[NEohioPAL]CPT's THE TALE OF THE EMERALD BIRD tour continues and lands soon at CPT!

[Dan Kilbane]

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Dan Kilbane, Publicist
216/631-2727 ext. 203
dkilbane at cptonline.org <mailto:dkilbane at cptonline.org>
promotional photos are available upon request
March 9, 2004

CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE’S
STUDENT THEATRE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM PRESENTS A TOUR OF
The Tale of the Emerald Bird
A tale of adventure for all ages!
February - April 2004

CLEVELAND, OH  -- Cleveland Public Theatre’s Executive Director James Levin
and Artistic Director Randy Rollison are proud to announce the touring
production of The Tale of the Emerald Bird, a CPT classic performed by
members of CPT’s Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP).  The tour will
visit various sites throughout Greater Cleveland, including libraries,
community centers, nursing homes, and CPT’s own Upstairs Theatre.  Ticket
prices are $5 for adults, and children under 13 are free when accompanied by
an adult.

Created by local artists Raymond Bobgan, Mike Geither, and Holly Holsinger,
and directed by Raymond Bobgan and Chris Seibert, The Tale of the Emerald
Bird charms audiences with the magnificent journey of Princess Celine, who
must risk everything on the word of a horse when the Empress turns ill and
the land falls sick.  She begins a search for the healing song of the
Emerald Bird, and on her journey she encounters old friends in new
impossible guises and discovers an Ogre who keeps a secret in her belly.  It
is a tale of adventure for all ages!

Various tour locations include Addison Library, Saturday, February 14, at
2:00 p.m.; Mentor Kids Choice, Saturday, March 13, at 1:00 p.m.; Eastman
Library, Saturday, March 20, at 3:30 p.m.; Mt. Pleasant Library, Saturday,
March 27, at 2:00 p.m.; Beck Center for the Arts, Saturday, April 3, at
10:00 a.m.; and CPT’s Upstairs Theatre, Friday April 9, at 7:00 p.m.,
Saturday, April 10, at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

STEP is a one-of-a-kind program created by Cleveland Public Theatre. Now in
its eleventh year, STEP offers low-income, Cleveland high school youth the
opportunity to explore the art of theatre while experiencing the rigors of
holding a job.  During the school year, students are paid to participate in
a 10-week after-school rehearsal process and a 9-week performance schedule
in which they learn skills that teach the beauty and elegance of theatre and
language, while increasing their employability in today’s competitive work
environment.  During the summer months, students attend a five-week training
program that culminates in a fully staged play written, designed, and
performed by the students themselves.

STEP’s production of The Tale of the Emerald Bird will be touring throughout
Greater Cleveland from February 7 to April 10.  This production is STEP’s
second and longest running tour; the students have been working on the
project since October.  “Considering the discipline it takes to commit to a
production for that long, it has been a big step for them,” said Chris
Seibert, director of the Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP).  “They
have spent every Saturday here for nearly three months.”  The students were
involved in intense acting, technical, and vocal workshops this past summer
in order to prepare for the performances.

Presented through The City of Cleveland’s Youth Employment Opportunity
Program (YEOP), in partnership with the Cleveland Municipal School District
as well as generous contributions from private foundations, the program
skills learned include carpentry, set design, voice and movement skills,
acting, small group communication and management, enhanced literacy,
computer skills, conflict resolution, and writing and editing. The City of
Cleveland has awarded CPT’s Student Theatre Enrichment Program the
Outstanding Employment and Training Program Award of Distinction four years
in a row.

The creation of The Tale of the Emerald Bird began in 1994 through the
imagination and dedication of CPT resident artists Raymond Bobgan, Mike
Geither, and Holly Holsinger.  Its first incarnation was a holiday
production in December 1994, co-directed by Holsinger and Bobgan, and it
featured three parent/child acting pairs. Eight-year-old Amanda Clark, who
is now 17 and was in STEP’s Bliss last year, played the original Emerald
Bird character.  The production then returned for two consecutive holiday
runs.  The creators wanted to generate a story about the transformation of a
central female character with an environmental theme of healing through
journey.  They were influenced by a number of fairytales, and the show has
similarities to many familiar stories such as The Wizard of Oz and the movie
Baron Von Munchausen:  the characters combine their special gifts and work
together.  Each production of The Tale of the Emerald Bird has been very
different.  In 1995, Jaime Bouvier directed the production, and in 1996 Don
Morrison, who created the original Ogre puppet, directed it.  Incidentally,
this play was the first collaboration between its creators, Mike Geither,
Holly Holsinger, and Raymond Bobgan.  Subsequent collaborations have
included The Warbling Carousel, Never Speak to Strangers, and Blue Sky
Transmission.

Chris Seibert , Co-Director of The Tale of the Emerald Bird, currently
serves as the Director of the Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP) at
Cleveland Public Theatre, through which she has also facilitated the
creation of two original works: last season’s hip-hop satire Bliss, and this
past summer’s musical folk tale The Goat, The Coat, The Note and the Comet
OR Ugly in Love.   In addition to her work with teens, Seibert has conducted
writing and acting workshops for Elyria YWCA’s adult women-in-transition, as
well as Lorain elementary school youth through another arm of CPT’s
Education Program, Lorain Act Now!  Before returning to her hometown
Cleveland in 2001, Seibert created and performed original works with the
Chicago performance companies Redmoon and Jelleye Drum Theatre.  Her own
writing earned her “Critics’ Choice” in the Chicago Reader for the solo
performance piece Split and an invitation into the Women’s Theatre Alliance
New Plays Festival for the original play A Young Tired.   Her screenplay,
Moon Tooth, was a semi-finalist in the 2001 Chesterfield Screenwriting
Competition.  A graduate with honors from Loyola University, she was also
the recipient of a Chicago Community Artists Assistance Program grant for
interdisciplinary performance.

The following is a list of tour performances, including dates, times,
addresses, locations, and contact phone numbers:

Saturday, March 13, 1:00 p.m.
Mentor Kids Choice
5980 Heisley Road
Mentor, OH 44060
440-354-3154 (Lisa Ann Stofan)

Saturday, March 20, 3:30 p.m.
Eastman Library (Cleveland Public Library)
11602 Lorain Ave.
Cleveland, OH
216-623-6955 (Kathy Lufioavik)

Saturday, March 27, 2:00 p.m.
Mt. Pleasant Library
14000 Kinsman Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44120
216-623-7032 (Rekiat Olayiwola)

Saturday, April 3, 10:00 a.m.
Beck Center for the Arts
17801 Detroit Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107
216-521-2540x227 (Meg C. Wherry)

Friday, April 9, 7:00 p.m.
CPT Upstairs Theatre
6415 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102
216-631-2727

Saturday, April 10, 3:00 p.m.
CPT Upstairs Theatre
6415 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102
216-631-2727

Saturday, April 10, 7:00 p.m.
CPT Upstairs Theatre
6415 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102
216-631-2727

The mission of CPT 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.  Located at 6415 Detroit Avenue, CPT
serves as a catalyst for urban development in the Detroit-Shoreway
neighborhood.

STEP and this production are supported by JAK PRINTS, Benjamin S. Gerson
Foundation, The City of Cleveland, The George Gund Foundation, Key
Foundation, Nathan L. & Regina Herman Charitable Fund, Wolpert Fund, Raymond
John Wean Foundation, Thomas H. White Foundation, The Workforce Investment
Act, and the Youth Employment Opportunities Program.  Special Thanks to City
Councilman Joe Cimperman, Nelson Cintron, Michael Dolan, Ed Rybka, Martin
Sweeney and Matthew Zone.

Cleveland Public Theatre and its artistic and education programs are funded
in part by funding from Cleveland Foundation, George Gund Foundation, Ohio
Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Nord Family Foundation, John
P. Murphy Foundation, Kulas Foundation, Theatre Communications Group, Doris
Duke Charitable Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Bruening
Foundation, Codrington Foundation, Giant Eagle Foundation, Thomas White
Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Lorain, Family Foundations of
Jewish Community Federation, Dolphin Trust, Saint Ann Foundation, Deaconess
Foundation, O’Neill Foundation, Stocker Foundation, Key Foundation, Nordson
Foundation, Wolf Foundation, The Doll Family Foundation, Raymond John Wean
Foundation, The Ellie Foundation, Cyrus Eaton Foundation, Forest City,
Alcoa, Third Federal, Huntington National Bank, National City Bank, and
other corporate and individual contributors.


Cleveland Public Theatre Fact Sheet
Production
The Tale of the Emerald Bird
Written by Mike Geither, Holly Holsinger and Raymond Bobgan
with additional material by Chris Seibert
Original Music by the STEP Ensemble

Artistic Staff
Directors, Raymond Bobgan and Chris Seibert
Costumes, Holly Holsinger
Puppets, Michael Guy James
Stilt Coach, Aaron Rapljenovic

STEP Ensemble
Jonathan Blount
Philip Bragg
Troy Congress
Courtez Hill
Desmond Mitchell
India Pierce
Dontez Rowdy
Jada Tibbs

Ensemble worked in the following areas: acting, set and prop construction,
running and sound crew.

Ticket Prices
Admission $5 for adults, children under 13 free when accompanied by an adult
For reservations for the CPT Upstairs Theatre performances ONLY, April 9 and
10, call 216-631-2727