SLOW DANCE ON THE KILLING GROUND.
By William Hanley
Directed by Greg White.
Starring : Joseph Milan, Nathan Tolliver, and Leah Smith.
Main Stage Theater.
The curtain rises on a poor, dusty shop with its dirty window obscuring the dark hostile night. A storekeeper is taking inventory. The door is flung open, letting in a lithe young black man. In this dance for two, the characters make hesitant approaches, circle, feint, threaten each other with gun & ice pick but scarcely make contact. The young man is a hunted man. The storekeeper a refugee from Nazi Germany, is close-mouthed, suspicious, anxious to avoid self-involvement. The third dancer is Rosie, an 18-year old from Riverdale who has wandered into the shop, after losing her way, with no illusions about her homeliness or about the encounter that has led to her troubles. The two men react to her with a sensitivity and concern that seem to diminish the furies within them. But not for long. The German is driven to revealing the truth about himself as the young man, faces his inexorable fate out there
on the killing ground.
GOLDEN LEAF RAG TIME BLUES. WORLD PREMIERE!
By Charles Smith
Directed by Ian Wolfgang Hinz
Starring: Paul Slimak*, Allen Branstein, Brycen Hunt, and Mary Alice Beck. (*Member of Actors' Equity Association).
Playground Theatre.
Developed by American Blues Theatre Company in Chicago in 1987,
and included as part of the HBO New Writers Workshop in 1994,
Golden Leaf Rag Time Blues is the story of a teenage African American ward of the state and a lonely Jewish octogenarian vaudevillian man thrown together because of circumstances beyond their control. The two form an unusual friendship when they discover through stories and music that they have more in common than anyone would ever believe. Golden Leaf Rag Time Blues illustrates how our basic needs and human emotions transcend the barriers of race, religion, and age.Both shows run concurrently February 5th-February 28th.
Performances are Fridays & Saturdays @8pm. Sundays @2pm.
Tickets are $12-24. There are Senior, Student, & Group discounts available!
For tickets:
There will be an Opening Night Reception for both shows on February 5th.
Opening weekend BOGO! Mention BOGO at door or by phone. Enter BOGO online.
Pay what you can performances 2/7 & 2/14
Please note that tickets for both shows on February 21st must be purchased through the Ohio University alumni group, The Ebony Bobcat Network. Ensemble Theatre is honored to host theirAnnual Theatre Scholarship Fundraiser. Tickets are $35 and include a pre-show reception. Proceeds benefit the Ebony Bobcat Network and their Urban Scholars Scholarship. Please contact Gary Nickerson for more information and a link to purchase tickets. E: ganickers@aol.com.
Schedule of Surrounding Activities: (more to added as they are confirmed).
COMING UP THIS WEEKEND:
Faye Sholiton - Playwright, Artistic Director Interplay Jewish Theatre
Feb. 6th: Masterclass, 3pm. (Main Stage)
Feb. 6th: Post Show Talkback, Slow Dance on the Killing Ground. (MainStage)
Tony Sias, CEO Karamu House
Feb. 7th: Post Show Talkback, Slow Dance on The Killing Ground (Main Stage)
STILL TO COME:
Charles Smith, Playwright, Head of Ohio University MFA Playwrighting Program.
Feb. 20th. Masterclass 3pm. (MainStage)
Feb. 21st. Pre-Show Talk/Post Show Talkback. Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues. (Playground)
George Brant, Award Winning Playwright, Cleveland Heights Resident!
February 27th. Masterclass 3pm. (MainStage)
Subodh Chandra, Civil Rights Attorney, Legal Representation for the family of Tamir Rice.
Talkback. Date TBA.
Rajiv Joseph, Playwright, Screenwriter.
Masterclass. Date TBA.
Additional Talkbacks, Masterclasses, and surrounding activities will be added!
FREE PLAY READINGS will be presented THROUGHOUT THE MONTHS OF FEBRUARY AND MARCH.
Please NOTE: All Masterclasses are FREE and open to the public.
“The Content of Character” is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.