For Immediate Release Contact: Christine McBurney, C0-Artistic Director mamaitheatrecocleveland@gmail.com www.mamaitheatreco.org 440.394.8353 Growth has Mamai Theatre Company Poised for its Fourth Season of Classical Theatre in Cleveland in 2016 Cleveland, Ohio, December 9, 2015 — Now in its fourth season, Mamai Theatre Company <http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/> is pleased to announce exciting growth: additional public and private funding, new General Manager and Education Associate positions, new youth outreach programming, expanded adult outreach programming, and a streamlined summer season, June 2 - September 4, 2016. Additional Public & Private Support Cuyahoga Arts & Culture has awarded Mamai a 2016 Project Support grant to help fund new youth outreach programming. As a second-time recipient of a CAC grant, Mamai is grateful to the citizens of Cuyahoga County who overwhelmingly passed Issue 8 which funds many artistic organizations and artists in Cleveland. Additionally, increased private support from multiple foundations has enabled Mamai to fund capacity-building initiatives, including new staff positions. Lastly, Mamai gratefully acknowledges an increased number of sponsors and donors who stepped up this past year to support classical theatre in Cleveland. Introducing New Staff & Youth Education Outreach Mamai welcomes its first General Manager, Michael Parker, who will manage operations as of January 1st. Michael is a former board member whose support of Mamai and familiarity with its mission and programming dates back to Mamai’s inaugural season. Co-Founder Wendy Kriss returns to staff as Mamai’s first Education Associate. She will steer the new Mamai Matinee program conceived by Co-Founder Derdriu Ring, which invites children ages 5-7 to an interactive workshop full of storytelling, movement, music and visual artwork with new friends. Children will experience a collage of art activities designed to promote self-expression, comfort and confidence in the creative process, and the development of collaboration skills. Beginning in the 2016 season, patrons can register children ages 5-7 for this drama workshop in an adjacent location while enjoying Mamai’s Sunday 2:30pm matinee performance. One (1) adult admission is included with child registration fee. See Mamai’s website for details. Expanded Adult Outreach Mamai will expand its adult programming with community reading discussion events beyond our popular eastside reading and discussion series at the Beachwood branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library in 2015. Events will be free and open to the public. Mamai’s 2016 Benefit - March 7th - One Night Only! Women on Fire By Irene O'Garden Directed by Juliette Regnier Mamai's benefit features great food and wine at one of Cleveland's most valued cultural venues, The Maltz Museum <http://www.maltzmuseum.org/>, followed by a staged reading of Irene O'Garden <https://ireneogarden.com/>'s WOMEN ON FIRE, featuring some of Northeast Ohio's premiere actresses! Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage 2929 Richmond Rd, Beachwood, OH 44122 7:00 pm ~ Wine and Hors d’oeuvres Reception ~ Admission to Museum Galleries 8:00 pm ~ Staged Reading Performance Limited Seating! Tickets here <http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/#!women-on-fire---mamai-benefit/c1eh6>! 2016 Venue & Ticket Information Mamai is thrilled to return downtown to The Cleveland Masonic Performing Arts Center <http://www.paccleveland.com/>, 3615 Euclid Avenue at E. 36th Street, with free and ample parking in an onsite gated lot, air-conditioning, and ADA-accessibility. Mamai will mount all three of its 2016 productions on the beautiful 1920s proscenium stage inside the DeMolay Room. Top Girls By Caryl Churchill Directed by Jaime Bouvier June 2-19, 2016 Top Girls transgresses ancient to modern femininity in two distinct acts. Act One features an imagined restaurant table full of ladies who lunch... in a time-traveling dialogue from various centuries and cultures in womankind's history! Act Two is a springboard departure into family drama-- a personal examination of relationships between mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. Lady Windermere's Fan By Oscar Wilde Directed Bernadette Clemens July 14-31, 2016 Oscar Wilde fans the flames of Edwardian social change with his typical adroitness. Comedy and manners offer a tongue-lashing, suspenseful assault on Victorian values. An attractive stranger invades the domestic bliss of Lady & Lord Windermere, and her past has the potential to drastically alter their future. Lord Darlington plays a hand. All bets hinge on chance, fate, accident... and a fan. The Woman Hater - U.S. Premiere! By Fanny Burney Directed Christine McBurney August 18-September 4, 2016 An absurdly satirical indictment of the excesses of both men and women, this 1802 comedy remained unproduced until 2003. When Sir Roderick is jilted by Lady Smatter, he proclaims himself a woman-hater and is determined to keep his young heir away from the opposite sex. Identities are mistaken, social pretensions are deliciously exposed, and the gender constructs of wifely and daughterly duties are boldly upended — bringing forth a new kind of heroine. You can sponsor <http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/#!tickets/cvvh>, join our mailing list <http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/#!tickets/cvvh> or purchase tickets <http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/#!three-sisters/cguq> online! TICKETS: <http://sic.brownpapertickets.com/>www.mamaitheatreco.org or 440.394.8353 Adults: $22 Seniors (65 & older): $20 Students (25 & under): $15 Mamai Theatre Company was co-founded in 2010 by Bernadette Clemens, Wendy Kriss, Christine McBurney, and Derdriu Ring. Mamai (pronounced Mah' may) is the Gaelic word for “mother.” Four working mothers, theatre artists, colleagues, and friends arrived at a place where it was time to create opportunities for themselves and their community. “Don’t wait to create” became the inspiration for Mamai Theatre Company. Our mission is to create intelligent, relevant classical theatre that offers an artistic home for Cleveland's theatre artists, and equal opportunity for women in the professional theatre community. In 2013 The Plain Dealer announced, “Mamai Theatre Company...has made a howling entrance onto the city’s artistic scene” and named their inaugural production, Medea, a top-10 theatre event of the year. In 2014 LandofCleve.net added, “In only a few short years, Mamai Theatre Company has established themselves as a major player in the Cleveland theatre community." We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. ###