Category Archives: Press Releases

September 6, 2022 · 12:24 pm

The Kaplan New Works Series Opens Thursday at the Aronoff

CB_New Works2Cincinnati Ballet’s 22-23 Season kicks off with ‘New Works,’ Sept. 8-18

Cincinnati, OH (September 5, 2022) – Cincinnati Ballet’s 2022-2023 Season begins with The Kaplan New Works Series at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Jarson-Kaplan Theater, September 8 – 18. New Works features world and regional premieres of provocative contemporary dance. The program has become a fan favorite with Cincinnati audiences who are often first to experience groundbreaking world premieres by up-and-coming choreographers. This season’s New Works includes world premiere, In Good Company, from Cincinnati choreographer and DANCEFIX founder Heather Britt and a Cincinnati premiere by award-winning British choreographer Cathy Marston entitled Moving, Still. The program also features world premieres from Cincinnati Ballet dancers Daniel Baldwin with his piece Lifeforce, 5 ½ Cliches from Taylor Carrasco, and Melissa Gelfin De-Poli’s Mi Manchi.

This season, Cincinnati Ballet also welcomes a new artistic leader. Jodie Gates assumed her position as Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director, Sue and Bill Friedlander Endowed Chair, and Artistic Director of Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy on August 1, 2022. Ms. Gates was most recently the Founding Director of the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and the Artistic Director and Founder of the Laguna Dance Festival in Laguna Beach, California since 2005. She began her professional career at age 16 with the mentorship of the visionary artistic director Robert Joffrey. Gates went on to become a celebrated principal dancer at Joffrey Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Pennsylvania Ballet as well a principal guest artist with prominent companies internationally. She danced title roles in the classical full-length ballets and principal roles in neoclassical and modern dance works and has collaborated with a host of renowned choreographers, including Alonzo King, Agnes de Mille, William Forsythe, Paul Taylor, Martha Clarke, and Mark Morris, among others. Gates is herself an accomplished choreographer having created more than sixty original dance works. She is also an artistic collaborator with choreographer William Forsythe, staging ballets internationally for Forsythe Productions. She is the recipient of the distinguished 2021/2022 Residency Fellowship from the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. The fellowship acknowledges her most recent work as initiator for the Artistic Directors Coalition for Ballet in America, a group of artistic directors, choreographers, and educators who are addressing systemic racism within the culture of ballet.

Tickets for The Kaplan New Works Series are on sale now. For more information visit cballet.org. Please check the website for the latest health alerts. Masks are currently optional for patrons at Music Hall and the Aronoff Center for the Arts. NOTE: Artists may be masked during performances depending on current health alerts.

WHO: Cincinnati Ballet

WHAT: The Kaplan New Works Series

WHEN:

  • Thursday, September 8 at 7:30 pm
  • Friday, September 9 at 8 pm
  • Saturday, September 10 at 2 pm and 8 pm
  • Sunday, September 11 at 1 pm
  • Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 pm
  • Thursday, September 15 at 7:30 pm
  • Friday, September 16 at 8 pm
  • Saturday, September 17 at 2 pm and 8 pm
  • Sunday, September 18 at 1 pm

WHERE:
Aronoff Center for the Arts, Jarson-Kaplan Theater
650 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, Ohio

TICKETS: Call 513.621.5282 or visit cballet.org

Cincinnati Ballet 2022-2023 Season Sponsors:
Rhonda & Larry A. Sheakley, Margaret and Michael Valentine, ArtsWave, Mercy Health, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Ohio Arts Council, The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation

About Cincinnati Ballet
Since 1963, Cincinnati Ballet has been the cornerstone professional ballet company of the region, presenting a bold and adventurous array of classical, full-length ballets and contemporary works, regularly with live orchestral accompaniment. Under the artistic direction of Jodie Gates, Cincinnati Ballet is  a creative force within the larger dance community, commissioning world-premiere works and exploring unique collaborations. With a mission to enrich, expand, and excel in the art of dance through performance, a high-caliber academy, and impactful education and community engagement in local to global communities, Cincinnati Ballet reaches beyond the stage in programs that allow every person in the region to be part of the continued evolution of dance. To that end, Cincinnati Ballet presents exhilarating performances, provides extensive education and community engagement programs, and offers top-level professional ballet training at Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy.

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September 6, 2022 · 10:10 am

Acting Up’s Upcoming Production of THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL Sept. 23-25

ACTUP_Spongebob promoAre You Ready Kids? Aye-aye, Captain!
Acting Up presents The SpongeBob Musical
September 23-25 at the Mason High School Theater

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Mason, OH, August 17, 2022) – Join us as the iconic Nickelodeon cartoon comes to life on the stage this September, in Mason! The SpongeBob Musical explodes with energy and features an original pop and rock-infused score by a legendary roster of Grammy® Award-winning artists including Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler, Sara Bareilles, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., David Bowie, and more.

Acting Up, a young performers community theater, is thrilled to present this crazy, fun, one-of-a-kind musical event through special arrangement with Concord Theatricals. Don’t miss the opportunity to see one of the four performances held at the Mason High School Theater (6100 Mason-Montgomery Rd.), September 23-25. Acting Up’s production includes a live orchestra and 55 local, talented young performers from across the tri-state area ranging from 6-18 years old.

About the Story
The SpongeBob Musical is described as “Our Town” meets “Armageddon” meets “SpongeBob.” This musical takes place in the undersea city of Bikini Bottom, inhabited by the happy-go-lucky and ever-optimistic yellow sea sponge SpongeBob SquarePants and his equally quirky circle of friends and neighbors. SpongeBob’s pleasant existence is abruptly interrupted when it is discovered that a nearby volcano will erupt within the next 48 hours! Though The SpongeBob Musical is incredibly fun and family-friendly, its timeless story of identity, crisis, and community is also a witty allegory that examines and critiques the politics of the modern era, and it does so in such a way where children will appreciate and understand the plot line, while adults can read between the lines and extract even more from the musical’s message. 

Acting Up presents The SpongeBob MusicalFour shows are held over one weekend at the Mason High School Theater:
(6100 Mason-Montgomery Road, Mason OH 45040)

  • Friday, September 23rd at 7:00 pm
  • Saturday, September 24th at 2:00 pm (sign-language interpreter will be provided)
  • Saturday, September 24th at 7:00 pm
  • Sunday, September 25th at 2:00 pm

Tickets
Tickets are on sale now for reserved seating and are only $15. Tickets can be purchased online at ActingUp.com or in-person one hour before each performance at the box office (Mason High School Theater). Group sales are available for groups of 10 or more attending the same performance at a discounted rate of $12 per ticket. Group orders can be made by emailing ActingUp@ActingUp.com and completing a group order form with a single payment.

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About Acting Up
Acting Up is a non-profit, all-volunteer, young performers community theater based in Mason, Ohio. We are in our 17th year of producing high quality musical productions which involve hundreds of volunteers. Strong family involvement and support of the community are key components to Acting Up’s success. Show weekends are an exciting culmination of all these efforts while showing off the amazing young talent right here in our community and the greater Cincinnati area.

Acting Up is also a member of ACT Cincinnati and has won hundreds of Orchid awards from the Association of Community Theatre for numerous productions, including Overall Technical Quality, Overall Performance Quality, Excellence in Dance Execution, and Excellence in Chorus, Choreography and Ensemble.

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September 1, 2022 · 12:10 pm

VIOLET the Musical Opens NKU’s Theatre & Dance Season

NKU_Violet logoHIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts presents “Violet: The Musical” to open the 22/23 Theatre & Dance season. “Violet” will run Sept. 23-Oct. 2, 2022, at NKU’s Corbett Theatre. “Violet” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

  • What: VIOLET the Musical
  • When: Sept. 23–Oct. 2, 2022
  • Where: NKU Corbett Theatre
  • Tickets: nku.edu/tickets or (859) 572-5464

As a girl, Violet was struck by a wayward ax blade when her father was chopping wood, leaving her with a visible scar across her face. With enough money finally saved, she travels across the Deep South in 1964 towards a miracle – the healing touch of a TV evangelist who will make her beautiful. Although she may not succeed in having the scar on her face healed, Violet is able to repair those scars that are lying deeper than her skin. Winner of the Drama Critics’ Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical, “Violet” is a moving musical featuring show-stopping anthems ranging from American roots to folk to gospel.

Director Jamey Strawn notes that Violet’s scar is present through various scenic elements and lighting. “This, along with song lyrics and topical scenes, delivers a world that challenges us and unashamedly addresses racism, ableism and prejudice,” he said. “Violet is the kindred spirit that holds us to higher moral integrity. She showcases that equality for people, regardless of differences, can bring true healing.”

The cast features Tasha Conzelman, Sylas Craven, Chloe Esmeier, Zachary Farmer, Trey Finkenstead, Rachel Gardner, Chloe Hedrick, Jeremiah Jackson, Annie Jennings, Maggie Komp, Yolee Louis, Chris Monell, Ellie O’Hara, Dylan Perez, Tre Taylor, and Hailey Watson. Stage Manager: Jasmine Cosma; Choreographer: Jeri Deckard Gatch; Music Director: Scot Buzza. The show is directed by Jamey Strawn.

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 Theatre and Dance, Art and Design, and Music programs make up the School of the Arts that sit in the College of Arts and Sciences at Northern Kentucky University. Theatre and Dance relies on intensive student involvement both inside and outside the classroom. Our staff, resources and facilities serve the developing artist. 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 are working in professional theatres in every major city in the United States and on five continents, having successful careers on Broadway and in regional theatre, on cruise ships, in theme parks and film and television. For more information, visit theatre.nku.edu.

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August 31, 2022 · 2:49 pm

Powerful and Timely Drama Reflects on the Costs of War

HRTC_Grounded promoThe Human Race Theatre Company opens the season with a play by Cleveland-based playwright George Brant – Grounded – playing September 8-25, 2022 at the Loft Theatre.  This gripping one-woman drama finds a fighter pilot caught between duty to her country and motherhood.

The Pilot, a hot-shot F16 top gun, finds herself grounded when an unexpected pregnancy stalls her flying career.  She reups with the Air Force in the hopes of once again flying her “Tiger,” but finds herself reassigned to a bunker outside Las Vegas. The Pilot struggles through dreamlike 12-hour shifts hunting terrorists by day and being a wife and mother by night, leading her into a downward spiral. The lines crumble between home and professional worlds, and a mistake on the job might just cost her everything.

This production marks The Human Race Theatre Company directorial debut of new Artistic Director Emily N. Wells. “This piece has been fascinating to me since it premiered in New York nearly a decade ago, and even more so after I became a parent,” she comments. “The pilot’s struggle to balance her duty to country and motherhood makes a profound internal conflict. Her ability to exercise control hangs in the balance,” Wells continues. The team has spent time researching women in the United States Air Force and pilot training with community partners including Sinclair Community College, National Museum of the United State Air Force, and retired officers living in the Dayton area.

The role of The Pilot will be played by extraordinary Cincinnati-based actor and playwright Maggie Lou Rader, who audiences will remember from last season as Marie Antoinette in The Revolutionists. “Maggie brings a grounded empathy for her characters that resonates powerfully on stage.

Joining director Emily Wells on the Grounded creative team is:  D. Tristan Cupp and Jeff Heater, Scenic Realizer;  John Rensel, Lighting Designer;  Lianne Arnold, Projection Designer; Jay Brunner, Sound Designer; Production Stage Manager, Mark Tynan; and Andrew Ian Adams, Production Assistant. The team has spent time researching women in the United States Air Force and pilot training with the support of community partners including Sinclair Community College, National Museum of the United States Air Force, and retired officers living in the Dayton area.

Grounded will play at the Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton, September 8-25, 2022.  Tickets are on sale through the Dayton Live box office, 937-228-3630, or online at www.daytonlive.org/events/grounded/.  More details about the show can be found at www.humanracetheatre.org.

Special performances:  

  • Pay What You CAN – Wed. September 7 at 8 pm – Non-perishable food donations will benefit The Foodbank. All cash donations will go to American Legion POST 644, the first AL POST for women veterans.
  • Inside Track – Thurs., September 8 at 8pm – preshow discussion at 7:10
  • Sawbuck Sunday – Sun. September 11 at 7 pm – $10 tickets available 5:30pm at the  door
  • While We’re On The Subject – Sun. September 18 at 2pm – Audience Discussion follows performance

The Human Race expresses its gratitude for the public and private support which makes these productions possible including  Culture Works, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council, The Shubert Foundation, and the Erma R. Catterton Trust Fund.

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August 30, 2022 · 11:12 am

it’s not a trip it’s a journey at Know Theatre

KTC_its not a trip logo“I feel like a journey is just a hard vacation or is that wrong?”

it’s not a trip it’s a journey
by Charly Evon Simpson

September 23 – October 9, 2022

On road trips, friendships, and finding the difference between thriving and surviving. 

You’re invited to join Know Theatre for the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of it’s not a trip it’s a journey, by Charly Evon Simpson.

Get in the car – we’re about to change our lives. Four best friends strike out on a cross-country road trip that tests their friendships and strengthens their bonds as they explore their own ways of being Black, femme, and American. 

Miles of flat highway, a full tank of gas, your favorite playlist, and a bag of snacks: the road-trip vacation is quintessential Americana. It’s a symbol of freedom, of possibilities, and (if we want to get subtextual) the archetypal Hero’s Journey. But who is that road trip for, really? it’s not a trip it’s a journey invites us to tag along with four Black best friends as they pursue their dreams on the open road, and, along the way, ask who “quintessential Americana” is really for, and who’s been left out of the American Dream.

KTC_its not a trip director

Daryl Harris.

For a new show all about travel, America, and the interdependence of our lives, there’s nobody better than local theatre legend Daryl Harris to helm this production. Daryl is a bedrock of the Cincinnati arts scene, as he is a 50-year veteran of traditional, experimental, educational, and applied theatre throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, and a Full Professor at North Kentucky University’s School of The Arts, Theatre and Dance Program.

Daryl has lined up some all-stars to help the cast dive into the rich emotional lives of these characters. Local actor/director/playwright/intimacy professional Torie Wiggins will be the intimacy director of it’s not a trip it’s a journey, while Kim Popa, the co-founder and executive director of Pones, Inc., serves as the production’s choreographer.

it’s not a trip it’s a journey is presented as a Rolling World Premiere, in partnership with the National New Play Network, alongside productions at other theatres across the nation. Rolling World Premieres are NNPN’s flagship program, allowing promising new works to be explored by different creative teams in different communities across America within one unified season.

“Sometimes we come across a script that’s just waiting for the perfect opportunity; this is one of them. We’ve been wanting to produce this script since 2018, and as we put together our 25th season, all of the pieces of a Rolling World Premiere fell into place.  This show embodies the theme of our season in a deeply personal way. It explores how we support our friends, our most intimate community, when times are hard, through tragedies big and small, in order to lift each other up and truly live our collective lives to the fullest extent possible.” – Producing Artistic Director Andrew J. Hungerford

Who is this show for?

it’s not a trip it’s a journey is about breaking out of a rut, bursting out of your comfort zone, and living the life you’ve dreamed of. If you’ve ever wanted to grab your car keys and hit the open road – whether you longed to run towards something or away from it – this show is for you. If you’ve ever wrestled with your identity even as you’ve hungered to embrace it, this show is for you. This story is for the seekers, the queer ones, the brokenhearted, the questioners, the fighters. It’s for you.

Let’s hit the road. Here’s who’ll be traveling with:

The Know’s last season ended with our hit workplace comedy The Twunny Fo’, written by and starring rising Cincinnati star A.J. Baldwin. A.J. returns to the MainStage to play Rain, who’s struggling after a bad breakup and hopes this road trip will fast-forward the grieving process.

Returning to the Know MainStage is Jasimine Bouldin, who appeared alongside A.J. in The Twunny Fo’. Jasmine appears as June, who came up with the whole idea of the journey in the first place – and who might need it more than any of the others.

We’re welcoming two new Know faces to this production! Making their MainStage debuts with us are Angelique Archer as Frankie, the one of the friend group who looks like she’s

got her whole life together, even as she privately fears she doesn’t, and Ariel Mary Ann as Willie, who sometimes feels on the outskirts of the group and struggles to express themselves, even to the people who love them the most.

Scenic and lighting designer Andrew J. Hungerford and sound and projections designer Douglas Borntrager are collaborating to remake the Know stage look as wide open and full of possibilities as a road trip, and to really let this show be all about the performers.

Join us for this brand-new cross-country adventure as we get to know our friends – and ourselves – again on the open road, and find the line between thriving and just surviving. it’s not a trip it’s a journey runs September 23 – October 9, live at the Know, and livestreaming on select dates to your home.

Tickets are available on our website, knowtheatre.com, or by calling our box office at 513-300-5669.

it’s not a trip it’s a journey is produced at Know Theatre as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Other partner theatres are Round House Theatre (Bethesda, MD) and Good Company Theatre (Ogden, UT). For more information, please visit nnpn.org.

KTC_its not a trip castCAST

  • Angelique Archer as Frankie
  • A.J. Baldwin as Rain
  • Jasimine Bouldin as June
  • Ariel Mary Ann as Willie 

PRODUCTION TEAM

  • Director: Daryl Harris
  • Choreographer: Kim Popa
  • Lighting & Scenic Designer: Andrew J. Hungerford
  • Costume Designer: Noelle Wedig-Johnston
  • Sound & Projections Designer: Douglas J. Borntrager
  • Props Designer: Danielle Robison
  • Intimacy Director: Torie Wiggins
  • Technical Director: Jim Stark
  • Stage Manager: Grace Wohlschlegel 

AT A GLANCE

Production: it’s not a trip it’s a journey by Charly Evon Simpson 

Dates: September 23 – October 9, 2022. 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 TBA. 

Themes: road trips – friendships – Black – femme – Americana 

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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