Tag Archives: Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati

January 26, 2021 · 10:55 am

20TH CENTURY BLUES Available Feb. 1-28

ETC_20th Century Blues logo20TH CENTURY BLUES
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
Feb. 1-28
[Online]

Directed by D. Lynn Meyers

Cast: Burgess Byrd as Mac, Annie Fitzpatrick as Sil, Dale Hodges as Bess, Regina Pugh as Danny, Kate Wilford as Gabby & Crystian Wiltshire as Simon

An impromptu behind-bars snapshot taken during a 1970s protest lockup sparks an eccentric, four-decade friendship. Every year, photographer Danny and her friends reunite to take a new photo showcasing their changing selves. However, when Danny is offered a career retrospective, the ritual that has been the glue holding them together for 40 years may now also tear them apart. The images unearth secrets, prompting the women to question who they are in this evocative play. Virtual dramatic reading.

  • Available for streaming Feb. 1-28.

Meet the Artists Series
Thu, Feb. 4 at 7pm
Free live discussion with playwright Susan Miller

Official page | Press release

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January 22, 2021 · 3:21 pm

ETC Presents Regional Premiere Drama/Comedy 20TH CENTURY BLUES, February 1-14

ETC_20th Century Blues logoGet Ready for a close up!

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Presents regional premiere Drama/comedy
20th Century Blues, February 1-14, 2021

(Cincinnati, OH) Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) kicks off the new year with the virtual dramatic reading of the regional premiere drama/comedy 20th Century Blues by Susan Miller, streaming online for two weeks only February 1-14, 2021. Originally scheduled to close the 2019-2020 Season, this production was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though this story touches on themes of friendship and art-making, it is “mostly a comedy about aging,” according to the New York Times. Penned by two-time Obie Award-winner Susan Miller, 20th Century Blues questions our place in the world and gives a close-up of a forty-year, age-defying friendship. Production Sponsor is Procter & Gamble. Design Sponsor is Carol Talbot. Directed by D. Lynn Meyers.

An impromptu behind-bars snapshot taken during a 1970s protest lockup sparks an eccentric, four-decade friendship. Every year, photographer Danny and her friends reunite to take a new photo showcasing their changing selves. However, when Danny is offered a career retrospective, the ritual that has been the glue holding them together for 40 years may now also tear them apart. The images unearth secrets, prompting the women to question who they are in this evocative play.

ETC will host a live discussion with acclaimed playwright Susan Miller on February 4, 2021 at 7:00 pm as part of the Meet the Artists Series for a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of 20th Century Blues. This free digital event will be available through ETC’s social media channels and can be accessed through ETC’s website at http://www.ensemblecincinnati.org.

“It’s a true joy to share 20th Century Blues by Susan Miller with you,” says Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “This story of trust, challenges, ambition, compassion, and friendship is exactly what we need right now. It reminds us that each moment of our lives matter. Each one captured in the memories and photos of our mind.” 

About the Cast

Burgess Byrd (Mac) was last seen at Ensemble Theatre in Skeleton Crew  as Faye and the 2019 production of The Frog Princess as the Tsar. She also appeared in ETC’s world premiere of Around the World in 80 Days in the 1999-2000 Season, during which time she was an Acting Intern. Additional credits include Gloria: A Life at the Human Race Theatre Company. 

Annie Fitzpatrick (Sil) last appeared at Ensemble Theatre in The Wolves. Other favorite ETC credits include Luna Gale, Hands on a Hardbody, Next Fall, Rabbit Hole, and String of Pearls. Her most recent production was
The Roommate at American Stage. Her other credits include A Prayer for Owen Meany, To Kill A Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, A Christmas Carol, and Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Richard III, Death of a Salesman, Little Women, A Man for All Seasons, and Blithe Spirit, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; and Silent Sky, Pluto, and Collapse, Know Theatre. She has worked with various regional theatres including The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Geva Theatre, Florida Stage, and Florida Studio. Her television and film credits include Chicago P.D., Those Who Kill, Army Wives, The Old Man and the Gun, Fun Size, and Milk Money. 

Dale Hodges (Bess) was last seen at Ensemble Theatre in Sex and Education, as well as Ripcord, Outside Mullingar, Other Desert Cities, Grey Gardens, and Mrs. Mannerly. Select regional credits include Wit, King Lear, To Kill a Mockingbird, 23 years of A Christmas Carol with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Noises Off with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Ms. Hodges has worked on Broadway in Equus and Benefactors, off-Broadway in Top Girls and A Woman in Mind, and in regional theatres around the country, including 15 summers with Peterborough Players in New Hampshire. 

Regina Pugh (Danny) most recently served as the director of A Doll’s House, Part 2 at Ensemble Theatre, where she was seen on stage in Annapurna, The Other Place, Next Fall, My Name is Asher Lev, After the Fall, Buckminster Fuller: In and Out Universe, The Water Engine, and Everything in the Garden and Fragments, both directed by Edward Albee. She appeared at Cincinnati Playhouse in A Christmas Carol (1992-2011) and the world premiere of Invention for Fathers and Sons and has performed locally at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and The Know Theatre of Cincinnati. Regina teaches at acting at Xavier University and is a founding member of Performance Gallery, an alternative theatre collective that specializes in original work and has participated yearly in the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. 

Kate Wilford (Gabby) has appeared in ETC’s productions of Alice in Wonderland (2018), Cinderella: After Ever After, Violet, Cinderella, Luna Gale, Becky’s New Car, Good People, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and many others. She has appeared at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in Romeo And Juliet, The Cherry Orchard, All My Sons, and Bedroom Farce. Regionally, she has also worked at The Lyceum Theatre, Beef N Boards, Westgate Theatre, The Kenley Players, and was a founding member of The Troupe in Cincinnati as well as directed at Xavier University, Thomas More College, and Cincinnati Children’s Theatre. 

Crystian Wiltshire (Simon) makes his Ensemble Theatre debut with this production. His recent credits include The Tempest, Fences, and The Winter’s Tale, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; Kill Move Paradise, Know Theatre of Cincinnati; Ghost, StageOne Family Theatre; Dracula, Actors Theatre of Louisville; As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV, Part II, and Twelfth Night, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival; and And In This Corner: Cassius Clay and Hamlet in Kentucky Shakespeare’s co-production with StageOne Family Theatre.


Performance Information
This virtual dramatic reading can be rented through ETC on Demand, the theatre’s new digital streaming platform that will be launching in late January. Tickets are $10 for one 48-hour rental or $60 for a subscription to all upcoming virtual content (excluding benefit readings) through June 2021. ETC On Demand will be able to be accessed through the theatre’s main website. Subscribers can contact the box office Monday through Friday, 9:00 am until 5:00 pm for more information.

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2020-2021 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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November 24, 2020 · 1:09 pm

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Hosts Third Annual PLAY/WRITE: The Jackie Demaline Regional Collegiate Playwriting Competition

ETC_Play Write 2021 Open logoSubmission Deadline of January 31

(Cincinnati, OH) Tristate area playwrights, it’s your time to shine! Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati hosts the third annual PLAY/write: The Jackie Demaline Regional Collegiate Playwriting Competition, held in memory of writer, critic, and arts advocate, Jackie Demaline. Students currently enrolled full- and part-time at a university or college in the Greater Cincinnati/tri-state region are welcome to submit their plays to the competition. Three finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges. The winner of this competition will receive $2,500 from the Jackie Demaline Fund and a professionally-staged reading of their script.

Demaline’s love of the arts started at a young age. Throughout her life, she continued to be a passionate believer in the arts as an entertainment writer and editor for multiple newspapers and publications. After moving to Cincinnati in 1994, she covered theatre and the arts for The Cincinnati Enquirer for 20 years and worked as an important catalyst for change and growth during a time when new theatres and companies were popping up all over Cincinnati and helped to secure their place in the community.

After a four-year battle with cancer, Demaline passed away on June 17, 2018. As her final gift to the community, she arranged for her estate to fund the PLAY/write competition. Through this, her legacy lives on—providing new voice development, kick-starting arts careers, and caring for the community through thoughtful programming.

Submission guidelines:

WHO:

  • Students currently enrolled at a university in the Greater Cincinnati/tri-state region

WHAT:

  • Original, unpublished full-length plays written in English. Translations, musicals, adaptations, and children’s plays not accepted
  • Plays must be typed and page-numbered
  • Subject matter is open, however, the play should address some of the characteristics Jackie considered when critiquing theatre:
    • Does it tell me something I didn’t know about myself or the world in which I live?
    • Does it hold up a mirror at an angle I’ve never tried so that the things I know now suddenly possess new meaning?
    • Does it move me? Excite me? Provoke me?
    • Does it make me laugh or cry? Make me uncomfortable? Make me think?

WHEN:

  • Submission deadline: 11:59 pm EST, January 31, 2021

HOW:

  • Submit your script electronically at ensemblecincinnati.org/playwriting-competition
  • If you have questions about the competition or submission process, please email Jared D. Doren, Programming & Events Manager, at jdoren@ensemblecincinnati.org

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2020-2021 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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November 23, 2020 · 10:58 am

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Presents DESTINATION DETOUR, An Evening of Theatre and Virtual Benefit

ETC_Destination Detour logo(Cincinnati, OH) Theatre lovers, get ready for a night of past-favorites and familiar faces! Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) is proud to present Destination Detour, a virtual evening of performances that is a free gift to our community. Audience members can expect to see favorites from the ETC stage reprising past roles, cameos from friends of Cincinnati theatre, the host for the evening Courtis Fuller, and of course Producing Artistic Director, D. Lynn Meyers, all from the comfort and safety of home.

This event is not only an evening of performances, but also serves as the first virtual benefit hosted by the theatre. Audiences are required to reserve a spot to attend, but are not required to pay admission. If so inclined, there will be the opportunity to donate to help ETC through this difficult time.

For an enhanced experience, audience can also choose from two paid pre-show events, detailed below:

  • FREE ticket: admission to the evening’s virtual performances to enjoy at home.
  • $150 ticket: admission to the evening’s virtual performances; half-hour pre-show event at 6:30 pm with the talented Sara Mackie, Brooke Steele, Michael G. Bath, and Deb G. Girdler; and a virtual goodie bag.
  • $250 ticket: admission to the evening’s virtual performances; half-hour pre-show event at 6:30 pm with host Courtis Fuller, ETC show stoppers Pamela Myers, Dale Hodges and Kenneth Early, and Producing Artistic Director, D. Lynn Meyers. This ticket also includes a special performance and a culinary treat.

Reservations for each ticket type are available at https://ensemblecincinnati.org/calendar/destination-detour/

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2020-2021 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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July 16, 2020 · 6:53 am

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Announce Reset 2020-2021 Seasons Due to Covid-19 Challenges

Seasons to start later with a smaller slate of shows

PIP_logoCINCINNATI – Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati today issued a joint announcement that they will delay the start of their 2020-21 seasons due to the complex challenges around continuing live performances. All three theatres plan to kick off their revised seasons this winter with a smaller slate of rearranged, rescheduled or new shows.

In addition to the current ban on mass gatherings in Ohio, the nonprofit theatres must finalize viable plans to play to lower audience capacities for social distancing, communicate with theatre’s professional unions (such as Actors Equity) about performing safely and put numerous, new safety protocols in place.

With so many of the same challenges and the cross-over between audiences, the artistic leaders of the three organizations – Blake Robison (Playhouse), Brian Isaac Phillips (CSC) and D. Lynn Meyers (ETC) – indicated that they are working together to present consistent opening plans and safety guidelines.

The three leaders also announced that COVID-19 safety measures – including intense cleaning, longer runs to accommodate social distancing and other protocols – will be in place when the theatres open, but specifics will be announced closer to opening dates since the overall situation and guidelines from the state of Ohio and the CDC could change. They noted that further adjustments to their schedules could become necessary to ensure the safety of patrons, artists and staff, which is of the utmost importance.

All three organizations will reach out directly to their own patrons regarding procedures and options for 2020-21 tickets already purchased.  Additional tickets will go on sale later in the fall.

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park brings a new, smaller version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL to celebrate the holidays, followed by seven productions in 2021.

The Playhouse will open its revised season on December 1 with a new, one-person adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Two actors will share the role and alternate performances on the existing set, which audiences will recognize, with new lighting and costuming. This would have been the 30th anniversary of the Playhouse’s annual holiday favorite. Artistic Director Blake Robison directs the one-person show.

“This is the most viable way for us to provide cheer and hope this holiday season,” said Mr. Robison. “For safety, we are starting off with the smallest cast shows and building up from there through the spring. The acting, sets, costumes and overall artistry will be at the same level that Playhouse audiences always enjoy.”

The beloved version of the Playhouse’s annual holiday production will return in 2021 if it is safe to do a large-cast show by that time.

A seven-show season will follow A CHRISTMAS CAROL, beginning in January. The Marx Theatre season features four productions: the previously announced world premiere of THE WEST END by Keith Josef Adkins, STEEL MAGNOLIAS and Agatha Christie’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Newly added to the season is SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY by Jocelyn Bioh, a biting comedy that explores the universal challenges of teenage girlhood and all the drama that comes with it. The Rosenthal Shelterhouse Season consists of BECOMING DR. RUTH, LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL and INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP.

A detailed line-up of the 2020-21 season is included below and available at cincyplay.com. In addition, the Playhouse is planning both virtual and outdoor interactive theatrical experiences for late summer/early fall as part of its Off the Grid series and is working on virtual education and outreach programs for schools. Details on these programs will be announced later.

CSC_logoCincinnati Shakespeare Company hopes to reopen with the annual holiday favorite EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD followed by a spring filled with beloved Shakespeare titles, and to close the season with the return of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will return in late November with the much-loved holiday tradition EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME!). “This show, which has run at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company for over a decade, will be a wonderful way to welcome back our patrons, who we have greatly missed during this time,” said Brian Isaac Phillips, CSC Producing Artistic Director.

Then, beginning in 2021, CSC will present a rearranged slate of Shakespeare titles back to back to return the company to its roots.  First up in January will be the much-awaited production of HAMLET featuring Sara Clark portraying a reverse gendered Hamlet. This will be followed by a romantic and traditional production of ROMEO AND JULIET opening in March and a slapstick production of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS inspired by vintage Las Vegas opening in April.

And then, to close the season, CSC will reprise the production that was halted only weeks into the performance of Kate Hamill’s adaptation of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.  “This show had already become the most popular production in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company history before the unfortunate closure. We think it will be very fitting for us to close this triumphant new season with the return of this much loved and very jubilant production” said Mr. Phillips.

A detailed line-up of the 2020-21 season is included below and available at cincyshakes.com. In addition, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will continue to present its robust Education and Outreach programs in person and online in the schools and communities of the tri-state including FREE Shakespeare in the Park this summer.

ETC_new_logo_bannerEnsemble Theatre Cincinnati will continue annual community partnerships this winter and plans to open its 2020-21 Season in January with four productions.

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati will start a four-show season in January, reprising its production of the 2018 Obie Award-winning play PIPELINE by Dominique Morisseau, acclaimed MacArthur “Genius” Grant playwright. Having played a few performances to rave reviews from audiences and critics alike, the show was abruptly suspended the day after it opened this past March as a result of the ban on mass gatherings.

Due to safety precautions for audiences and performers alike, ETC’s previously announced holiday production, SLEEPING BEAUTY, will no longer be included in the upcoming season given its large cast size and singing format. ETC plans to return to its non-traditional fairy tale musicals in 2021 provided large-cast shows are possible by that time.

ETC had been preparing to share the remainder of its 2020-2021 Season this past spring, an announcement which was also delayed in the wake of the pandemic. In the coming weeks, ETC hopes to share the other three productions that will comprise its rearranged upcoming season and which will embrace the spirit of social consciousness that is the organization’s hallmark.

In addition, ETC will continue to adapt its programming wherever possible to be available online, including offering digital versions of its celebrated annual special event Expectations of Christmas along with its general audition call, Meals 4 Monologues, both in December.

All three organizations are supported by the generosity of almost 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund them with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

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CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK 2020-21 REVISED SEASON
Presented by Schueler Group and Heidelberg Distributing Co.
Season Sponsor of New Work: Rosenthal Family Foundation

 MARX THEATRE:

First Financial Bank presents
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens
December 1 – 27, 2020

In an intimate tour de force, one actor takes the stage to tell the story of Ebenezer Scrooge.

THE WEST END
By Keith Josef Adkins
January 16 – February 14, 2021

Set in 1941 in Cincinnati’s West End, this world premiere drama shines a light on a transformative chapter of local history.

Leading Ladies present
STEEL MAGNOLIAS
By Robert Harling
February 27 – March 28, 2021

With beloved characters, heartwarming dialogue and snappy repartee, Steel Magnolias revels in the power and grace of female friendship.

Moe & Jack Rouse and Randolph Wadsworth present
SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY
By Jocelyn Bioh
April 10 – May 9, 2021

This biting comedy explores the universal challenges of teenage girlhood and all the drama that comes with it.

Agatha Christie’s
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
Adapted by Ken Ludwig
May 22 – June 20, 2021

Whodunit? Detective Hercule Poirot is determined to find out in this masterpiece from the world’s most popular mystery writer.

 ROSENTHAL SHELTERHOUSE THEATRE:

The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati presents
BECOMING DR. RUTH
By Mark St. Germain
January 9 – March 9, 2021

This heartwarming portrait is a humorous and illuminating one-woman show about America’s favorite sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL
By Lanie Robertson
March 20 – May 16, 2021

Featuring over a dozen jazz standards, Billie Holiday tells the story of her life through music with honesty and a touch of salty humor.

Johnson Investment Counsel & Clark Schaefer Hackett present
INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
By Katie Forgette
May 29 – July 25, 2021

It’s 1973, and the Irish-Catholic O’Shea family muddles through a series of hilarious mishaps that jeopardizes their reputation — and their souls.

CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY 2020-21 REVISED SEASON

Season Sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and The John Bridgeland, Crilley, Long, and Mason Families Honoring James R. Bridgeland Jr.

EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME!)
by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald, and John K. Alvarez
November 19 – December 27, 2020

CSC’s holiday smash hit is back again for another season of holiday hilarity as we send up everything from Dickens to Dr. Seuss for 90+ minutes of high-octane jollity and frivolity.

William Shakespeare’s
HAMLET
January 15 – February 21, 2021

This much awaited production of the greatest play in the English language finally opens at CSC.  Featuring Sara Clark in the title role.

William Shakespeare’s
ROMEO AND JULIET
March 5 – April 11, 2021

William Shakespeare’s timeless tale of two star-crossed lovers and the feuding families who tear them apart, on stage in all of its everlasting grandeur.

William Shakespeare’s
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
April 23 – May 23, 2021

Shakespeare’s silliest, screwiest, and slapstickiest comedy! Inspired by golden era Las Vegas, this music filled production will be packed with cool cats, rat packs, showgirls, wise guys, and more.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
By Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen
June 4 – July 3, 2021

One of the single most beloved stories of all time returns in a fresh new adaptation which critics are calling “delightfully different,” “fizzy and festive,” and “unlike any adaptation of Jane Austen one has seen before.”

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