The subject came from Playhouse education director Bert Goldstein. He says, “Last March, I was so overwhelmed when I read about two teenagers who died in a suicide bombing. The Palestinian girl had a bomb strapped to her and went into an Israeli market.

        “I was struck by how similar the girls were and I thought, what better way to shed light on the lives of these two teenagers than as theater?

        ""Paradise is a very telling story of the times we live in and what's happening in the world around us.”

        Paradise will tour to middle and high schools in March and April, and have public performances March 29 as part of the Rosenthal Next Generation Theater Series at Playhouse.

        Also on this academic year's touring line-up: The Wrestling Season, which is about “the crushing power of innuendo, rumor and peer pressure.” It will feature members of Playhouse and Ensemble Theatre's intern acting companies for performances in January and February.

        Elizabeth Wong, a past winner of the Lazarus Prize, returns with an elementary school play, Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King, that will be performed in the style of Peking Opera.

        For information about Paradise and other Playhouse outreach and touring productions, call Mr. Goldstein at 345-2242.

        Investing in arts: Cleveland has caught on: A Sunday front page centerpiece in The Plain Dealer last month carried the headline:

        “An untapped industry could give Cleveland the vibrancy it needs”

        The comprehensive investigative report by Carolyn Jack seemed born of The Rise of the Creative Class and its hypothesis that arts and culture can be at the center of a new economy. And, of course, an impressive study that put arts and culture's economic impact at over $1 billion.

        “. . . Because the arts in other cities have attracted new businesses, an educated work force and increased tourism ... experts strongly believe that Cleveland's prosperity may depend not just on high-tech business, but also on how well the arts are nurtured, marketed and allowed to reshape the city.”

        I'll repeat a scary statistic from last week's column. While the overall Greater Cincinnati population has grown between the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census, the vital 18-34 demographic is down a dangerous 20 percent regionally.

        Creative Class author Richard Florida warns of the outcome when a city can't bust out of the box of old-fashioned, institutional thinking. Young adults want to have fun. And job opportunities. And live in a place with enough oxygen to breathe.

        If the first step to a cure is admitting there's a problem, Cleveland seems to be on the way. Dennis Eckhart, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, is quoted as saying, “We're not thinking about that 18-25 market. We're really hot on the 55-70 market.”

        Civic leaders, please take note:

        Ms. Jack reports: “Many of the city's students and young workers can't develop careers here because Cleveland's dull image doesn't attract enough activity in their chosen fields ...”

        (Recall the report in the Enquirer in Aprilon a new University of Cincinnati study that found new business investment had dropped by more than $1 billion in 2001?)

        “Worse, perhaps,” Ms. Jack continues, “some of Cleveland's attempts to make itself enticing are so outmoded that hip, in-demand workers are writing the city off as clueless.”

        Ms. Jack went on to suggest four strategies that rose from extensive interviews that could contribute to a change in mind set that would make Cleveland more attractive to high-tech business and their work forces:

        • Create an arts council.

        • Plan the city, involving artists and designers.

        • Develop varied money sources.

        • Educate the public.

        Like Cincinnati, Cleveland is “outfitted with impact studies (and) master plans.”

        Apparently Cleveland is starting to get the message; Cleveland City Council hosted an Arts Summit in May.

        Ms. Jack reports the city also has a new live-work ordinance that allows abandoned buildings to be renovated as affordable places for artists to rent apartments and studio work space.

        There was even some intriguing advice from, not surprisingly, Seattle. “Do something original, advised Jim Kelly, manager of the King County Arts Commission. “Build the first zone that combines the creativity of the high-tech sector with the creativity of the arts sector.”

        He suggests building it as a connector between Cleveland's University Circle and downtown, a neighborhood not unlike Over-the-Rhine, creating “a hotbed of technological, residential and recreational activity.”

        Sounds like a potential addendum to the Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan.

        All-day theater: The 24 Hour Plays project, born in New York seven years ago, comes to Cincinnati.

        Rajeev Kahn is pulling together a last-minute edition as an interfaith, community-based production that will mix visiting Israeli Arab and Jewish teenagers with local theater folk at Old St. George (42 Calhoun St.) in Clifton.

        The 24-hour schedule: 9 p.m. Tuesday, company meeting at Old St. George (and folks are still welcome to sign on); 10 p.m., six writers start working on 10-minute plays; 8 a.m. Wednesday, directors choose plays; all-day, rehearsals and production planning.

        A 7 p.m. reception on Wednesday will precede the 8 p.m. performance. Voila, 24 hours. No promises as to quality, since Mr. Kahn pulled the event together too quickly to connect with the town's better-known creative names — but there's still time to call him at 569-9642 or e-mail plays24hours@yahoo.com if the project intrigues.

        Tickets $10 adults, $5 students, $24 sponsor. For info online www.the24hourplays.blogspot.com or www.friendsofopenhouse.org.

        Creating the set: Scenic designer Tammy Honesty is taking a break between designing Miami University Summer Theatre and Playhouse outreach touring show Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King to teach five scene-painting workshops this month at Cincinnati State.

        “Fooling the Eye'' will take students through bricks, stones, wood grain, wallpaper and marbling. Each is a stand-alone class.

        Ms. Honesty has taught at Cornell University and moved here two years ago when her husband, Chuck Hatcher, signed on as head of the sound program at College-Conservatory of Music.

        They do have the technical end covered, she says, laughing, if they ever decided to open a barn and put on a show.

        “Fooling the Eye,” she says, is ideal for high school teachers and community theater people. Mastering these techniques, she says, “can create some pretty lovely sets.”

        Sessions are Aug. 7, 10, 14, 17 and 21. You can sign up for the opening session through Monday, then deadlines are a week prior to each class. For registration information, call Cincinnati State at 569-1466.

        Family event: Arts Consortium will celebrate 30 years with a“30 Ways to Love Art” festival noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.The free event is geared toward families and will feature artists painting on canvas (and on you), drama, puppets and more.

        Arts Consortium is at 1515 Linn St. in the West End. For more information, call 381-0645.

        Homecoming in Wyoming: Wyoming Players is going home. Ohio's oldest community theater (founded in 1887, says Players president Cliff Bramkamp) returns to Wyoming Civic Center starting Friday for a two-weekend run of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park.

        The Players have performed at the site — 1 Worthington Ave. — in former guises. When the first civic center burned in 1947, the Players moved to stages at Wyoming Schools.

        Mr. Bramkamp says the Players are delighted with the intimate space and hope audiences will be, too. For show reservations and information, call the box office at (513) 729-4078.

        Contact Jackie Demaline by phone: 768-8530; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: jdemaline@enquirer.com.
       

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