New Drama SOMETHING CLEAN Comes To Dobama Next Month

Dobama Theatre's 2023/24 mainstage season continues with the Regional Premiere of SOMETHING CLEAN by Selina Fillinger and directed by Shannon Sindelar. The production runs March 8-30, 2024 at Dobama, Cleveland's Off-Broadway Theatre.

​Charlotte is a devoted mother, wife, and respectable member of the community. But when an act of violence is committed by a member of her own home, she must confront a new reality as her once-immaculate world is tainted forever. Selina Fillinger's gripping new drama is both suspenseful and stirring as it follows one woman's struggle to make sense of her own grief, love, and culpability. The line between love and complicity isn't clean.

Playwright Selina Fillinger is quickly emerging as one of the American Theatre's most important voices. She is one of the youngest women writers to have a play produced on Broadway (POTUS), which garnered three Tony award nominations. However, SOMETHING CLEAN is far different from the all-female farce that received so much attention. The inspiration for SOMETHING CLEAN was an article about Brock Turner, the Stanford University swimmer from Ohio who raped a woman behind a dumpster. Similar to an event described in the play, there were witnesses who saw Mr. Turner commit the crime, he was sentenced to six months in prison, and ended up getting out after three months. Soon thereafter there was an attempt to repeal his sex offender status that was denied. Ms. Fillinger said, "I was following that story, and I saw a photo of him walking to court holding his mother's hand. It was an incredibly domestic and maternal image. She looked stoic and warm; she looked almost like she was taking him to his first day of school. If you saw the photo out of context, you wouldn't have known she was walking her rapist son to court. I couldn't stop thinking, what is the cognitive dissonance you have to do every single day when you're a woman whose son was seen raping another woman? To me, it was fascinating, and I wanted to see if I could write about sexual assault without giving voice to a rapist character or depicting a rape on stage."

The New York Times called SOMETHING CLEAN "...a thoughtful, poignant new play... a beautifully observed, richly compassionate new drama." The playwright shared, "I would say SOMETHING CLEAN is about consent and intimacy and the ways we are societally complicit in the violations that occur. These things don't happen in a vacuum. Somewhere along the way, this young man thought it was okay to do this crime. I feel we've given enough airtime to the rapists and that it's time to look at the other characters around them. The people who are related to them and those who suffer by their actions."

The Dobama Theatre production features Derdriu Ring* (CHARLOTTE), Robert Ellis* (DOUG/ POLICEMAN), Isaiah Betts (JOEY/ FRAT BOY), and Doug Sutherland (u/s DOUG)
*member Actors' Equity Association

The creative team for the production includes Scenic Design by Naoko Skala, Lighting Design and Technical Direction by Jeremy Paul, Sound Design by Angie Hayes, Costume Design by Lainey Bodenburg, Props Design by Andy Zicari, Intimacy Direction by Casey Venema, and Assistant Direction by Cali Parey.

"We're thrilled about the cast and creative team that have been assembled to realize this superb script on the Dobama stage," said Artistic Director Nathan Motta. "This moving, relevant, and thought-provoking play is one that I know will stay with audiences long after the final curtain. I expect those who experience this production will have some meaningful conversations on their ride home from the theater."

As part of the theatre's new Full Circle Program, Dobama is partnering with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. The Full Circle program actively engages members from communities represented in the scripts Dobama produces to both the theatre-making process and to audience enrichment offerings. For this production, Hester Rathbone, Director of Clinical Services at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center will participate in the rehearsal process providing consultation to the cast and creative team. During the run, representatives from the CRCC will participate in post-show conversations following designated performances. Literature about services provided by the CRCC will be offered to patrons at every show and audiences will be given the opportunity to donate to the organization before and after each performance. For more information on the Full Circle program, visit: dobama.org/full-circle.

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