Periodical Supplement to Cleveland Jewish News, August 16, 2024
NORTHEAST OHIO | arts | music | performance Fall 2024
OCTOBER 30, 2024 – APRIL 20, 2025
For each fall issue of Canvas, we focus special attention on the performing arts scene in Cleveland.
This issue is timed to coincide with when local theaters, dance troupes and other performing arts organizations kick o their new seasons. That way, we help our readers get excited about what they will witness on local stages in the coming year, and we help the organizations get their can’t miss shows out to the public.
You may remember in this issue last year, we had our inaugural feature on rising dancers in Northeast Ohio. And this year, we profile three actors rising professionally on Cleveland stages and beyond, which we also did back in 2022. Each actor was nominated by a local theater company as an important one to watch.
In their interviews with Canvas, the actors shared with us some of their biggest successes and challenges thus far in their careers. Actor Chris Richards, who I interviewed for his profile, talked about how there’s always the challenge of trying to make new, meaningful connections that lead to interesting, rewarding and paying work. In a competitive industry that’s hard to break into, the struggle doesn’t end once you see some level of success. The challenge of always auditioning and pushing forward to create new opportunities for yourself continues.
That constant grind is relatable, and I think many of us non-performers can relate to the struggle of always trying to stay relevant, learn and feel as though you are putting out your best work. Reading these profiles, I came away with the impression that consistently working as an actor is a success in itself, and Northeast Ohio is fortunate to have so many great ones on our stages.
Also on the stage theme, we highlight Stagecrafters Youth Theatre, the wellknown dramatic arts program of the Orange Community Education & Recreation department. The program is celebrating its 50th year with a special event featuring alums of the program who have since gone on to perform on Broadway.
And, as always, in the visual arts category, in this issue we profile two intriguing artists, Gianna Commito and Maggie Denk-Leigh, as well as KINK Contemporary gallery in Cleveland’s Waterloo Arts District. We also preview an exhibit coming to WOLFS Gallery in Beachwood this fall, showing the collection of the late art collector and businessman Albert Wasserman.
I hope you enjoy this stage issue and it inspires you to check out some performances locally this season. Our next issue in the winter will be our annual Who’s Next issue, focusing on emerging visual artists in Northeast Ohio. If you’d like to nominate any early-career artists to be featured in that section – either yourself or someone else – I encourage you to email me at editor@canvascle.com by Sept. 5.
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DEDE BANDAID & NITZAN MINTZ
Curated by Matthew Garson
Curated by Matthew Garson
Exhibition Opening with Artist Talk on Sunday, September 15,1 pm
Exhibition Opening with Artist Talk on Sunday, September 15,1 pm
Join us on Sunday, September 15
Join us on Sunday, September 15
to hear from Dede and Nitzan about their role of activist-artists, how they developed their campaign of kidnapped posters, and how the posters became a worldwide phenomenon.
to hear from Dede and Nitzan about their role of activist-artists, how they developed their campaign of kidnapped posters, and how the posters became a worldwide phenomenon.
Translation for “Untitled”-Seems to be my biggest fears are happening now.
Translation for “Untitled”-Seems to be my biggest fears are happening now.
Open through April 2025
Open through April 2025
Roe Green Gallery
Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Roe Green Gallery
Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood
In the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, narrative street artist Dede Bandaid and street poet Nitzan Mintz combined their public street art with a viral activist campaign to create fliers calling for the immediate release of the of the hostages.
In the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, narrative street artist Dede Bandaid and street poet Nitzan Mintz combined their public street art with a viral activist campaign to create fliers calling for the immediate release of the of the hostages.
Compiled by Amanda Koehn
“Transcendent Dreamscapes” | Aug. 27 – Oct. 27
The Surrealism art movement began in Europe in the 1920s, encompassing artists who create out of the ordinary or strange scenes developed from the subconscious, balancing elements of surprise with components that might seem more rational. The movement later became popular in the United States when European surrealist exiles fled to New York during World War II. Through unexpected visuals, surrealist artwork challenges viewers to reconcile moments of dreams and reality. In “Transcendent Dreamscapes: Exploring Surrealism Through the CMA Collection,” opening at the Canton Museum of Art, surrealist works from the museum’s collection come together for a fantastical exhibition. It both reflects on the history of the movement and features contemporary artists in the collection who use surrealist ideas in their work.
The Canton Museum of Art is at 1001 Market Ave., N., Canton. cantonart.org
Annual arts festival | Sept. 14
The annual Waterloo Arts Fest highlights the artistically vibrant Waterloo Arts & Entertainment District in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland. Over more than two decades, the festival has grown yet remained grounded in community and local art. It aims to draw visitors and residents alike to the district for 90-plus local maker booths, over eight fine art galleries, seven stages with 40-plus bands playing a variety of musical genres, and activities for those of all ages. Put on by Waterloo Arts, the festival is free and has a variety of food and drink available for purchase from area vendors, food trucks and district venues.
The Waterloo Arts Fest is from noon to 7 p.m. Sept. 14, and stretches a half mile on Waterloo Road from Calcutta Avenue to East 161st Street. waterlooartsfest.org
“Persistence of Vision” | Now through Sept. 14
Northeast Ohio mixed-media artist Kasumi uses new technology to transform physical materials, digital media and live performance into art. She conceptualizes movements, expressions and gestures that depict experiences of modern reality in her work. A retrospective of her artwork from the late 1990s to present are now on view in Summit Artspace’s Betty and Howard Taylor Main Gallery. The works featured in “Persistence of Vision” reflect the ongoing experimentation the artist has become renowned for internationally. While best known for her digital videos and films, Kasumi’s range of methods and media, which includes collage, printmaking, painting, installation and more, are all demonstrated in this exhibit. “Persistence of Vision” is presented alongside four other summer exhibits in Summit Artspace galleries.
Summit Artspace is at 140 E. Market St., Akron. summitartspace.org
“Glow: Neon and Light” | Sept. 21, 2024 – Feb. 9, 2025
Highlighting artists who use analog mediums like glass, mirrors, light bulbs and neon tubes, Akron Art Museum galleries will be immersed in these bright, electric works. Instead of text-heavy artwork that often uses neon, this exhibit focuses on sculptural installations that explore light in a 3D way. The exhibit will also share information about light’s scientific properties, such as the chemical elements involved and how it illuminates within electrified glass tubes. It aims to address how color affects perceptions and experiences of the viewer, and how interpretations may shift when the neon lights are shown in a gallery space versus in urban spaces. Each artwork will include light elements and concepts, but visual styles will vary.
The Akron Art Museum is at 1 S. High St., Akron.
akronartmuseum.org
Chris Kaspar and Greg Martin: “Shifts” | Through Sept. 28
Photographers and art educators Chris Kaspar and Greg Martin present new work thematically exploring time through photography. Their new exhibit, “Shifts” at BAYarts reflects on how technology works alongside conventional tools and ideas regarding photography, from what it was to what it is now. It aims to celebrate the innovation and ingenuity that can happen when creative forces combine with technological advances.
The exhibit is in the BAYarts Sullivan Family Gallery, 28795 Lake Road, Bay Village. bayarts.net
By Lydia Kacala
The late Northeast Ohio businessman Albert Wasserman collected a wealth of art from Cleveland School artists, spanning pieces created around the region over decades.
On Oct. 4, WOLFS Gallery in Beachwood will present the art collection of Wasserman, who owned Cleveland menswear shop Mr. Albert’s Men’s World, in a new exhibit. It will include pieces for sale and highlight the works Wasserman collected from Cleveland School artists, Michael Wolf, director of WOLFS Gallery, tells Canvas. The exhibit is on view through Nov. 9.
“Albert Wasserman collected what we call Cleveland School art and decorative arts,” Wolf says, adding that the Cleveland School is an umbrella term for artists who worked in the region.
Traditionally, the Cleveland School artists began as students or faculty at the Cleveland School of Art, now the Cleveland Institute of Art, who gained notoriety locally and
beyond. The works encapsulated in the name “Cleveland School” span from the early 1900s through the early 2000s, according to a news release from WOLFS Gallery.
Through this time period, art and artists evolved, with some exploring regionalism, involving realistic depictions of rural America and Neo-expressionism, which is characterized by expressive brushstrokes paired with the rejection of traditional composition, the release notes.
Wasserman, born June 26, 1930, founded Mr. Albert’s Men’s World, which first opened at 14959 St. Clair Ave. in Cleveland. At his shop, Wasserman sold “rather exotic” pieces of menswear, Wolf says.
The shop is now housed at 618 Prospect Ave. in Cleveland and owned by Ike Simmons, who sells clothing – blazers, bow ties, dress shirts and pants, shoes and more – similar to the items Wasserman sold, according to Cleveland Magazine.
Wasserman built his art collection with pieces from di erent periods and media, but he was especially drawn to ceramics and paintings, Wolf says. His collection was broad, collecting from di erent artists and themes.
“He was more interested in quality examples of di erent artists,” Wolf says.
However, his interests leaned toward contemporary art and art made in the early 1900s, says Christopher Pekoc, a mixed-media artist and retired professor who taught painting and drawing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland for 30 years.
Wasserman’s collection included paintings of people and landscapes, as well as ceramic sculptures of people and animals. Some pieces on display in the exhibit include “Floral Study,” an 8 x 8 inch painting of blue and red flowers made of copper enamel by Cleveland artist Kenneth Bates (1904-1994), and “Girl in Pink Sweater,” a 14-inch tall ceramic statute of a girl from the waist up wearing a pink sweater by Cleveland artist Edris Eckhardt (1905-1998).
Wasserman’s interest and involvement in the art world was also demonstrated by the connection he built with Pekoc. He was first exposed to Pekoc’s artwork at a showing at art gallery Tregoning & Company, Pekoc recalls.
“My work must have somehow piqued Albert’s interests, and in the back of his mind, he had always wanted to have a
Welcome Reception for the New Director Dr. Sarah Spinner Liska Thursday, August 22 at 5 p.m. Rockwell Hall Atrium
Free Event
Nancy Crow Exhibit Opening Thursday, September 5 at 5 p.m.
Broadbent Gallery
Free Event
Creator Collective Fashion Show Friday, September 27 at 6 p.m.
Broadbent Gallery
Ticketed Event
515 Hilltop Drive Kent, Ohio 44242
330-672-3450
www.kent.edu/museum
portrait done of himself,” Pekoc says.
Wasserman commissioned Pekoc to create his portrait in 2010.
When creating portraits, Pekoc likes to ensure the people they’re depicting have some ownership in them. He and Wasserman worked together to come up with ideas that would show o Wasserman the man.
“I told Albert, ‘We need to have some of your life in here, would you write about your life experiences, some of the important ones that come to your mind?’” Pekoc recalls. “At first, he was resistant.”
Wasserman tried to convince Pekoc to not include his handwriting because he didn’t “write very well” and had dyslexia, Pekoc says. However, including his handwriting was something Pekoc wanted to incorporate because “that’s evidence of your mind at work,” he says.
As the portrait was being created, Wasserman enjoyed going to the art studio, growing closer with Pekoc and often inviting him to lunch, Pekoc says. Wasserman also began asking him to add more details to the portrait, even asking him to increase the size of the piece by six inches in width.
The composition of the portrait took about seven years, with last-minute additions of his two children’s and three grandchildren’s written testimonials, Pekoc notes.
“Albert would call me and he would say, ‘Chris, you’re a genius,’” Pekoc says. “He was very, very involved in watching this thing come together. Then, as time went on, he started to call and say, ‘Chris, I’m going to die, you gotta get this thing
Wasserman died in August of that year, Pekoc says. Even though he was weak by the time the portrait was finished, Wasserman did get an opportunity to see it.
Wolf opened his first gallery in the Coventry neighborhood of Cleveland Heights before he moved to Santa Monica, Calif., where he opened an auction house, he says. Years later, he moved back to the Cleveland area and opened WOLFS Gallery, which started as an auction house and evolved to the curated gallery it is today in Beachwood.
“Everything here is something we’ve selected,” Wolf says. “The whole gallery is really curated and very di erent from the auction house. To me, it’s been much more gratifying because we’re dealing specifically with things we’ve chosen to deal with.”
When putting together the Wasserman exhibit, the gallery combed through his collection, choosing pieces that capture the essence of his collection through its “connoisseurship,” Wolf says.
The Wasserman collection was shared with WOLFS Gallery because of its close connection with Cleveland School artwork, Wolf adds.
“We feature Cleveland School works,” Wolf says. “Ever since we were an auction house, we’ve been known for selling the works of the Cleveland School. It was natural for his family to gravitate to us.”
through Nov. 9. For more information, visit wolfsgallery.com.
By Alyssa Schmitt
When Maggie Denk-Leigh approaches a project, she comes armed with curiosity. The 50-year-old printmaker and Cleveland Institute of Art professor delves in by asking questions and finding meaning both within herself and how it relates to the greater world.
Just as she would cut away layers in a relief carving to discover the image, she contemplates topics and questions until she peels away the message she wishes to impart to the viewer.
“You are visually articulating things that you have seen or want to see so that others can try to understand them better, and help them articulate what they are feeling or seeing in the world,” she says. “That’s the role of the artist.”
In this way, she’s able to bring subjects such as intimate acts of violence, environmental impact and veterans’ stories to the attention of those experiencing her art. Her work can be seen in the collection of the Heights Arts gallery in Cleveland Heights. She’ll also be in the 2024 Faculty Exhibition at the Cleveland Institute of Art, opening Aug. 29, and in a group show at the Fawick Art Gallery at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, opening Oct. 14.
Denk-Leigh will also participate in a panel discussion at Bowling Green State University on Veterans Day on Nov. 11, as part of the Experiencing Veterans and Artists Collaborations project, in which she has two works displayed. The project pairs artists with veterans’ experiences to tell their stories.
“Print has this really strong connection (to) awareness,” she says. “It’s kind of like having a voice that is sometimes loud, sometimes poetic, sometimes narrative, sometimes text.”
When finishing her master’s degree in fine arts at Clemson University in South Carolina, Denk-Leigh posed a prompt to herself as guidance.
“If I’m going to go be an artist and make work, what is meaningful to say?” she asked herself.
She first practiced it when determining what she would research for her MFA thesis. She focused on intimate acts of violence and how we understand violence in our culture. She had access to a vast amount of research at Clemson and dove into the work for about eight to 10 years after her thesis, she says.
Looking back on that work, she says it is not just that one’s voice needs to be heard, but the work needs to be in front of someone who can do something about it.
“It’s one thing to be the voice for somebody else. It’s another thing to tell somebody else or show somebody else that they need to be the voice for that person,” she explains. “So, it’s like you’re making that bridge for somebody else.”
In her more recent work, she’s focused on Alzheimer’s disease, explored in prints, drawings and pulp sculptures. The theme stemmed from her mother’s struggle with the disease since 2016, and often comes out in botanical images.
“I am trying to understand it’s not the disease – it’s how we function as people, as a society caring for those that have those challenges,” she says.
Denk-Leigh is also focusing on carvings surrounding the
“Looking Back, Looking Forward,” created as part of Maggie Denk-Leigh’s work for the Experiencing Veterans and Artists Collaborations project. The project pairs artists with veterans’ experiences to
and lithography the second, when they switched the printer over. However, her instructor was going on leave and wasn’t going to change the printer, so Denk-Leigh immersed herself in lithography that year.
“I just kind of fell in love with it,” she says. “It was just a very big, curious puzzle to me that I hadn’t had before. So, I spent my entire senior year making lithography.”
It’s a process she continues to this day. She also notes that if she didn’t have a studio like the one at the CIA – where she is an associate professor and chair of the printmaking department –she would not be able to continue working in lithography. The process itself has allowed her to create pictorial images that are more illustrative and narrative, which is the way she wants to communicate, she adds.
U.S. Capitol Grounds in Washington, D.C., which she says is not something she views as politically based but rather conscious-based work. She’s looking at how society thinks about leadership or law, and the artwork itself is created in a process called white line woodcut.
Denk-Leigh was born and raised in Parma. Like many young artists, she was introduced to printmaking through relief carving. In this technique, a blank slate is carved away to reveal the image.
She noticed how each stroke needed to be considered as she carved away layer upon layer to discover the final image. If she were to carve too deep, the image would be forever changed, showing the need to build a philosophy of acceptance. When a mistake is made, you move forward with the process, she explains.
“It taught me a lot about accepting materials and process, and kind of seeing what you want to see in the work,” DenkLeigh says.
Entering college at Xavier University in Cincinnati, she studied business and marketing graphic design, but found herself more drawn to the print and design classes and less so to the business side.
By her senior year, she was deep in printmaking. Due to the small print department having only one printer, she planned to work on intaglio printmaking the first semester
Teaching was not in the original plan Denk-Leigh had after college. She had an endless list of teachers in her family, including her father, and she wanted to go in a di erent direction.
However, coaching a girls soccer team in Indiana while working in marketing at the industrial company Hillenbrand, she realized she enjoyed teaching. She searched for a graduate program where she could pursue it and landed at Clemson, earning her master’s in printmaking.
When it comes to higher education, Denk-Leigh believes there’s a crisis. She questions whether students generally want to continue to grow and learn, or rather pursue education because it’s expected of them. And, how can professors and school leaders help them? To her, the answer is simple: It’s about helping students become thoughtful members of society, she says.
That’s why in her teachings at CIA, she encourages her students to be curious about what they want to learn and see.
“My dad’s idea was that if you have the capacity to lead and lead others to do that, then you should,” she says.
Her younger students have a hunger to learn, she says. She breaks down her approach into four questions: How do we learn the thing? How do we introduce the thing? How do we work safely in this shop? And, how do we work as a community together?
She notes that if she were teaching anywhere else, the courses might be a little bit more prescribed.
“We’re really lucky here to have students who are genuinely interested in image making,” she says. “I just plow into it because I can bank on the notion they’re going to come with me because they’re already there.”
For her junior level or intermediate students, she evolves the questions to: Why do we do it this way? How can we do it di erently? And, how can we incorporate new things?
Sarah Kabot, a CIA professor of visual arts, admires how Denk-Leigh’s teachings combine the technical and the conceptual.
“She brings a kind of care to her teaching that involves technical expertise – teaching the students how to use all the materials and equipment that are in front of them – that is paired in such a sophisticated way with her thoughtfulness around their conceptual development,” Kabot says.
While at Xavier, Denk-Leigh was responsible for securing her own internship. She was told to keep asking until she was told yes. Through this process, she was able to intern in Cincinnati’s recreation department, which led to a full-time job. And due to connections there, she secured the marketing position at Hillenbrand.
Teaching at CIA, she noticed a lack of opportunities for her students. Thus, Denk-Leigh shepherded in a program called Creativity Works, which is going on its 10th year and has had more than 100 students involved.
The program is open for visual arts and craft and design students in their junior years to explore how their creative pursuits can be applied in the real world. They come up with a project, make a proposal to receive funding and then “they have to make it happen,” Denk-Leigh says.
The students have partnered with outside institutions such as Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland, Neighborhood Pets in Cleveland and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. The projects have been exhibits, classes, art donations or installations.
The program’s structure allows students to connect with corporations and organizations in the community, showing them that there are ways to work as artists.
Kabot says Creativity Works demonstrates Denk-Leigh’s “big picture thinking, and also an understanding of how that big picture structure would ultimately filter out and impact all of these di erent communities, and encourages students to understand that their work has relevance in various ways –in traditional art ways through museums and galleries, but also in maybe less traditional ways through various kinds of community engagement.”
What’s so clear to Denk-Leigh about printmaking is that it’s about community. Even though a printmaker may be alone in the print shop when they’re creating work, they are not far from their peers.
“(Because you’re in a shared studio), you might not be in here at the same time, but you’re using the same equipment,” she says. “You have to care for the shop. That’s just a community aspect of print that has informed my work for a very long time.”
Denk-Leigh, who now lives in Independence, has been a driving force in making Cleveland a hub for the printmaking community. She’s shown that by bringing conferences to the area and linking her students with the outside printmaking community.
She’s also shown this through her work with the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland. The conservatory is the largest arts center in the United States focused on papermaking, book and letterpress arts. It also helps cultivate new artists and is open to the community.
The conservatory was founded in 2008, and Denk-Leigh was a founding board member. She currently serves as board president.
“I’ve been able to see this business model grow of like what it means to have artists come in, make the thing and have a community engage in that,” she explains.
She’s very much involved in the organization and considers how to make old technology new and reinvigorate it. Part of the answer is continuing to teach it, she says.
“To me, when somebody asks me, how is growing plants and making handmade paper going to make it?” she says. “We are living in a world where less and less of that is available to an artist (and students). … To me, it’s a really easy answer: teaching handmade papermaking and teaching how to set type and teaching how to run presses. It just seemed obvious.”
• Denk-Leigh will have work on view in the Cleveland Institute of Art’s 2024 Faculty Exhibition. An opening reception is from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 29 in Reinberger Gallery, 11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. On view through Oct. 6. For more information, visit cia.edu.
• She will also be featured in the curated group exhibit “From Woodblock to Ink Jet” at the Fawick Art Gallery at Baldwin Wallace University, 95 E. Bagley Road, Berea, from Oct. 14 to Nov. 1. For more information, visit bw.edu.
KINK Contemporary makes a name for itself showing emerging, student artists
By Kaitlyn Finchler
Anna Young and McKenzie Beynon first met studying photography at the University of Akron in 2011.
After graduating, as the friends kept in touch from di erent states, they learned a gallery they both frequented in college was closing. They wanted to ensure the space would stay in the art world, they tell Canvas.
Their favorite gallery, FORUM Artspace in Cleveland, was one of the only local galleries regularly willing to give student and emerging artists a chance, Beynon says.
“We had been throwing back and forth the idea of starting something ourselves,” Beynon says. “We had been talking about that since 2014, when we graduated actually, and this inspired us to take over their legacy in some ways.”
They viewed the moment as an opportunity, and Young and Beynon founded their own gallery, KINK Contemporary, in 2019 in the old FORUM space.
“We were like, wow the space is about to become available. This is a really ideal location and size, and it was a ordable enough for us at the time to jump on the opportunity,” Beynon says. “We signed our lease at the beginning of 2019, and moved in at the end of February and opened with our first exhibition end of March.”
Fast forward five years, they now have 13 years of friendship under their belts and an art gallery that has already undergone an expansion in a new space. And compellingly, they’ve maintained a unique focus on featuring talented and skilled emerging and student artists, usually in solo and twoartist exhibits, which is still a rarity in the art world.
KINK Contemporary was originally located at the 78th Street Studios on the west side of Cleveland, before moving to the Waterloo Arts District on the east side at 15515 Waterloo Road in Cleveland in 2022.
Beynon, 34, says they had “outgrown” the west side location to an extent and learned that Photocentric, the previous occupant of the Waterloo gallery space, was closing its doors.
Starting back in 2019, they planned their first exhibition to align with the Society for Photographic Education Conference in downtown Cleveland that year. The timing with visitors in town for the conference influenced Young, 33, to curate a Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni show – her graduate school alma mater in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. – at KINK.
“Which then brought in a lot of people from all around the United States to come see our new space, as well as locals,” Young says.
Showing emerging and student artists, and building a community surrounding them, is a big part of KINK’s mission, Beynon says. And while KINK is not a nonprofit, she says they joke they’re a “for-profit that runs like a nonprofit.” When they first started, artists didn’t owe any commission on their showings or had to pay to show.
Now, artists pay KINK a 40% commission, and Young and Beynon say this was a gradual increase over time in order to support artists.
The name of the gallery, Beynon says, came from “a lot of kinks along the way” in opening a small business. And during one late-night meeting, Young found a photo of the kinkajou –a tropical rainforest mammal – online and fittingly coined it as the mascot.
Today, Young is still a practicing artist, focusing on photography, videography, sculpture made out of silicone and cast resin, performance art, printmaking and 2D design. Beynon took the art handler route, working previously at the Akron Art Museum and as a lead handler with a commercial gallery in Cleveland. She was ready for a new challenge when the COVID-19 pandemic “kicked her butt into” the direction of the University of Akron arts administration master’s program, finishing in May 2023, she says.
Both Young and Beynon also have full-time jobs outside of KINK and operate the gallery in the evenings. Beynon works at The Nightlight, an art house movie theater in Akron, and Young works as an administrative assistant and social media manager at the Massillon Museum and as an adjunct professor at the University of Akron in Foundational 2D Design.
KINK Contemporary has a close relationship with Myers School of Art at the University of Akron, and many of the student exhibitions at KINK are Myers students, Beynon says. She says this is strategic in the sense that the University of Akron is the only art program in the area that requires students to have an o -site exhibition, thus o ering a clear benefit to its students specifically.
“We don’t charge our artists to show here,” Young says. “The marketing’s included. ... Any money that comes in from any sales actually gets recycled back into providing assistance and marketing for the next (exhibition).”
Dylan Rundle, a designer at Richard L. Bowen & Associates architecture firm in The Flats in Cleveland, who recently showed at KINK from June 7 to July 5, says he loves the shows Young and Beynon curate. They are “incredibly professional” and even visited his home studio, he says.
“I’ve been in contact with them since I’ve lived in Cleveland,” he says. “... I’ve gotten to know them over time, and they reached out to me.”
Beynon says Rundle originally wasn’t supposed to show at KINK yet. However, another artist dropped out due to some of their art being stolen and having a baby in the same month.
“It was a perfect storm,” Beynon says. “We were very understanding for obvious reasons. So, we were faced with this dilemma where we had a few weeks to find another artist that could put together a solo exhibition, and we knew that Dylan had the work and we also knew Dylan had never had the opportunity.”
Despite having a short turnaround time, Rundle says he was able to make a few new drawings and had been sitting on some unshown work. He received a bachelor’s degree
in architecture and a minor in studio art from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., in 2022.
“They gave me criticism whenever I asked for it, but at the same time, they were very focused on this show being exactly what I wanted it to be,” he says of the gallery owners. “They gave me a long leash – they wanted it to be a product of my imagination. They’re very encouraging, responsive and it’s super easy to work with them. They are really, really on top of their game.”
Rundle’s drawings used mediums such as ink, acrylic and graphite, or a combination, on various surfaces.
“It worked out perfectly because Dylan was ecstatic to take on that challenge,” Beynon says. “We were excited (that) somebody we already planned to bring in in the future was able to sweep in and save us in a way.”
Moving forward, Young says her hopes aren’t necessarily for KINK Contemporary as a gallery, but for it to inspire students and young artists just as FORUM Artspace inspired them.
“I hope that no matter what, there’s somebody else out there that’s seeing what we’re doing and getting inspired, that maybe takes on the torch of our space,” Young says. “All of these wonderful spaces that are putting (out) this community of art and artists are spaces for these conversations to happen.”
Beynon says she and Young take the gallery month-tomonth, checking in with each other to make sure they still love what they do.
“We’ve always had a pact between the two of us that we’re going to do this as long as we could, and as long as it was fun and enjoyable,” she says. “... I don’t see it going away. I think we will always continue this mission, regardless of if we are at 78th Street or Waterloo or somewhere else in the future, because it’s not really our career or job. It is our love and our passion as people.”
KINK Contemporary Gallery at 15515 Waterloo Road in Cleveland is open from 5 to 9 p.m. during Walk All Over Waterloo First Fridays (the first Friday evening of each month). For more information, visit kinkcontemporary.com.
• Aug. 25 – Oct. 4: Hannah Johnson and Emily Bartolone Duo Exhibition (title TBD). Opening reception from 5-9 p.m. Aug. 25, with additional viewings Sept. 6 and Oct. 4
• Oct. 19 – Dec. 6: Jova Lynne and Alberte Tranberg Duo Exhibition (title TBD). Opening reception from 5-9 p.m. Oct. 19, with additional viewings Nov. 1 and Dec. 6
Gianna
By Carlo Wolff
Art and architecture play o each other in the work of Gianna Commito, a painter who produces six to 10 geometric abstractions a year. Commito uses such ancient materials as marble dust and the milk-based protein casein to create unexpectedly tactile compositions with an urban sensibility. Packed with unconventional juxtapositions of shape and hue, her startlingly modern work feels as if it has been here all along. Or should have been.
A professor of painting at Kent State University, Commito, 48, is represented by Abattoir Gallery in Cleveland, Rachel U ner Gallery in New York City and Marrow Gallery in San Francisco. Her work has gained notice in media spanning the New York Post and Artforum. She’s been exhibited at galleries and fairs all over the country,
from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Los Angeles to Dallas.
Commito was a participant in the first FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art in 2018. Her art has been acquired by the Columbus Museum of Art, the Akron Art Museum and the Progressive Art Collection.
“When I saw Gianna’s show at William Busta Gallery in 2009, I was struck by the ambition and accomplishment of it,” Lisa Kurzner, partner at Abattoir, tells Canvas. “She uses casein paint in paintings about the built environment (real and imagined), and I saw how the materiality of the medium addressed the materiality of the modern architectural landscape. At that time, the work, though always abstract, more pointedly referred to an exterior landscape with legible signposts to lead a viewer into her compositions.”
Collegiality and a strong sense of community figure in Commito’s work. So does a drive to connect.
Commito’s teachers taught her “we’re not doing any of this in a vacuum,” she says during an interview in her art studio in Kent. “Any early show I had was a direct result of somebody saying, ‘Hey so-and-so, you should look at Gianna’s work,’ and that just snowballs into bigger and better things.
“I love being out in the world,” she says. “I love talking to people.”
Growing up predominantly in Frederick, Md., Commito knew early on she wanted to be an artist. She comes from a family of thinkers: her father was a professor of marine biology, her mother teaches math and her sister is an archaeologist.
Commito earned her BFA at Alfred University in New York in 1998, and an MA and MFA at the University of
Iowa in 2002 and 2003, respectively. She felt particularly at home at Alfred, a small college a liated with the State University of New York system known for its School of Art and Design. Inspired by Bauhaus – the German art movement known for its influence on modern architecture and design – its Foundations program o ered experimental courses in ceramics and glass blowing that spoke to Commito’s artistic needs.
Before she settled on painting, Commito sculpted and produced ceramics, but she hasn’t done such work since her undergraduate days. She doesn’t miss it, she says, “because I feel like I’m always putting things together in my home or in my brain, or just through organizing space. And I really love looking at buildings and moving through buildings and thinking about how we build and navigate space.”
Friends from her student days continue to promote her, and vice versa. Now, she enjoys introducing her own students to the greater art world through visits to openings in Cleveland and Akron, and two trips to New York each year, she says.
“Being an artist isn’t just making the thing, it’s sharing the thing, and figuring out how to do that can be really rewarding,” she says.
Commito has evolved as an artist.
“I was an oil painter, and then I got into more hard-edge (works) using masking tape and wanting cleaner lines,” she says, “but you can’t really do that with oil paint. It gets really messy really fast. So I switched to acrylic, but I hated how that was almost too clean or too ‘plasticky.’”
Casein dries fast and, along with the marble powder, enables her to create paintings that “are a little crusty and beat up and look a little bit weathered,” she adds.
If anything good came from the COVID-19 pandemic, Commito says, “it’s that a lot of my really wonderful grad students ended up staying in Cleveland. It’s exciting for them to be in a place where they can be a big fish sooner than if they move to New York.”
In an artistic statement for a 2022 exhibit at Marrow Gallery, Commito noted how her art reflects her times – in that case, the presence of COVID-19.
“This latest body of work reflects the daily grind of, and ultimate comfort in, intimate relationships,” she wrote.
“We sit between boredom and unease. I aspire to maintain a similar anxiety or slipperiness in my work.”
During the pandemic, Commito and her partner drove around Northeast Ohio looking at buildings. There wasn’t much else to do during that shutdown, and buildings are a continuing interest and kind of metaphor for her work.
Commito lives with her sons and her partner about a mile from her secondfloor studio in an old brick building in downtown Kent. The walk to work gives her time to register changes in the scenery and map out the day. At times, a representation of something she notices while on foot surfaces in one of her paintings.
Painting is a job, Commito says. But it’s also a job she loves, at least partially because it gives her alone time. She looks inside herself for inspiration more than she did when she was younger and had a smaller “library of things” to plunder.
“I’m always recording new things around me, colors or patterns, or things that I see,” she says. “But the work is now telling me more about what it needs than always looking outward.”
Colleague Shawn Powell has admired Commito’s work for years.
“Her colors are carefully considered to create harmony or rupture, bending the shapes into a near infinite distance, o ering the viewer multiple entry points
and circular portholes into each painting, allowing for a durational interaction,” says Powell, associate professor of painting and graduate coordinator at Kent State. “To me, Gianna’s paintings are puzzles that must be untwined.”
That fits with how Commito explains her creative drive.
“I always liked making things and putting things together and being iterative and making a mistake and untying the knot, or taking the thing and figuring out how to re-engineer it – whether that was in a drawing or a painting or a little friendship bracelet or beaded necklace,” she says. ”I could really get lost in that process in a way that’s very soothing.”
Notably, she’s shown work at Carrie Secrist Gallery in Chicago and the Green Gallery in Milwaukee earlier this year, and in the last few years had one- or two-person exhibits at Abattoir (2023), Marrow Gallery (2022), Gazebo Gallery in Kent (2022) and Harvey Preston Gallery in Aspen, Colo. (2020). Upcoming, she’s in discussion with a Philadelphia gallery about a possible show.
As a teacher, too, Commito enjoys problem solving and “figuring out how to get young people to be open to the pleasures of failure,” she says.
She wants her students – and her
sons, ages 10 and nearly 13 – “to embrace not getting it right the first time, which does not come naturally.”
As an educator and mother, she has to think “six steps ahead,” she says. In her studio, at work at what she loves, she locks into a welcome stillness.
“So much of what I do is executing a task, or I’ve made a decision and it might take an hour to tape something or it might take two days to mix up exactly the right set of colors,” she says. “Those tasks of taping or mixing, or just something that’s not terribly creative but completely imperative, are about as calm as I ever get. And their repetitive nature is very meditative and very calming.”
Some time ago, Commito made a momentous decision: “to say yes to every idea that I have in the studio and just do it.”
No matter how long it took, she says, she would know if it was the right decision as opposed to trying to anticipate it.
“I am an extrovert and I love people and I’m around lots of them most of the time,” she says. “But when I’m here, I just want to be alone. I’m certainly being analytical and self-critical and deciding if something has worked or not worked, but just the decision to try everything takes so much pressure o . If I could apply this to the rest of my life, I’d probably be a much more chill person.”
Cleveland is home to a thriving theater scene within and beyond the primary Playhouse Square district, extending to east- and west-side organizations putting on top-notch productions each season. At the heart of all successful plays are star actors who create special experiences for their audiences, in addition to those who work skillfully behind the scenes. Northeast Ohio has a long list of rising actors who work hard in an industry that can be competitive and challenging to break into, but who continue to raise the bar for what local productions can be. As such, in this fall stage issue of Canvas, we highlight a few talented, skilled and dedicated actors, all associated with di erent area theater companies which shared their names as important ones to watch.
By Amanda Koehn
Age: 37 • Home: North Canton • Performs: Beck Center for the Arts, films, television
hris Richards may have been initiated into the world of acting when he saw Disney’s “Aladdin” on New Year’s Day in 1993. A child, he “thought Robin Williams as the Genie was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he says. “I was hooked.”
Leaving the movie stunned, when a family friend told him he could act, too, the wheels started turning.
A few decades later, he’s acted in numerous plays locally, in New York City and beyond, as well as in film and television.
“You do all the community theater and you find di erent reasons to love it and why you are in it, and you keep going,” he says. “For me, it’s been great. I love the whole aspect of being a storyteller and telling the stories.”
Most recently, he played Don Kirshner in “Beautiful, The Carole King Musical” at Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood from July 12 to Aug. 11. He also starred in the indie short film “Higher Lows,” which was featured in the Indie Gathering International Film Festival in Cleveland from Aug. 9-11.
The North Canton native graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater performance in 2009. After college, he saw much of his class move to New York City to try professional acting there, but took a di erent path.
“I noticed everyone seems to move to New York and then move home within a year,” he recalls. “I don’t want to do that, I want to do a longer arc here.”
He worked his way through the Cleveland theater scene, making valuable connections and performing on stages at Great Lakes Theater in downtown Cleveland, Dobama Theatre in Cleveland Heights and Beck Center.
“I’m sure glad I did because now looking back, it’s like I have all of these friendships and relationships in place,” he says.
He eventually went to New York in two stints, totaling 10 years altogether. During that time, he performed in oBroadway productions, did improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and acted in film and television roles.
Back in Cleveland, he filmed “Cherry,” the Anthony and Joe Russo crime film starring Tom Holland. Richards played a cop who the Russo brothers told him served as an “ideal version” of Holland’s character, a drug addict who robs banks.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is the only time in my life I’m ever going to be the idealized version of Tom Holland,’” Richards jokes, adding that he may have cursed himself with that thought as his scene didn’t make the final edit.
Notably, he also was featured on the CBS television drama “Bull,” and has starred in many indie and short films.
Shifting things up again, he moved back to North Canton in July 2023. Being married with three sons, he took the opportunity to move his family into his childhood home and reacquainted himself e ciently with the local theater scene. That fall, he starred in the political thriller “Cat’s-Paw” at Beck Center.
Richards says while some actors can immediately point to a favorite role, he’s valued each experience in di erent
ways. He likes a part he can leave his mark on and working in small, intimate theater spaces. He also calls playing Kirshner in “Beautiful” a “top, top, top” highlight.
Richards has also dealt with the challenges all actors face within a competitive industry, constantly trying to build meaningful connections and create opportunities for himself.
“There’s no escaping that, and every actor probably feels that,” he says.
However, Richards considers himself fortunate to consistently call himself a working actor.
“My hero actors in interviews, Bryan Cranston in particular, talk about, ‘Look, I just want to work,’” he says. “... I feel like I’ve been able to do that, and I feel very grateful for that.”
• Richards’ film “Spray Away” (the 2023 winner of Best Comedy at Myrtle Beach International Film Festival) is an official selection and showing at the Bridgeport Film Fest in Bridgeport, Conn., from Sept. 13-15. For information, visit bridgeportfilmfest.org.
• He can be seen in “First of Seven,” an official selection and showing at the Burbank International Film Festival in Burbank, Calif., on Sept. 26. For more information, visit burbankfilmfest.org.
“I have known Chris as a performer for almost 15 years. We first worked together on ‘The Producers’ where Chris played the outrageous house boy Carmen Ghia. It was clear that Chris as an actor was what we call in the industry a ‘fearless choice maker.’ This basically means that during the process, you can count on Chris to give you 25 different options. Directors adore working with actors who bring so much to the table, and such is the case with Chris. The role of Don Kirshner in ‘Beautiful’ is conceived as comic relief as well as being integral to telling Carole King’s story, so I knew Chris could harvest both facets of that. He’s a tornado, but as far as natural disasters go, he’s a fun one.”
Scott Spence, artistic director, Beck Center for the Arts
Featuring the sale of the remarkable collection of the late Albert Wasserman
Opening Friday, October 4th, 6-8pm with over 150 works including oil paintings, watercolors, ceramic works, bronze & glass sculpture.
Age: 25 • Home: Cleveland Heights • Performs: Karamu House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cain Park
By Sophie Farrar
Avery LaMar Pope’s theater roots date back to his days at Gearity Professional Development Elementary School in University Heights, performing in the risers with a choir for the high school’s musicals.
He continued doing musicals into middle school, and moved into performing in straight plays in addition to musicals in high school.
Now, Pope can be found performing on stage with a variety of local theaters and beyond, most recently in Cain Park’s production of “Hype Man” from July 12-21. He also performed in Karamu House productions “The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin” (2023) by Kirsten Childs and directed by Nina Domingue, and Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” (2023), directed by Tony F. Sias and Errin Weaver.
Acting is not where Pope’s artistry ends, as he finds himself wanting to be wherever the story is – whether on stage or as a playwright, musician or poet, he tells Canvas. Additionally, he has taught theater locally with The Dazzle Awards, Cleveland Public Theatre and Karamu House.
“I just care about putting the story out,” Pope says. “Whether I’m singing, whether I’m writing it, I just want a good story to tell and I want it to be told well.”
However, Pope admits he prefers being on stage more than o in the wings. Notably, he was selected as a Room in the House Fellow in the 2023-2024 season at Karamu House, in which he received a financial award, performance space and additional resources.
“I think if I’m being honest with myself, I like being on stage more than not,” Pope says.
And Pope’s love for the stage does not stop him from taking on other roles and responsibilities in a production. For example, he taught adult acting in the Karamu Arts Academy in the spring.
Pope doesn’t find himself chasing after certain roles over others, he says. Instead, he finds himself recognizing the roles he should go for based on recog-
nizing the kind of person he is, with his love for the story being at the center of it all.
“I don’t think there’s a role I pursue so much as a practice I maintain,” he says. “I’m usually a person who’s more willing to take on more responsibility than originally asked of them because of the fact that I care so much about the story.”
Looking ahead, Pope is planning on releasing an album, working on his poetry and resting, in addition to performing in the play “Judy’s Life’s Work” in Indianapolis this fall.
Avery LaMar Pope performs as Verb in “Hype Man” at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights in July. Photo / Kierstan Kathleen Conway
• Pope will perform in “Judy’s Life’s Work” with Naptown African American Theatre Collective in Indianapolis from Oct. 18 to Nov. 3. For more information, visit naatcinc.org.
“Avery will be the rock of any cast he is a part of – he knows when to take center stage and when to become a supportive ensemble member. He is what I like to call a secret weapon. He is the actor you don’t expect to steal the show, but once you give him his moment onstage, he is taking it. You can teach someone how to act, but you can’t teach someone how to perform – that is a skill that you are born with, and Avery has it.”
Nina Domingue, associate artistic director, Karamu House
By John Engoglia
Age: 27 • Home: Cleveland • Performs: Cleveland Play House
adalyn Baker’s journey as an actor has taken her from California to New York, to Cleveland and to Moscow.
Growing up in Pleasanton, Calif., Baker was obsessed with the arts and theater, she says. Her parents were both artsy, and they took her to art museums and shows such as “Stomp” and Shakespeare in the Park in San Francisco. She got her first role while enrolled in Shakespeare in the Park’s summer program in elementary school, where she played Valentine in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
“I was very interested in imagination, like imagined worlds and playing pretend,” Baker says. “I really fell in love with theater as a way to explore that.”
Baker attended Amador Valley High School in her hometown, where she was in the marching band and drama program. She first wanted to attend Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y., because a friend had gone there.
“I wanted to be in the place where theater was happening,” Baker says.
Moving from the West Coast to the East Coast was a big change for Baker. However, she became more and more comfortable with New York City over time, and fell in love with the fast-paced city life, she says. Throughout her time at Fordham, Baker had the opportunity to do more than act as she worked with costume designers and playwrights to stretch herself as an artist.
While at Fordham, Baker studied abroad at Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia for three months. She also had the chance to go to London, but she saw the Moscow trip as a once in a lifetime opportunity. She described her trip as amazing and formative, but she also said living there was challenging due to the “backwards” society of Russia. Despite this, she says the theater and performances were nothing like she’s seen in the U.S.
Baker also took improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York, where she gained the ability to become “elastic and responsive” on stage, she recalls.
Madalyn Baker plays the mechanic/aunt in “Middletown” at Cleveland Play House in February. Photo / Roger Mastroianni
“You have to make something out of nothing while you’re doing it,” Baker says. “It’s just a good challenge mentally, and a good collaborative experience.”
Following graduation from Fordham with a theater degree in 2018, Baker knew she wanted to go to graduate school to gain more intensive theater training, she says. She thought it would also give her the time, space and attention to figure out what she wanted to do as an artist and performer.
Baker applied to several schools, and met with the director of the Case Western Reserve University MFA acting program. Her audition went well, and she noted how director Don Carrier took an interest in her other artistic work besides acting, unlike other schools.
Since joining the MFA program at CWRU, which has a collaborative partnership with Cleveland Play House,
Madalyn Baker, center, performs as Sally Bowles in Case Western Reserve University’s production of “Cabaret” in April. Photo / Steve Wagner
Baker has played roles such as Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” and the mechanic in “Middletown” at Cleveland Play House. Playing Bowles was one of her favorite roles, she says.
“I loved playing with all those elements of someone who can really shine but has this gross underbelly to them where she’s very self-destructive and drinks a lot,” Baker says. “Getting to play her was such a dream.”
Baker is set to graduate from CWRU in 2026. At the moment, she doesn’t know what the future holds for her, but her hope is to continue performing worldwide.
“I would love to have an artistic life where I get to travel a lot – I would love to work abroad,” she says.
• Baker will perform in the ensemble of “Pride and Prejudice” and as an understudy for Lizzie in the Cleveland Play House production from Sept. 7-27, at Allen Theatre, 1407 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Call 216-241-6000 or visit clevelandplayhouse.com for tickets and more information.
“From Madalyn’s initial audition for the MFA program, it was clear that this was a young woman of great creativity, originality and focus. Her talents have grown in the year in which she has been one of our students and she continues to show her range in comedy, drama and music. She is incredibly disciplined, hard-working and collaborative with the rest of her classmates. She is a joy to teach and mentor as her work-ethic is formidable and she has such a positive outlook. I directed her in a production of ‘Middletown’ this past year and she always brought a wealth of ideas to the rehearsal process. She is always curious and continues to go deeper in her work and exploration of character. She is brave and not afraid to make ‘out of the box’ choices that are still informed by the text and given circumstances of a play.”
Don Carrier, director Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program
By Kirsten Beard
Stagecrafters Youth Theatre, a youth dramatic arts program of the Orange Community Education & Recreation department, has long been renowned locally for its emphasis on performance development, instilling self-confidence and creating connections among fledgling performers – in addition to its quality productions.
The program is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer with a star-studded fundraiser, featuring performances from Stagecrafters alumni who have since gone on to perform on Broadway. Current Stagecrafters students will also be performing at the gala and fundraiser, “Broadway Comes Home: Celebrating 50 Years of Stagecrafters,” scheduled for Aug. 19 at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland.
Adam Miller, a co-chair of the event, says Stagecrafters is “the over-arching umbrella program” which includes participants interested in performance arts from preschool and up who live, learn and work throughout the region. Other programs that fall under its umbrella include its show choir, community production, summer camp, musical production, cabaret troupe and Broadway buddies, which won second place for best adaptive programming in Ohio from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association in 2021.
“No matter what the student’s interest is, we will find something for them to be interested in and that’s something we are really proud of,” Stagecrafters coordinator Wendy ScottKoeth says. “There is a place for every kid here.”
Stagecrafters second coordinator Tali Singer says the program first started as a single creative drama class on Saturdays. It quickly grew and turned into after-school classes for children
Fankhauser Miller Chernin
around 1977, with multiple teachers.
Program founder Loe Goldwasser worked as a teacher at Moreland Hills Elementary School during the day in the theater program and ran programs after school, Singer says.
The program continued to grow during the 1980s, leading into the early 1990s when John Rubinstein and Scott-Koeth started the theater camp in 1989, Singer says. Scott-Koeth has been at the helm of the program since taking over for Goldwasser in 1993, and continued over the next 30 years to build Stagecrafters into what it is today. The program is now a part of Orange Community Education and Recreation under director Jill Korsok.
“In 1992, our first community production of ‘Peter Pan’ had 40 kids, and in 2024, our spring production had 185 –and that’s only one aspect of Stagecrafters, but ... the growth in the program alone is huge,” Singer says.
Scott-Koeth adds, “We started out with 12 campers, and now we have three separate camps with about 60 kids in each camp.”
Over the years, the program has kept the philosophy of process over product, says Singer, also a Stagecrafters alum, reflecting on the idea of working together as a team, trying your best and creating self-confidence that will help build character. The aim is to learn skills that will help along the path of life, not just in theater. And Singer says the success of the program
is not just about those who reach the top of the theater industry, but also those who reach success in other industries with help from skills learned throughout their time at Stagecrafters.
“(Process over product) really means that when someone comes up to you and they say that their finger hurts, or whatever it is, you just stop and listen and take time out because it’s really important to them – whatever that may be – to take a minute,” Scott-Koeth says. “You hope it made a di erence, and at the 50th, it will show that it did make a di erence.”
For Broadway actor Max Chernin, Stagecrafters was more than just a theater program.
“It was an important stepping stone in my education as a young artist,” Chernin, who grew up in Shaker Heights, says in an email.
Now living in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chernin will return for the 50th celebration and will perform at the fundraiser.
“The most enticing thing about Stagecrafters was the teen production program,” he says. “That really felt like an all-star baseball team where all the best kids from the surrounding areas got together to do a show, and the shows they selected were challenging and sometimes risky to put on. It was so exciting to be a part of it all.”
Chernin, who graduated from Shaker Heights High School, began at Stagecrafters when he was 14 years old. He was part of the teen productions, summer productions, cabaret troupe and was a counselor at the summer camp.
Stagecrafters allowed him to step into challenging roles and enhance his skills, but also to create meaningful connections that have lasted over the years and throughout his time at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Chernin says. Since graduation, he has appeared in “Bright Star” in 2016; “Sunday in the Park” in 2017; “Parade” in 2023; and is working on the production of “Fiddler on the Roof” at The Muny in Forest Park in St. Louis, Mo.
“It will be so fun to reconnect with all of our mentors and friends – I can’t wait to get everyone together in one room,” Chernin says.
Ben Fankhauser, a Broadway actor, coach and teacher, is another featured alumni of the program who will attend the 50th anniversary celebration. He graduated from Orange High School in Pepper Pike and Ithaca College in New York.
“Stagecrafters really instilled a love of community and friendship and family and teamwork, which has helped me survive the very di erent show business industry because jobs and roles come and go, but the communities that you create with your fellow cast mates, and the families that you nourish are the key to getting through the tough times,” Fankhauser says.
He remembers joining the program in the late 1990s with his cousins, going to the summer camp after moving to Orange from Zurich, Switzerland as a child.
During his time in the program, Fankhauser says he learned important empathetic skills of relating to fellow team members and supporting them, self-confidence and self-esteem that led him to where he is in his career now. Stagecrafters allowed him to have a first look at how to bond as a community and a family, says Fankhauser, now living in New York City.
“I really found that (family and community) at a time in my adolescence when I needed it most,” he says.
Fankhauser is currently working on a production of
“Rent.” He says he is looking forward to not only seeing his old friends and cast members at the fundraiser, but also continuing the legacy of Stagecrafters and passing it on to the next generation. And, he wants the program to continue fostering an environment where everyone and anyone feels welcome.
“They have also cultivated a place where kids can work on self-confidence and self-esteem and for kids going into any aspect of life,” he says. “Those who went through Stagecrafters that didn’t pursue the musical business are that much better because of the teamwork and the family it instills.”
Jordan Brown, a Broadway actor who grew up in Orange, also says Stagecrafters was a stepping stone in his career.
“Without Stagecrafters, I don’t know what I would be doing,” he says.
Brown describes himself as a “theater kid from birth.” He would use his basement as his own personal theater with the help of his sister, until he was old enough to join Stagecrafters classes when he was in second grade. In third grade, he starred in his first community production.
He performed in every one since then through his time at Orange High School, until he went to the Boston University School of Theatre. He now lives in New York City and is working on Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon.”
“I am so grateful to Stagecrafters because it was really the first place that I got to understand what theater actually is,” Brown says. “I had seen shows and done something on my own, but I never had that experience. It was the first place I was in rehearsals, playing a role and all those things. I really understood what it means to be an actor.”
With Stagecrafters, Brown learned the true role of an actor, but also learned other skills that have impacted him to this day, he says. He learned to be himself in front of others, and to be confident in himself while supporting the team and cast. He thanked Scott-Koeth and Singer for their devotion to the program.
“Wendy and Tali are people who are so caring and open and want to see you shine and want to see you do your best,” Brown says.
The upcoming gala will honor Stagecrafters as well as Scott-Koeth and Goldwasser, Miller says.
“Picture it as Tony Awards meets telethon fundraiser meets high school reunion is really the way we’re looking at it,” Miller says. “It’s going to be a special night.”
The fundraising event will help fuel the program for decades to come through ticket sales, auction items like meeting the Broadway cast backstage and other giving opportunities that will be showcased, Miller says.
“Yes, it is a reunion, yes, we are so excited to see these people, but there is this whole fundraising element of it as well,” says Morgan Jacobs, co-chair of the event.
Miller and Jacobs have been with the program for over 30 years. Miller became involved in second grade, and Jacobs started in fourth grade. Jacobs also went on to work under Scott-Koeth as a student producer in high school. Miller and Jacobs now have their own children involved in the program and continue to volunteer for Stagecrafters.
“It has given us so much, and being able to co-chair this event feels like just a small way of giving back,” Miller says.
Stagecrafters touches hundreds of families across di erent communities, both geographically and socially, Scott-Koeth and Singer say. It aims to help students acquire skills that can be used outside of the theater world, as alumni who have
become successful in industries such as medicine, teaching and law have demonstrated, they add.
“There are going to be pediatricians, teachers, lawyers, executives from Google, TV producers. ...” Miller says of the 50th anniversary event. “People are coming to town from every walk of life who have been through this program.”
Brown says he is looking forward to seeing old friends and performing at the gala.
He notes the opportunities in the Cleveland area for youth theater are rather unheard of from what he has seen and heard throughout his college and professional career. Stagecrafters and other programs, such as the Mandel Jewish Community Center’s Playmakers Youth Theatre in Beachwood, a ord opportunities to join productions at an early age, introducing the world of theater to young actors, he says.
“It’s an unbelievable gift that I had and so many others had,” Brown says.
Publisher’s note: Adam Miller is a member of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company Board of Directors.
“Broadway Comes Home: Celebrating 50 Years of Stagecrafters” is at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at KeyBank State Theatre, 1519 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Tickets range from $75 to $150, and there will be a VIP dinner at Playhouse Square. A $150 ticket includes premium seating and a drink ticket for the post-show dessert reception. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit shorturl.at/ZW58k. For more information on Stagecrafters’ programming, visit orangerec.com.
The Maltz Museum’s17th Annual Stop the Hate® program o cially launches on September 1st for the 2024/2025 school year. Stop the Hate provides a platform for Northeast Ohio students to speak out against hate while competing for $100,000 in scholarships, grants, and prizes. The program is open to students and schools in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne counties—and new this year, Ashland, Erie, and Huron counties.
HOW DOES STOP THE HATE WORK?
The Stop the Hate program provides educational resources, workshops, and two contests: Youth Speak Out, an essay writing contest, and Youth Sing Out, a songwriting contest. Both give Northeast Ohio students in 6th-12th grade a way to paint their vision of a more accepting, inclusive society and speak out against bias and bigotry as they compete for awards. The program provides students with tools to explore what it means to be a bystander, upstander, or perpetrator, while examining events like the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement, and more. Reflecting on this history, students explore their own experiences with bias and discrimination, then consider how they can be leaders in creating positive change in their communities.
HOW DO I LEARN MORE?
Attend the Stop the Hate Open House
Join the Maltz Museum team as we kick o the 17th Annual Stop the Hate Program. Northeast Ohio students, parents, and educators committed to creating a more inclusive society will hear keynote speaker, Kerrie Taber, share a personal story about her Lithuanian grandfather’s actions during World War II. Kerrie has come to realize that to stop the spread of hate, we need to respond to hate in our own communities. Come listen as she explains how, meet our partners and 2024 finalists, get information about this year’s program, explore the museum, and more!
Where: Maltz Museum, 2929 Richmond Road, Beachwood, Ohio 44122
When: Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 5 pm - 7 pm Register for the open house at maltzmuseum.org
WHAT PRIZES ARE AWARDED?
Students • Youth Speak Out Essay Contest
Top-scoring students receive individual awards and trophies, and their schools receive anti-bias education grants.
Awards for Grades 11 & 12:
Grand Prize Winner: $20,000 scholarship + $5,000 grant for their school.
First Runner Up: $10,000 scholarship + $2,000 grant for their school.
Second Runner Up: $5,000 scholarship + $2,000 grant for their school.
(7) Honorable Mentions: $1,000 cash prize + $500 grant for their schools.
Awards for Grades 6-10:
1st Place winners in each grade: $400 cash prize
Runner Up in each grade: $100 cash prize
Students • Youth Sing Out Song Contest
and learning in their school communities, can apply for one of three anti-bias community grants. Each grant is $6,000.
Applications are open to all educators within the program’s 15-county reach. Learn how you can apply or contact Courtney Krieger at ckrieger@mmjh.org or 216-593-0593.
Students • Respond to the Essay Prompt
Students in grades 6 -12 may submit a personal narrative reflecting on a provided prompt. Essays should be 500 words or less and may be submitted by students who participate in workshops or on an individual basis.
Educators • Book workshops for your students
Book a Workshop for the Youth Speak Out Essay Contest
Help your students get the most out of the Stop the Hate program through our free writing workshops (for essays and/ or poetry) with our partner, Lake Erie Ink. In-person or virtual workshops are available for classes 15+.
Book a Workshop for the Youth Sing Out Song Contest
To enter, classrooms must participate in a free workshop with ROOTS of American Music. Working with a teaching artist, the class will pen an original song. This song becomes the class submission to the contest and is judged by a panel of music, theater, and writing experts selected in partnership with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The winning classrooms receive anti-bias education grants for their schools.
Over 8,000 students participate in the Stop the Hate program each year, and about 3,000 students enter the prestigious contest. With the help of 400 volunteer readers, the contest names 32 finalists, the area’s top schools, and two Teachers of the Year awards. Since the contest started, over 50,000 students have participated and $1.6 million has been awarded to students and schools.
In 2025, the total amount of scholarships, prizes, and anti-bias education grants awarded through the contest to Northeast Ohio students, teachers, and schools will be $1.7 million. For more information about the program please visit Learn.maltzmuseum. org or contact education@mmjh.org.
Rooted in the Jewish value of respect for all humanity, the Maltz Museum explores diverse stories of courage from history and today to promote a more inclusive tomorrow. The Museum receives support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and the Ohio Arts Council. For tickets call 216-593-0575 or visit www.maltzmuseum.org
On View June 2-September 1, 2024 $2OFF*
Winning schools in middle and high school song categories receive anti-bias education grants:
1st Place in both categories receive a $3,500 grant.
Runner Up in both categories receive a $2,000 grant.
All classes who participate receive recognition. Students and schools will receive congratulatory upstander certificates that can be printed and displayed in their classrooms and schools.
Educators • Anti-Bias Community Grants
Educators in Northeast Ohio, dedicated to anti-bias education
WE'RE ALWAYS ON THE HUNT, SOURCING THE BEST ART AND ANTIQUES FOR OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED AUCTIONS. WE PROVIDE COMPLIMENTARY AUCTION ESTIMATES AND SELL TO A WORLD-WIDE AUDIENCE OF DEALERS, COLLECTORS & CURATORS. NEXT AUCTION SEPT 7TH
FOSTERING ART CONNOISSEURSHIP THROUGH AUCTION neueauctions.com Beachwood consign@neueauctions.com 216-245-6707
BECK CENTER FOR THE ARTS
17801 Detroit Ave.
Lakewood
P: 216-521-2540
: beckcenter.org
2024-2025 Season
• “Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys,” Sept. 13 to Oct. 6, 2024
• “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” back by popular demand, Dec. 6, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025
• “Waitress,” our collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program, Feb. 14 to March 9, 2025
• “Under A Baseball Sky,” April 4 to May 4, 2025
• “The Robber Bridegroom,” May 30 to June 29, 2025
• “A Chorus Line,” July 11 to Aug. 10, 2025
CESEAR’S FORUM
2796 Tinkers Lane
Twinsburg
F ORU M
P: 330-405-3045
: cesearsforum.com
Kennedy’s Down Under 1501 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland
Cesear’s Forum will present “LUDLOW FAIR & THE MADNESS OF LADY BRIGHT,” two one-act plays by Lanford Wilson. Both plays reference individual self-worth, relationships (both real and imagined), loneliness and degrees of functioning sanity with humorous, poignant insight; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sept. 27 through Oct. 26, with two Sunday performances at Playhouse Square.
• Sept. 27 to Oct. 26: “LUDLOW FAIR & THE MADNESS OF LADY BRIGHT”
TUESDAY MUSICAL
1041 W. Market St., #200
Akron
P: 330-761-3460
E: info@tuesdaymusical.com
: tuesdaymusical.org
Each year, the 137-year-old organization known as Tuesday Musical brings to Akron a carefully-curated series of stellar artists. This season kicks off with a tribute to an American legend: the unforgettable music of Tony Bennett comes alive with Michael Feinstein and the Carnegie Hall Big Band on Oct. 22.
Listings are provided by Canvas advertisers and as a courtesy to readers.
11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland P: 216-421-7000
: cia.edu
: @cleinstituteart
CIA’s Reinberger Gallery features emerging and established national artists and hosts popular exhibitions by faculty, students and alumni, and CIA’s Cinematheque is one of the country’s best repertory movie theaters, according to The New York Times. Learn more and view upcoming programming at cia.edu/exhibitions and cia.edu/cinematheque.
12402 Mayfield Road, Cleveland P: 216-469-3288
E: leeheinen@saatchionline.com : leeheinen.com : facebook.com/leeheinen
As this is a working studio, I don’t keep regular open hours so, I ask that you call or email and I will happily “The Dance”
36 x 36 inches, oil/collage on canvas by artist Lee Heinen.
meet you there at your convenience. I have a varied selection of original paintings and giclee prints at reasonable cost. My work is also available through saatchionline.com and leeheinen@gmail.com.
412 E. Main St., Alliance P: 330-614-2789
NEUE AUCTIONS
WE'RE ALWAYS ON THE HUNT, SOURCING THE BEST ART AND ANTIQUES FOR OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED AUCTIONS. WE PROVIDE COMPLIMENTARY AUCTION ESTIMATES AND SELL TO A WORLD-WIDE AUDIENCE OF DEALERS, COLLECTORS & CURATORS. NEXT AUCTION SEPT 7TH
23533 Mercantile Road, #100, Beachwood P: 216-245-6707
E: consign@neueauctions.com : neueauctions.com
FOSTERING ART CONNOISSEURSHIP THROUGH AUCTION
neueauctions.com Beachwood consign@neueauctions.com
216-245-6707
Created through the collaboration of some of the most experienced leaders in our area, Neue Auctions springs to life a desire for a new course in an age-old business. Settling estates and collections, working with individuals, as well as trusts and estates, Neue Auctions supports the long-standing history and tradition of art collecting in Cleveland by bringing fine works of art to the market for sale, encouraging both the current and next generation of collectors. Call today for a free evaluation of your treasures.
140 E. Market St., Akron P: 330-376-8480 : summitartspace.org
SM: @summitartspace
Summit Artspace is a non-profit home to artist studios, arts organizations and five galleries with new exhibitions four times each year. We provide free public events to engage the community, as well as professional development programming for local artists. Public hours: Fridays 12-7 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
VALLEY ART CENTER
155 Bell St., Chagrin Falls P: 440-247-7507 : valleyartcenter.org
E: ghostrighterzartisitservices@gmail.com : lemonchrystal.com
a l l to a u c t i o n
Welcome to LemonChrystal Artist Sanctuary, where we offer inclusive and immersive arts experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds. Located in the heart of beautiful downtown Alliance, our artist sanctuary provides a creator’s space, gallery, art supply store and boutique in a beautiful late 1800s historic building. We also offer various arts services such as custom merchandise, sewing alterations, graphic design, murals, marketing and administration catering to artists. Whether you want to create in our creator’s space, take one of our workshops or purchase custom artwork or merchandise, you can unleash your creativity with Chrystal and Lennon at LemonChrystal.
13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights P: 216-795-9800 : loganberrybooks.com
Loganberry Books Annex Gallery features a monthly rotation of local artist exhibitions, with an opening reception on the first Wednesday evening of the month.
, 1972
Valley Art Center is the hub of the visual arts in Chagrin Falls! VAC offers classes for all ages and in every medium including painting, jewelry design, drawing, clay and more. VAC also presents five gallery exhibitions annually and the iconic Art by the Falls outdoor art festival in June each year.
: Wolfsgallery.com
: @wolfsgallery
: @wolfsgallery
23645 Mercantile Road, Beachwood P: 216-721-6945
Visit WOLFS’ 15 galleries exhibiting many hundreds of artworks representing myriad styles and periods. Tour our generous space Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Buying and selling fine art in Cleveland since 1975.
Fifteen galleries exhibiting many hundreds of artworks representing myriad styles and periods.
CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION
1588 E. 40th St., 1A, Cleveland P: 216-881-2818 : mgentilestudios.com
Carter (American, 1904–2000)
, 21.5 x 21.5 inches
A personalized art resource for individuals, collectors and businesses. We offer assistance in the selection and preservation of artwork in many media. Our archival custom framing services are complemented by our skill in the installation of two- and three-dimensional artwork in a variety of residential and corporate settings.
Jewish Federation of Cleveland E: israelarts@jewishcleveland.org : jewishcleveland.org/israelarts
23645 Mercantile Road, Beachwood, Ohio | 216-721-6945
The Cleveland Israel Arts Connection features the finest in Israeli film, documentary, theater, dance, music, visual art and literature. For updates, visit jewishcleveland.org/israelarts. Please join the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Facebook page for additional opportunities to experience Israeli arts.
THE ARTISTS ARCHIVES OF THE WESTERN RESERVE
1834 E. 123rd St., Cleveland
P: 216-721-9020
: ArtistsArchives.org
: Facebook.com/
ArtistsArchivesoftheWesternReserve
The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve is a unique archival facility and regional museum which preserves “Nautilus Tortuga” by Ross DiPenti. bodies of work by Ohio visual artists and promotes the region’s rich cultural heritage. We feature an ever-changing group of impactful exhibitions in our three gallery spaces, open to the public Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Please visit our website for updates and more information.
KSU MUSEUM
515 Hilltop Drive, Kent P: 330-672-3450
E: museum@kent.edu
: kent.edu/museum
: facebook.com/museumatksu
The Kent State Museum contains important collections of fashion and decorative arts. Its eight galleries feature changing exhibitions of work by many of the world’s great artists and designers. The Museum serves both the University and the community through exhibitions, public programs and research appointments in the collections.
MALTZ MUSEUM
2929 Richmond Road, Beachwood P: 216-593-0575 : maltzmuseum.org
The Maltz Museum introduces visitors to the beauty and diversity of heritage in the context of the American experience. It promotes an understanding of Jewish history, religion and culture, and builds bridges of appreciation and understanding with those of other religions, races, cultures and ethnicities. It’s an educational resource for Northeast Ohio’s Jewish and general communities.
MASSILLON MUSEUM
Fifty garments, 150 photographs and dozens of artifacts depict the glamorous Gilded Age.
121 Lincoln Way East, Massillon P: 330-833-4061
: massillonmuseum.org
: facebook.com/massillonmuseum
“Gilding Northeast Ohio: Fashion and Fortune 1870–1900” showcases garments from MassMu and Western Reserve Historical Society as well as costumes
from HBO’s “The Gilded Age.” Through Oct. 13. Find a dozen related events on MassMu’s website. Eleven additional art and history galleries, shop and Sensory Room. Free admission.
Listings are provided by Canvas advertisers and as a courtesy to readers.
By Braedon Olsen
When guests walk into the Lewis Gallery of the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, they will be transported to the interior of the final spaceship leaving Earth following the apocalypse. Fabled shape-shifting beings called Nahuales hang from the ceiling, while celestial music plays in the background.
The artistic piece of speculative fiction is called “Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh,” and was created by Mexico City-based sculptor Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya. The exhibition was curated by Lauren Leving, curator-atlarge at moCa, and will be on view until Dec. 29.
The exhibit is presented through Toby’s Prize, a biennial award made possible by the late Toby Devan Lewis that includes funding to create new art. Leving tells Canvas about the exhibit’s significance and what influenced it.
CANVAS: What makes this exhibition noteworthy?
LEVING: “Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh” is Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya’s first solo museum exhibition. He is the third recipient of moCa’s biannual Toby’s Prize, which comes with a budget to make new work. Ruben took full advantage of this opportunity, using the museum’s resources to create an immersive exhibition that situates the audience in the last spaceship leaving earth.
Ruben is a worldbuilder, drawing on Mesoamerican folklore to craft his own mythology. By using easilyrecognizable materials and everyday objects like Styrofoam packing materials, car parts and clothing, he creates an accessible entry point for visitors to engage with the work. Though often abject, Ruben’s sculptures encourage us to approach the work with a childlike sense of imagination, dreaming of future possibilities.
What personal response does the artwork evoke?
LEVING: Ruben’s work draws on his lived experiences and pulls from histories of science fiction. Within “Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh,” he explores social issues concerning border culture, adaptation and otherness. We’ve all had moments in our lives in which we’ve had to adapt or shift our perspective. Ruben’s work taps into this, evoking individual responses based on our memories of discomfort and growth.
What was happening in the art world more broadly recently that might have influenced it?
LEVING: Ruben is particularly influenced by music and literature rooted in science fiction. He is an avid listener of Arca (Venezuelan musician and record producer) and is inspired by the writing of (science-fiction writer) Octavia
“Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh” by Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.
Butler. “Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh” deeply considers the world Butler shapes within the Xenogenesis series.
What else can you tell us about the artist?
LEVING: Ruben has a truly innovative creative practice, developing a visual speculative fiction that critiques petrocapitalism and poses questions about material culture and reuse. With a solo exhibition at Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego in 2025, and work in El Museo del Barrio’s upcoming triennial, “Flow States,” his practice is receiving much-deserved national and international attention.
How do the exhibit’s pieces fit together to create a whole experience for viewers?
LEVING: “Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh” is an immersive exhibition. When audiences enter the gallery, they are situated within the walls of last spaceship leaving an apocalypse-ravaged Earth. With his sculptural Nahuales, or shape-shifting creatures, Ruben builds a world of which the audience becomes a part, probing visitors to think about life beyond the Anthropocene.
“Skinchangers: Begotten of my Flesh” exhibition
Artist: Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya (born 1989, Parral, Mexico)
Year: Exhibition debut in 2024, expanding upon his 2022 exhibition
Medium: Expanded polystyrene sculptures
Find it: Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, 11400 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, through Dec. 29
