[NEohioPAL]Cleveland Public Theatre's BIG [BOX] an WCPN's "Around Noon" on 1/8/04

[Dan Kilbane]

CPT's BIG [BOX] series will be featured on the Thursday, January 8 "Around
Noon" on 90.3 WCPN.  Sarah Morton, writer and performer, will discuss her
latest solo piece 4 MINUTES TO HAPPY with host Dee Perry.  Check it out!

Below is info. on all the BIG [BOX] productions:
January 2 - January 25, 2004
The Upstairs Theatre

CLEVELAND, OH - Executive director James Levin and artistic director Randy
Rollison are proud to present the award-winning BIG [BOX] series, now in its
second year.  Big [BOX] focuses on the independent creative artist and the
exciting things that can happen when one is given the space and time to
create. Throughout January 2004, Cleveland Public Theatre turns the Upstairs
Theatre over to a different individual or set of artists each week.
Writers, directors, actors, and designers will dedicate themselves to
creating new and original work, or stretching their artistic powers by
working in new disciplines.

Two of last year’s BIG [BOX] artists are part of CPT’s current season:
Charge, written by Eric Kaiser, will have a full production in February
2004, co-produced with TITLEWave theatre.  Antaeus Dance will be part of
Danceworks 04, presented in March 2004.

Additionally, two of last year’s participants moved their shows to theatre
festivals in August 2003:  David Hansen’s I Hate This ran at the Minnesota
Fringe Festival, and Michael Sepesy’s Loserville was produced at the New
York International Fringe Festival.

The 2003 BIG [BOX] series received a Cleveland Theater Collective award of
achievement this past June, honoring CPT’s commitment to artists.  Formed in
2000 to promote the professional development of Cleveland area theater
artists, CTC initiated the awards this year as a way to celebrate and
validate excellence in local theater.

January 9 - 11
4 Minutes to Happy
written and performed by Sarah Morton

"I've always been a good test taker," says our over-achieving narrator.  So
what happens when she flunks a doctor-administered depression test? In this
comic and revealing solo piece, one woman sets out on a quest for the
perfect way to "get happy," trying everything from hot showers to hip hop.
Will she succeed? A poetic and timely look at the pitfalls and detours we
sometimes encounter on the road to happiness.

Sarah Morton is an award-winning playwright and performer and a native of
Cleveland, Ohio. Recent productions of her plays include Night Bloomers at
Emerging Artists Theatre in New York City, Love in Pieces at the NYC
International Fringe Festival,  Stumble at Great Lakes Theater Festival
(2002 Surround Tour), and courage of i, which she co-wrote with the
residents of the Elyria Y, a transitional housing facility for women, and
produced by Cleveland Public Theatre. She has served as artist-in-residence
at Cleveland State University, Cleveland School of the Arts, and Hathaway
Brown School, and has been teaching in The Cleveland Play House's Young
Playwrights Workshop for the past six years. Her solo piece, The Eighth
Wonder of the World, was produced by Dobama's Night Kitchen and won a Scene
Award for Best Solo Performance.

January 16 - 18
The Eclectic Circus
created by Aaron Bonk, John Flower, Vincent J. Polowy, and Cassandra Vincent

Not under the Big Top, but out of the BIG [BOX] comes the Eclectic Circus.
Magic, mime, juggling, clowning, sideshow, and the spoken-word are included
in this multi-disciplinary performance.  Four artists come together as EC,
bringing together magic, music, mime, dance, juggling, and clowning, all in
a visual and electric evening!


January 23 - 25
The M.A.N. (a.k.a. The Magnificent Arrogant Nigger or I Never Learned to
Dance Like Fred Astaire)
Written, directed, and performed by Alex P. Michaels

This semi-autobiographical, audience interactive play looks at how a black
man can feel just as good as any white man.  Why does America not get it?

Emmy winning writer Alex P. Michaels was born in Cleveland and studied at
Stanford University. He is an actor, writer, director and a website
(www.alexmichaels.com). He has acted and directed on the stages of the
Karamu House and CPT. He has written and produced independent movies, which
have shown in the U.K., New York City and even Cleveland.

The mission of Cleveland Public Theatre is to inspire, nurture, challenge,
amaze, educate, and empower artists and audiences, in order to make the
Cleveland public a more conscious and compassionate community.