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Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative (CPI) is a grassroots, non-profit arts organization of Tri-State playwrights, directors, actors, and theater supporters dedicated to developing new plays written by local playwrights. CPI strives to provide a forum for playwrights to explore the possibilities contained within their work by providing a community of playwrights within which individual initiative can seek its fullest expression.  

WHAT'S NEXT IN PLAYWRITING

OUR NEXT STAGED READING

"Shame Bomb”

by Ed H. Clark


DON’T DUCK THIS APRIL C.P.I. BOMB! (No Foolin’)

A President whose wife has been assassinated; an energetic Chief of Staff, and an attractive Congresswoman are desperately seeking to pass some sensible gun legislation. But they can’t get it done without the aid of a contemporary Deus ex Machina. All of the above figure into Ed H. Clark’s satire, Shame Bomb, which has its Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative staged reading, Tuesday, April 16, at 7:30 in the Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Bank Theater. Tickets, just $10 apiece, are available on line at www.CincinnatiArts.org, by calling (513) 621-2787, or at the door on the evening of the performance.

"Cold Serial”

by Brian Forschner


C.P.I.’s MAY READING BRINGS BACK THE AMERICAN ‘RIPPER’

Playwright Brian Forschner has a personal connection to the events in Cold Serial, Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative’s May 21 (Tuesday) staged reading at 7:30 PM in the Aronoff Center’s Jarson Kaplan Theater. Adapted from his book, Cold Serial takes us back to the first decade of the 20 th Century when ‘Jack the Strangler’ raped and murdered a succession of girls and young women in Dayton, OH. Eventually, a suspect was arrested and tried, but was he the real ‘Jack,’ or did that villain get away with murder? For only $10 per ticket you may decide for yourself by going to CincinnatiArts.org, or ’phoning (513) 621-2787. Or get ’em at the door on May 14.

"Passacaglia”

by Jim DeBrosse


C.P.I. EXPLORES BACH’S ‘DARK NIGHT’ IN SEPT. READING

J. S. Bach, creator of so much inspiring liturgical music, experiences an agonizing “dark night of the soul” in Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative’s September 10 reading of Jim DeBrosse’s Passacaglia at 7:30 p. m. in the Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Bank Theater. Bach’s conflict with his musical upstart son, Carl Phillipe Emmanuel, exacerbates the older man’s term of trial. But, in the manner of J. S Bach’s music, reconciliation and resolution mark the end of his life. It’s all on view for only $10. Call (513) 2787; go on line at CincinnatiArts.org; or get tickets at the door, the evening of performance.


C.P.I. OFFERS SWEET & SOUR CELEBRATION OF ‘SWEETEST DAY’

Nine short plays, some with ‘alternative’ views of romance, will be given staged readings, courtesy of Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative, at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Theater. CPI acknowledges here that a few (or more) folks regard ‘Sweetest Day’ as a commercial ploy to peddle Valentine’s Day-like commodities—candy, flowers, et al. Titles like A Boy & His Frog; Pulling Out; The Old & the Nu; and Wedding Blisster offer hints at other-than-Hallmark-y themes. (Parental guidance suggested for this event.) Tickets, only $10 apiece, may be had by calling (513) 621-2787 or by going on line at www.CincinnatiArts.org, or at the Fifth Third box office on the evening of performance.

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