How To Get Involved In Cleveland's Theater Community
In most large urban areas across America, the fine arts are a vital part of the community, and rightly so. Time and time again, it is shown that when theaters and community arts centers move into a neighborhood, the standard of living raises and crime goes down. Coupled with this is the fact that children exposed to the fine arts as part of the education process show an increase in grade averages.
Here in Cleveland, we are in a golden age of fine arts and in particular "The Theater." PlayhouseSquare is the second largest theater district in the country and boasts the largest number of paid subscribers in the United States. Add to this the dozen or so regional theaters that specialize in everything from Shakespeare to 60-minute intimate one-act plays by local playwrights and you can see why Cleveland is a happening place for the fine arts.
With all of this live performing happening, there is no secret that it takes a veritable army to get these productions from the computer screen to the stage. So how does one go about becoming involved in this process? Here are some tips on how to pitch in.
The Beck Center (Credit, Mark Horning)
Volunteering
Rather than spending an evening parked in front of the TV, get out and help some theater organizations. PlayhouseSquare, The Beck Center for the Arts and Severance Hall are always in need of personnel as well as the many small theater groups such as Theater Ninjas, Talespinner Children's Theater, Convergence-Continuum, Ensemble Theater, Blank Canvas Theater, Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Play House and Cleveland Public Theater. Check out their volunteer opportunities at their various websites below. Also, if you have specific skills such as electrical, photographic or even grant writing, you are definitely needed.
Related: Best Volunteer Opportunities For Art Lovers In Cleveland
Cuyahoga Community College (Credit, Mark Horning)
Classes
Many of the theatrical companies supplement their grants and ticket sales by putting on various classes, workshops and camps. By attending these classes, you not only get a chance to scratch your creative itch, but you help the organizations pay the bills in order to put on more involved productions. The Beck Center for the Arts (for youngsters and adults) and Talespinner Children Theater (for youngsters) comes to mind. Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) also offers classes as part of its adult enrichment series.
Cleveland Shakespeare Festival (Credit, Mark Horning)
Acting
You have taken some classes and you suddenly discover that you have "the acting bug." How do you scratch it? From time to time, open auditions are offered through a variety of local theatrical companies. Great Lakes Theater has auditions for minor and major roles. Cleveland Shakespeare Festival has open mic nights to test your metal. Beck Center uses actors from its various classes to fill roles for its many productions. Before you can say, "To be or not to be...," you may find yourself onstage in front of friends and neighbors.
Be an informed audience
For many of us, the thought of treading the boards brings on cold sweats and tremors. We are the eternal audience who is quite comfortable sitting behind that fourth wall. For frequent goers of the theater though, some of the fun is in doing research prior to the show. Most local newspapers carry reviews of current shows as well as online blogs such as coolcleveland.com and clevelandtheaterreviews.com, and in most cases you can Google the name of the play and find further reviews and synopses of the production. Some works advertise pre-show discussions, script read throughs and post-show Q&As. Cleveland Public Theater's Big Box is a series of new unperformed works that are in the process of getting their first public readings. Something else you can do is to get others involved. Organize a group of workers, friends or neighbors to go see a play together, and then meet afterwards to discuss its various points.
Foundations
Although some foundations that support the arts in Cleveland are government run (including The National Endowment for the Arts. Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The Ohio Arts Council) and others are started by families (The George Gund Foundation, The Murphy Foundation and the Kulas Foundation), there is one that if you are well off, you can contribute to advancing the arts in Cleveland. This is, of course, "The Cleveland Foundation" which takes money from its donors and disperses it to various causes such as education, social reform, neighborhood reconstruction and the arts. Check it out at www.clevelandfoundation.org. If you are not wealthy, most of the small regional theaters have donation boxes in their lobbies. Drop a few bucks in the next time you pass one.
Mark Horning is a freelance writer covering all things Cleveland. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
