Convergence-Continuum Presents the Cleveland Premiere of THE OLDEST PROFESSION

Convergence-continuum presents the Cleveland premiere of THE OLDEST PROFESSION by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel. It's 1981, the year in which Ronald Reagan is about to the White House, and five hookers of advanced age (50's-70's) are faced with a diminishing clientele, increased competition for their niche market, and aching joints. The motley crew of ladies - who ply their trade on New Yorks' Upper West Side -- have been colleagues for decades. With wit, compassion, humor, and some pretty naughty songs, they struggle to find and learn new tricks as they fight to stay in "the Life" in their era of trickle-down economics.

THE OLDEST PROFESSION is directed by Amy Bistok, with Moss Stanley, Music Director, pianist and Jonathan Wilhelm, Stage Manager / Assistant Director. The cast features actors Lucy Bredeson-Smith, Jeanne Madison, Marcia Mandell, Jeanne Task and Valerie Young.

THE OLDEST PROFESSION opens Fri, Mar 23 and runs Thurs-Sat at 8 pm through Apr 14 at the Liminis Theater, 2438 Scranton Rd, Cleveland 44113 in the historic Tremont neighborhood. Fri & Sat tickets are $20 general admission, $15 seniors (65+), $10 students; Thurs tickets are $15, $12 and $8.

This production is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

Paula Vogel has written How I Learned to Drive (Pulitzer Prize, New York Drama Critics Award, Obie Award, Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and many more.) Other plays include A Civil War Christmas, The Long Christmas Ride Home, The Mineola Twins, Hot 'n' Throbbin, The Baltimore Waltz, Desdemona, And Baby Makes Seven, and The Oldest Profession. Her latest play, Indecent, closed its Broadway run in August 2017 and is currently playing or scheduled for production throughout the country.

Playwright, screenwriter, and professor Paula Vogel has headed Brown University's Playwriting Workshop since 1985. The Workshop is a two-year MFA program with playwrights from all over the country participating in readings, cabarets and a festival of new plays produced in repertory each year.

The Oldest Profession received its New York premiere by Signature Theatre Company at the Peter Norton Space, opening in September 2004. Subsequently it has been produced in numerous theaters throughout the country, including a recent production by the Rainbow Theatre Project in Washington, DC.

The Oldest Profession is the fourth play by Paula Vogel which convergence-continuum has produced, having presented Hot 'n' Throbbin in 2004; And Baby Makes Seven in 2006; and The Mineola Twins in 2009.

The convergence-continuum production of The Oldest Profession is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

The Oldest Profession, the company's 100th production, is the first of six in the 2018 Season (our seventeenth). The company's season runs from February (during which we stage the NEOMFA Playwrights Festival) through December. Many of the cast and crew of The Oldest Profession have been involved in previous convergence-continuum productions in many and various capacities, while some, we are delighted to say, are newcomers to our boards. The company seeks to create a core ensemble that continues to work together over the long term in exploring and developing its artistic voice and performance and production practices, to create up-close, environmentally-staged productions that challenge the status quo and extend the boundaries of theatre.

The company's artistic home since 2002 (which the company purchased in January 2017!) is the Liminis Theater, an intimate, versatile, storefront performance space, with maximum seating of 40-50 depending on the set-up for each show. The company produces alternative/experimental theatre work by living playwrights, and completely transforms the Liminis for each show, immersing audiences into the world of the play in up-close productions.

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