Ensemble Theatre, at Twelfth and Vine streets in Over-the-Rhine, stands near Ground Zero of last week's civil unrest. Far from packing up, the theater is digging in for its upcoming 16th season, with two new initiatives that demonstrate a long-term commitment to the neighborhood.

2001-02 SCHEDULE

Mainstage   Fully Committed, Sept. 5-23   A Map of Doubt and Rescue, Oct. 10-28   Pinocchio, Dec. 5-30   Praying for Rain, Jan. 23-Feb. 10   TBA, March 13-31   Cowgirls, May 1-19   Off-Center/On-Stage series:   All titles TBA, dates Nov. 1-4, Feb. 14-17, April 11-14, May 30-June 2.   Theatre of the Mind Discover America play reading series:   Wings, Arthur Kopit; Three Hotels, Jon Robin Baitz; In the Blood, Suzan-Lori Parks, A General in America, Richard Nelson, two additional titles and all dates TBA.   Ticket prices will increase $3, to $28 for adults and $23 students and senior citizens. Subscriptions $120 through May 20, $130 starting May 21. Call the theater box office at (513) 421-3555 for information.

        A $100,000, 3-to-1 challenge grant from Fidelity Foundation begins May 1. In 12 months, ETC plans for it to translate to a $400,000 upgrade for the theater's Over-the-Rhine home.

        For audiences, that means improved seating, heating and air-conditioning. Funds will also go to roof repairs.

        A new educational initiative, the Prelude program, will take five actors into three schools (elementary, middle school and high school) on a weekly basis throughout the academic year.

        “We're sitting at 12th and Vine,” notes ETC artistic director D. Lynn Meyers. ""We feel we have to do something.”

        The $100,000 program has received first-year funding and will culminate in late spring with the presentation of students' original scripts.

        “We want students to start looking at theater as an avenue of personal expression,” Ms. Meyers says. The application deadline for the Prelude program is May 10. Contact Ms. Meyers at (513) 421-3555 for information.

        Ms. Meyers defines the upcoming season as one of “affirmation” that expresses commitment to its Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, to young writers and, as always, to new work.

        ETC again schedules a season of regional and world premieres for 2001-2002, opening Sept. 5 with a local production of off-Broadway hit Fully Committed, a one-man performance piece about a restaurant reservationist.

        David Kisor and Joe McDonough again will debut a holiday family musical, this time Pinocchio, set in 1920s New York. The fairy tale is told in the context of the American immigrant experience with characters fresh from Ellis Island.

        Also returning to the ETC stage is playwright Susan Miller (My Left Breast) whose newest work, The Map of Doubt and Rescue, about people starting over in middle-age, will be premiered at ETC, as will Robert Vaughn's Praying for Rain.

        Titles for the four-part Off-Center/On-Stage series will be announced at a later date.

        ETC will continue to be home to the Theatre of the Mind play-reading series, which has the theme Discover America in 2001-2002.

        “Next season's series will discover many voices — marginalized, historical, wonderful writers not found on local stages, even a forgotten modern masterpiece in Wings which has never been produced here,” says series co-founder Norma Jenckes.

        Theatre of the Mind will introduce the work of major American playwrights Richard Nelson, Suzan-Lori Parks and Jon Robin Baitz to Cincinnati audiences.

        Also included in the series will be a script by the University of Cincinnati's B.W. Morris Memorial Residency in Playwrighting, still to be announced.

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