[NEohioPAL] Immediate Release: CPT presents ANCESTRA...Ohio's past-meets-present in compelling new play addressing gender equity and reproductive rights

Wed May 14 10:53:58 PDT 2014

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Cathleen O'Malley, Director of Audience Engagement & Media Relations
216.631.2727 ext. 212
comalley at cptonline.org<mailto:comalley at cptonline.org>

May 14, 2014

Cleveland Public Theatre presents

ANCESTRA

World Premiere

Onstage May 22-June 7

Cleveland, OH -Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) Executive Artistic Director, Raymond Bobgan announces the world premiere of Ancestra, a compelling new play conceived and directed by Holly Holsinger, and written by Holly Holsinger and Chris Seibert, with additional writing and research by Renee Schilling and Sally Groth. Ancestra will be staged in CPT's historic Gordon Square Theatre.

Inspired by 1853 National Women's Rights Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Ancestra weaves historical account into a modern day story that provides a forum for intellectual engagement with important issues of our time: gender equity, women's health care and reproductive rights. Featuring a multi-generational, multicultural cast, this powerful performance celebrates those who came before and champions current efforts to achieve dignity and justice. Ancestra was developed through a series of workshop productions and engaged over 30 women in its creation.

Plot Synopsis
Ancestra unfolds through two parallel stories, one from the 1850s and one based in a contemporary context. According to Director/Co-Writer Holly Holsinger, "It became clear to us that the [National Women's Rights Convention] is only informative if we understand where we are today." At the center of the contemporary story is a journalist Cora (played by CPT's Chris Seibert), who has a history of writing on topics relevant to women, including poverty, young women's self-esteem, mental health, domestic violence and-now-a story about women's reproductive healthcare. When Cora's methods take an unconventional turn, she is plunged into a crisis through which past and present begin to overlap, bringing to the forefront a vision of how far society has come, and how far we have yet to go.

The historical storyline of Ancestra was based upon extensive dramaturgical research into the letters, speeches and biography of some of Ohio's most notable pioneers for women's rights. This parallel thread originates at Oberlin College, which in 1837, was the nation's first institute of higher education to admit women, and culminates in the 1853 National Women's Rights Convention in Cleveland.

As journalist Cora battles her editor over journalistic integrity, two young female students at Oberlin, Antoinette "Nettie" Brown (played by Lauren Fraley) and Lucy Stone (Katy Lynn Patterson) fight their own battle against the Oberlin administration: restrictions banning debate, public speaking and certain fields of study for women at the college. Brown and Stone respond to the constraints placed upon their sex by forming the "Secret Society for Female Debate and Mutual Improvement," a secret gathering in the woods surrounding Oberlin's campus where they meet to debate and discuss their beliefs and issues of the day. Present meets past when Cora stumbles into the woods and encounters her foremothers, setting off a series of events that drive towards Ancestra's emotionally-charged and deeply moving conclusion.

Ancestra and Women in the Media
According to the playwrights, certain challenges faced by the character of Cora are based upon research into current media culture, and the particular way women can be targeted for speaking up on controversial topics. According to co-writer and actor Chris Seibert: "Once you start saying things that are controversial and they go into certain territory, there are ways that women are shut down in our culture, if they're in the public eye. They're often reduced to how they look and what they're wearing, rather than the substance in what they're saying. That's the other thing we're exploring with the piece. In all these different forms of media that we're using today, women are targeted differently in order to get them to shut down. They're attacked in ways that women are attacked physically in the world."

Research into letters and public record of speeches delivered by some of Ancestra's historical characters revealed a similarly dismissive response to their passionate writing and speeches on the national stage. For example, the fact that Antoinette Brown Blackwell, who went on to become the first woman to be ordained as a minister in the United States one month prior to the National Women's Rights Convention in Cleveland, had gained celebrity status among progressive men and women alike, did not prevent a fellow pastor from slipping her the following note on the day she would address the convention:

"So now, Miss Brown, just stay at home,
Tend babies, knit, and sew, and cook,
And, then, some nice young man will come
And on you cast a loving look."

For him it was a joke, but they both knew very well that the words reflected the prevailing opinion of the period which confined women to their proper sphere of home and family.

About the Playwrights
Holly Holsinger has been a Cleveland Public Theatre artist for over twenty years and was last seen this season in her co-created play, Insomnia; The Waking of Herselves. Holly is a director, performer, and devisor of new works, and has served as collaborator/performer in over fifteen original plays including Blue Sky Transmission and her solo piece Frankenstein's Wake. She has toured all over the US, and to Canada as well as many international locations including Romania, Belgium, Denmark, and Brazil. Holly is a newly tenured, Associate Professor of Theatre at Cleveland State University where she specializes in teaching acting, voice, and movement, as well devised theatre techniques. She received an MFA in Acting from the University of California, Irvine where she studied with Robert Cohen and Jerzy Grotowski.  Holly is a certified as an Associate Teacher of the Fitzmaurice Voice technique.

Chris Seibert is a director, playwright and educator primarily working in the devised theatre method, developing new plays and original adaptations with professional artists and underserved members of the Cleveland community. Recent works include: appearances in Facing (presented at CPT's Station Hope Event) and Air Waves, both directed by Raymond Bobgan; A Life Without, created with Adam Seeholzer, Darius Stubbs and the men of Y-Haven Transitional Housing; Insomnia: The Waking of Herselves, created with Raymond Bobgan and Holly Holsinger; Water Ways, created with Raymond Bobgan in collaboration with Oberlin College and Conservatory; and The Tranced, a solo work created for CPT's Earth Plays. Beyond CPT, Chris recently worked with Oberlin Dance Company in the creation of a new work by celebrated chorographer Nusha Martynuk entitled Now We Are Here. This summer Chris will be creating a new play with CPT artists and the teens of STEP based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream which will tour to Cleveland city parks in August. Chris has served as CPT's Director of Education since 2006.

Cast and Crew of Ancestra

Ancestra was Conceived and Directed by Holly Holsinger. Written by Holly Holsinger and Chris Seibert with additional research by Renee Schilling and Sally Groth*.

Ancestra features performances by Tania Benites, Lauren Fraley, Sally Groth*, Faye Hargate, Tanera Hutz, Anne McEvoy, Sarah Moore, Katy Lynn Patterson, Rhoda Rosen and Chris Seibert. *Appears courtesy of Actors Equity Association.

The creative and production team includes Holly Holsinger (Director), Renee Schilling (Assistant Director), Aaron Benson (Scenic Designer), Tesia Benson (Costume Designer), Benjamin Gantose (Lighting Designer) and Sarah Lynne Nicholas (Stage Manager).

Ticket & Show Information

Ancestra previews Thursday, May 22 and runs Friday, May 23 through June 7. Performances are Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday at 7:30pm in CPT's Gordon Square Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102.

Tickets are $12 - $28.

All Thursday and Monday shows are just $12! Student and Senior discounts ($3 off) are available for Friday and Saturday performances.

**Every Friday is FREE BEER FRIDAY at CPT. Audience members are invited to mingle with the artists after the show and enjoy a drink or two on CPT.**

Tickets are available for purchase www.cptonline.org<http://www.cptonline.org> or by phone at (216) 631-2727 x 501. Group discounts available for 10+. Call to inquire.

For more information about Ancestra or other upcoming CPT productions, please visit cptonline.org<http://www.cptonline.org> or contact Cathleen O'Malley, Director of Audience Engagement & Media Relations at (216) 631-2727 x 212 or comalley at cptonline.org<mailto:comalley at cptonline.org>.

Cathleen O'Malley
Director of Audience Engagement & Media Relations
Cleveland Public Theatre
(216) 631-2727 x 212

See what's playing tonight, go to www.cptonline.org<http://www.cptonline.org/>

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