CLEVELAND — The COVID-19 pandemic and inflation have hit everyone hard, and community theatres were not immune to it, but some in Northeast Ohio found ways to keep their shows afloat.
Nicole Sumlin first performed when she was three years old; now, 40 years later, she’s an actor, singer, writer, director, producer and director of Education at Cleveland Public Theater.
“In the small theaters I have seen connection to communities. I've seen leaning into voices that have been missing,” said Sumlin.
Due to a lack of investments, increased costs and smaller audiences, theatres across the nation have been hurting, and many are closing, but at Cleveland Public Theatre, Raymond Bobgan, the executive artistic director, believes the answer isn't in methods of the past.
“I think what's happened really is that theater across the country has relied on a very small segment of the population, predominantly high wealth individuals or middle-income folks who attend those theatre and so theatres have become not an essential place to go,” said Bobgan.
Instead, they focus on original plays that involve reinvention, diverse artists and topics including cultural and social issues and politics.
“We're very focused on telling stories that are essentially in our community,” said Bobgan.
Innovation and reinvention are also what got CPT and four other theatre companies across the nation with similar missions a $2.5 million grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation that will be divided five ways over a two-year span.
The other theaters include Mosaic Theatre in Washington, D.C., Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska, Company One Theatre in Boston and Crowded Fire Theatre in San Francisco.
“The idea is to support the work that we're already doing to double down on that work and then even further, that we're going to be connecting with each other. We're going to be sharing, what we are doing, how are you making theatre? How are you connecting with community?” said Bobgan.
The goal is to reinvent how people look at art, reminding them that theater is more than entertainment.
“Theater is ultimately about feeling seen and seeing people in new ways,” said Bobgan.
To Nicole, it is an essential place filled with conscience, compassion and education.
“I hope for moving forward is that the work continues in a way that people respond to and connect to and that they open their eyes and ears and broaden their perspective as to what art making is,” said Sumlin.
Cleveland Public Theatre does have a show coming up in the next two weeks; it is called Requiem’s, and its opening night is March 16.
