Cleveland Public Theatre Selected To Receive Network Of Ensemble Theaters (NET) 2017/2018 Exchange Grant

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) is proud to receive a Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET) 2017/2018 Exchange Grant with sister theatre Mondo Bizarro (New Orleans, LA). NET/TEN Exchange Grants build on and deepen existing relationships through shared activity and peer-to-peer learning.

Through NET Exchange Grants, partners have the opportunity to learn from each other while building on a prior relationship in order to deepen technique or methodology, follow a mutual interest, build a shared work, or present a performance. Exchange Grants are designed to allow lead applicants and partners to take financial risks, explore something beyond what they are already doing, and to more fully capitalize on collaborations.

According to Raymond Bobgan, CPT Executive Artistic Director and Creator/Director of Red Ash Mosaic: "We are beyond grateful for NET's support, allowing CPT and Cleveland Core Ensemble to learn from and share with Mondo Bizarro, a theatre whose work, values, and passion we admire. This grant not only allowed us to perform outside of Cleveland but also build upon an existing relationship, exchange work, and learn alongside an organization with a deep regard for rigor."

This NET Exchange Grant allowed Mondo Bizarro and Cleveland Public Theatre to participate in an exchange in New Orleans which included a three-night presentation of Cleveland Core Ensemble's Red Ash Mosaic, two days of training, and a half-day symposium with local artists. All activities took place at the performance laboratory Catapult, Mondo Bizarro's shared creative home.

ABOUT NETWORK OF ENSEMBLE THEATERS

A national community of artists and arts organizations dedicated to collaborative creation, the Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET) exists to propel ensemble theatre practice to the forefront of culture and society. NET links a diverse array of ensembles and practitioners to one another and the performing arts field, encouraging collaborations and knowledge building/dissemination. NET is committed to the advancement of the ensemble form and strives to bring about change in the world beyond ourselves through the transformative power of collaborative theatre and ensemble practice. NET supports bold artistic and civic experiments and aims to heighten the impact and excellence of ensemble theatre. www.ensembletheaters.net

ABOUT MONDO BIZARRO

Mondo Bizarro is a New Orleans-based company that has been creating daring, interdisciplinary art, and fostering creative partnerships in local, national, and international communities for the last fourteen years. They are an ensemble that creates, presents, and produces a wide array of imaginative projects aimed at utilizing art as a tool for understanding what makes us commonly human and individually unique. Mondo Bizarro's work is intentionally multi-disciplinary, ranging from physical theatre to large-scale community festivals; from innovative digital storytelling to site-responsive productions. www.mondobizarro.org

ABOUT Raymond Bobgan, CPT EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
This is Raymond Bobgan's 12th season in the leadership position at Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT). Raymond specializes in working through an ensemble process to create new performances that are bold, multilayered, and highly physical. Raymond's work has been seen in Romania, Brazil, Denmark, Serbia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Canada and has been featured in American Theatre Magazine, Canadian Theatre Review, Theatre Journal, and in Lisa Wolford's book Grotowski's Objective Drama Research. Raymond has created many works for CPT including: Red Ash Mosaic; Feefer Rising, with Faye Hargate; Rusted Heart Broadcast; Insomnia: The Waking of Herselves, with Holly Holsinger and Chris Seibert; Cut to Pieces, with Chris Seibert; Blue Sky Transmission: A Tibetan Book of the Dead, co-produced by CPT and La MaMa ETC (NY); and The Confessions of Punch and Judy, co-produced by CPT, NaCl (NY) and Number 11 Theatre (Toronto), which was published in New Canadian Theatre Volume 9.

While serving as Executive Artistic Director at Cleveland Public Theatre, Raymond initiated the Student Theatre Enrichment Program (STEP), a job-training theatre program for low-income teens, Y-Haven Theatre Project which engages formerly homeless men in writing and performing theatre, Teatro Publico de Cleveland, CPT's resident Latino theatre company, and Station Hope, a community arts festival honoring Cleveland's social justice heritage and exploring contemporary issues of social justice. Raymond is currently working with Arabic speaking communities to create theatre projects in Arabic and English. Raymond and Cleveland Core Ensemble's production of Red Ash Mosaic is currently touring nationally to New Orleans, Detroit, and Columbus.

In 2017, Raymond received the Cisgender Ally Award at Cleveland's Transgender Day of Remembrance, and in 2015, received Equality Ohio's Ally Award. He received the 2017 Governor's Award for the Arts in Ohio and in 2014 became the first recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize in the discipline of Theatre. He currently serves on the National New Play Network Executive Committee, Theatre Communications Group Board of Directors, and is the Chair of the Board of the Gordon Square Arts District. Raymond is a two-time recipient of the Creative Workforce Fellowship (2010 for theatre, 2014 for music composition), a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. Under his leadership, CPT has eliminated significant debt, run consistent operating surpluses, and formed both a Building Reserve and an Innovation Reserve. This financial advancement was a result of mission-focused programming including a strong emphasis on supporting new works and local artists, a bold aesthetic vision, and CPT's education and engagement programs.

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