Thu 7/25-Sat 8/4
Cleveland Public Theatre’s 30-year-old STEP (Student Theatre Enrichment Program) program is yet another branch of its wildly diverse programming that seeming misses no corner of the community. It hires mostly low-income, inner-city kids ages 14-19, many without prior theater experience, to spend eight weeks creating, writing, producing and presenting a finished play, working under the guidance of CPT staff, which is performed for free at public locations around the city.
This year’s production is called Carved, an adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio. As per the synopsis, “An enchanted stick is carved into existence by a grief-ridden woodworker. Seeing the human world through new eyes, this mystical being goes on an adventure to discover what it means to be ‘real’ inside of a world filled with twists and tangles. Mistakes are made but returns to a magical repair shop offer chances to try again. Our characters learn to build a compass for living life, with guidance from the spirits of the natural world.”
The tour starts at Herman Park at 6198 Herman Avenue of Thursday July 25 @ 7pm; moves to the east side to the Romanian Cultural Garden on Saturday July 27 @ 1pm; down to Slavic Village’s Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus on Monday July 29 @ 7pm; to Halloran Park on the far west side Tuesday July 30 @ 7pm; to Outhwaite Homes Community Center in the Central neighborhood Wednesday July 31 @ 6pm; and the Riverside Park Estates Community Center on Thursday August 1 @ 6pm.
It wraps up on Saturday August 3 @ 7pm in Tremont’s Lincoln Park as part of its Arts in August series, and comes home to Cleveland Public Theatre Sunday August 4 @ 7pm. Bring a blanket or chair to the outdoor performances.