Thu 10/13-Mon 10/31
Cleveland Public Theatre has been unveiling its next product Candlelight Hypothesis slowly, in stages. Back in 2020, during the pandemic, it offered a section of it called Dragon Hypothesis, written by CPT’s executive artistic director Raymond Bobgan and developed with its Cleveland CORE Ensemble which was formed “to sustain the conditions to develop unique theatre practices, investigate the potential of the craft of acting, and create a distinctive body of theatrical works.” It was then described as “a work-in-progress from a larger piece called Candlelight Hypothesis #1-12.”
Then, this past spring, Candlelight Hypothesis Workshop was presented onstage at CPT, directed by Bobgan. It was described as “unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” blending dance, music, monologues and theatrical scenes, with a audience/participants in this immersive experience admitted in small groups at 25-minute intervals. The performance repeats 2.5 times during the evening; you can stay for one cycle or for the entire evening to “curate your own experience.”
So what do visitors get to see? It’s described as “a theatrical museum or an artistic haunted house … a mythical world where origami comes to life, moths journey to a star, and a candleflame opens a magical doorway.”
“Each incarnation weaving in and out of reality and mythology, this work continues to seek a theatrical poetry, where image and idea, sound and substance, vision and virtuosity weave together in an effort to discover and articulate a piece of the ineffable human experience of meeting the mind,” they continue.
All tickets are “pay what you choose, walk-up ticket sales stop at 7pm. Cycles start at 6:45pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday and 2:45pm on Sunday October 23. It previews on Thursday October 13, with official opening night Friday October 14, and runs through Monday October 31.
cptonline/candlelight-hypothesis-2/