PLAYWRIGHTS LOCAL

Cleveland's home for dramatic writers

Playwrights Local is proud to announce that its recent production, Objectively/Reasonable, will be featured in upcoming events hosted by National Public Radio (NPR) and the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC). Hailed by The Plain Dealer as “electric, probing and uncomfortably raw…a play that needs to be seen,” Objectively/Reasonable is a “community response” to the shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland on November 22, 2014. This all-original, documentary work is based on interviews with legal experts, social critics, and everyday Clevelanders.

On October 18, Playwrights Local will stage an excerpt of Objectively/Reasonable at “Getting Real About Race,” an event presented as part of a series by NPR’s Michel Martin: Going There. This live program promises “a conversation that explores how race affects our lives today through the prism of specific issues in Northeast Ohio.” The performance will be presented at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18, 2016, at the Westfield Insurance Studio Theatre in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square (1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115). Tickets are $5 to $10, and are available at https://www.nprpresents.org/event/going-there-getting-real-about-race/.

On November 17, Playwrights Local will present an excerpt from Objectively/Reasonable and host a talkback about our company’s creative process as part of CPAC’s “Creative Intersections: Moving Forward” event. “Creative Intersections” is a new series that demonstrates “how arts and culture is serving as a partner in addressing a wide range of community topics.” This event will run from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 17, 2016, at the Bohemian National Hall in Cleveland (4939 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44127). Tickets are $25, and are available at https://web.charityengine.net/default.aspx?tsid=7583.

Objectively/Reasonable: A Community Response to the Shooting of Tamir Rice, 11/22/14 originally ran from August 18 through September 4, 2016, at the Creative Space at Waterloo Arts (397 E. 156th Street, Cleveland, OH 44110). Directed by Terrence Spivey, this play was praised by Cool Cleveland as “a work that should travel to theaters all over the country…a catharsis” and by Broadway World as “a must-see experience for anyone interested in the real world around them.” Objectively/Reasonable was written by an ensemble of playwrights—Mike Geither, Tom Hayes, Lisa Langford, Michael Oatman, and David Todd—and conceived/edited by Todd. The cast for these two performances will be original members Ashley Aquilla, Kaila Benford, India Burton, Samone Cummings, Kali Hatten, LaShawn Little, and Nathan Tolliver. Additional information on the play is available at http://playwrightslocal.org/objectively-reasonable/.