley

UPLINE: It’s Not a Show, It’s an Opportunity makes its world premiere this week in Cincinnati. New York-based performer Megan Stern and Las Vegas-based director Shannan Calcutt invite you to a Varmon makeup party! Varmon is the multi-level marketing empire that has it all: beauty, skincare, diet shakes, oils. It’s also an irresistible business opportunity and your ticket to financial freedom. Think GOOP meets Mary Kay meets NXIVM. Just don’t call it a pyramid scheme. In this solo show, Megan Stern leads you up through the ranks of Varmon –  skewering the beauty industry, wellness culture, and girlboss feminism.

Performances are Saturday, June 4 at 5:30 PM; Wednesday, June 8 at 9:00 PM; Friday, June 10 at 9:00 PM; Wednesday, June 15 at 7:15 PM; and Saturday, June 11 at 7:15 PM at the Art Academy Room 204 (A204), 1212 Jackson St. Tickets are $16 and will be available at the door, Fringe Headquarters, https://cincyfringe.com/upline-opportunity/, or by calling 513.300.5669(KNOW).

Megan Stern, a New York-based performer and writer, has been called “excellent” (Los Angeles Times), “utterly delightful” (Broadway World), and “a complete original” (Chicago Theater Beat). Her work has been seen in such New York venues as The Public Theater, Ars Nova, Joe’s Pub, Dixon Place, Walkerspace, BAX, and HERE Arts Center, as well as the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, and the Kennedy Center.

A multi-award winning artist, Shannan Calcutt has played an eclectic range of venues worldwide. From the Sydney Opera House, to San Francisco’s Bimbo’s 365 Club, to Cirque du Soleil’s sensual sensation, Zumanity. She has designed comedy acts for Cirque du Soleil, Spiegelworld, the philanthropic event One Night for One Drop, and Berlin’s Friedrichstadt-Palast. Currently, Shannan is the Associate Resident Director of Spiegelworld’s Atomic Saloon Show in Las Vegas. 

THE CINCINNATI FRINGE FESTIVAL, Cincinnati’s most unpredictable theater festival is back and ready to save us from the scourge of online theater. Impulsive, spontaneous and often combustible, the Cincinnati Fringe Festival – this is the 19th – runs June 3-18. Unlike the past, when venues were scattered all over the place, this year’s venues are all within a couple of hundred yards of one another; six in the Art Academy, and one more in the Know Theatre. Here are the numbers; 2 weeks, 38 ticketed events, 177 performances. Most are live, but small handful are digital. Tickets are $16, with an optional “Love Your Artists” ticket for $20. Learn more at cincyfringe.com.  

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May 27, 2022 · 3:25 pm

Cincy Fringe 2022 Proudly Presents HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr

CCF22_Hedy2

A True Story of Hollywood Glamour & Scientific Genius

The 22x Award-Winning, Internationally Acclaimed NYC Play
Written & Performed by Heather Massie
Cincy Fringe Festival – Cincinnati, OH – June 5-11, 2022

“Hedy Lamarr, glamorous siren of the silver screen, was more than ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World’. She invented Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Technology that makes the world of wireless communication tick. From Austria to Hollywood, WWII, torpedoes, ecstasy, and intrigue to the very cell phone in your pocket, she was there!” 

Cincinnati, OH – Cincy Fringe 2022 is proud to present HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr in their Primary Line Up from June 5-11, 2022.

Fulbright Specialist and NYC artist Heather Massie will deliver her Ohio debut of her 22x Award-Winning, Internationally Acclaimed New York City show. The show celebrates the unexpected scientific genius of Viennese-born Hollywood screen siren and inventor Hedy Lamarr.

Known as the ‘Most Beautiful Woman in the World’, Lamarr spent her spare time in Hollywood inventing technology for torpedoes during WWII.  Also known as Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Technology, her invention is used today in cell phones, WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.

Portraying 30+ characters in this solo play, Massie enchants the audience as Hedy Lamarr, along with Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Louis B Mayer, and more! Hedy is summoned to unearth the truth behind how a glamorous actress could create an invention which launched today’s wireless technology revolution!

Playing at The Art Academy,  Room 204 (A204), at 1212 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH on Sunday 6/5 @ 5:30 PM; Tuesday 6/7 @ 9:00 PM; Wednesday 6/8 @ 7:15 PM; Thursday 6/9 @ 7:15 PM; and Saturday 6/11 @ 7:15 PM, with a showtime of 60 minutes.

General Admission Tickets are $16, and Love Your Artists Tickets are $20.

Tickets & Information Here: www.CincyFringe.com/Hedy

Show Blurb:
Hedy Lamarr, glamorous siren of the silver screen, was more than ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World’. She invented Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Technology that makes the world of wireless communication tick. From Austria to Hollywood, WWII, torpedoes, ecstasy, and intrigue to the very cell phone in your pocket, she was there!

The Show:
HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr celebrates the unexpected scientific genius of Viennese-born Hollywood screen siren and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Known as the ‘Most Beautiful Woman in the World’, Lamarr spent her spare time in Hollywood inventing technology for torpedoes during WWII.  Also known as Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Technology, her invention is used today in cell phones, WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth. Portraying 30+ characters in this solo play, Massie enchants the audience as Hedy Lamarr, along with Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Louis B Mayer, and more! Hedy is summoned to unearth the truth behind how a glamorous actress could create an invention which launched today’s wireless technology revolution! The show premiered Off Broadway in 2016 on Theatre Row, and has since toured throughout the United States, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, Italy, Iceland, and Finland garnering 22 awards and critical acclaim. Written and performed by Fulbright Specialist Heather Massie, its mission is to inspire audiences to make the world a better place, especially to encourage young women in science and technology, and to establish Hedy Lamarr as a role model for intelligence, ingenuity, and invention.

The Performer:
Having studied Astrophysics with dreams of becoming an astronaut, Heather Massie marries her loves of art and science in the person of Hedy Lamarr. She studied Astrophysics at the University of Virginia with dreams of becoming an astronaut, before studying Theatre Arts in the Virginia Tech School of the Arts and becoming a professional actress in NYC and throughout the US. She has toured the world with her show HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr garnering 22 awards and critical acclaim. She brings the show to theatres, arts festivals, science festivals, science centers, technology conferences, museums, universities, schools, Jewish centers, STEM & STEAM Events, and cultural and scientific organizations throughout the United States and around the world.  In 2019 she served as a Fulbright Specialist with a tour of the show through South Africa sponsored by the US State Department, World Learning, and the US Embassy South Africa.

Full bio here: www.heathermassie.com/heather-massie/

Reviews:

  • “Captivating.”  –  The Huffington Post
  • “Effervescent” – Silicon Republic
  • “Fascinating”  – Belfast Times
  • “Highly inventive”  – The Irish News
  • “Richly realized”  – Blogcritics Magazine
  • “Highly entertaining”  – Splash Magazine
  • “Magnetic performance”  – Theater Scene
  • “Exceptionally talented”  – MD Theatre Guide
  • “Lively & enlightening” – Sarasota Herald-Tribune
  • “Remarkable”  – Theatre in the Now
  • “Gorgeous”  – Total Theater

22 Awards Including:

  • US Embassy Sweden Grant – Sweden
  • Mid Atlantic Arts – Turku, Finland
  • UMEZ – Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Grant – NYC
  • US Embassy Iceland Grant – Reykjavík, Iceland
  • The Maine Award – RVK Fringe, Reykjavík, Iceland
  • Audience Choice – IndyFringe, Indiana
  • Sold Out Award – IndyFringe, Indiana
  • Fulbright Specialist – South Africa
  • Best Performance – PRO.ACT Fest, Ukraine
  • Character Actor Award & Maine Award – RVK Fringe, Iceland
  • Best Actress – Galway Fringe, Ireland
  • US Embassy Zimbabwe Grant – Intwasa Arts Festival, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
  • US Embassy Zimbabwe Grant – Harare International Festival of the Arts, Harare, Zimbabwe
  • Outstanding Performance – Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, NYC
  • Best Actress – SaraSolo Festival, Florida
  • Audience Choice – Shenandoah Fringe, Virginia
  • Festival Bestseller – United Solo Festival, NYC

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May 27, 2022 · 1:19 pm

Award-Winning Horror Drama ROSEGOLD Comes to Cincy Fringe 2022

CFF22_Rosegold2The 2022 Cincy Fringe Festival is offering a range of performances this year, including “Rosegold”, written and performed by Cincy Fringe veteran Donna Kay Yarborough (“Diagnose This!”, “Shenatra!”, “The Famous Haydell Sisters”).

The gripping solo-performed horror tale takes place in an alcoholism support meeting, when a new attendee, Jamie, shares the story of her path to the bottle. What begins as a familiar experience takes a terrifying turn as she reveals the bizarre trauma– and literal haunting– that is the source of her addiction. As one viewer described, “It starts in A.A. and quickly descends to Hell.”

The show was workshopped as a staged reading at Fresno Rogue Festival in March 2020. The pandemic lockdown began in the middle of that first run, and the show seemed doomed to the shelf, never fully-realized. Then an opportunity arose for it to debut as a virtual, “Zoom”-presentation show. Since then it has won universal acclaim, in both virtual and in-person formats. In 2021, it received awards for “Best Dramatic Performance” (Pittsburgh Fringe Festival, Thornhill Fringe Festival UK), and the top honor “Best Solo Drama” at the Orlando International Fringe Festival.

“…a gently escalating exercise in horror that stands in the ranks of H. P. Lovecraft, Rod Serling, and Stephen King.” –Terrance McArthur, Kings River Life Magazine.

“‘Rosegold’ is not a conventional horror story; Donna Kay Yarborough is so confident, she even mocks the clichés of the genre… an intense experience and essential viewing.” –David Cunningham, British Theatre Guide.

“The beauty of Yarborough’s tale is how it blends the everyday with the philosophical with the spine-tingling. She hits the tropes of any good horror story head on — and then turns them on their head… ” –Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel.

“Even if you aren’t usually a fan of horror, Yarborough’s understated intensity will suck you in as she weaves a richly absorbing world in only 40 minutes with nothing more than a folding chair and laser-focused gaze.” –Seth Kubersky, Orlando Weekly

“It’s damn scary.” –Michael Freeman, Orlando Fringe Reviews

“Rosegold” can be seen at the Art Academy of Cincinnati (room 402), 1212 Jackson St., Cincinnati, OH. 

Showtimes:

  • Sat. 6/4– 9:00 PM
  • Tues. 6/7– 9:00 PM
  • Wed. 6/8– 9:00 PM
  • Sat. 6/11– 5:30 PM
  • Sun. 6/12– 9:00 PM
  • Tues. 6/14– 9:00 PM
  • Thu. 6/16– 7:00 PM

For more info, including other show offerings and ticket prices, go to CincyFringe.com. 

Follow Donna Kay Yarborough:

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