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Inaugural festival to be held November 6-7, 2015, at Waterloo Arts

(Cleveland, OH; October 7, 2015) — Playwrights Local 4181 announces its debut as Northeast Ohio’s first playwrights’ development and production center, marking its launch with a free festival on November 6 & 7, 2015. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Playwrights Local presents new plays written exclusively by area dramatists. It also offers classes and engages the community through site-specific projects. Playwrights Local is a home for novice and experienced dramatic writers to learn, create, and share their work.

“This type of organization has already succeeded in Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Cincinnati,” said David Todd, Artistic Director of Playwrights Local. “We see this as a way of putting our under-recognized playwrights on the map, and of making their plays a bigger part of the arts conversation.”

Literary Manager Arwen Mitchell seconds the need for a space in Greater Cleveland dedicated to dramatic writing. “Other theaters support local playwrights to the extent that they can, but there’s no place focused on them exclusively,” Mitchell said. “Having an outlet like Playwrights Local is both amazing and essential.”

Playwrights Local 4181 welcomes the Northeast Ohio community to its inaugural Cleveland Playwrights Festival on November 6 & 7, 2015. All sessions in this event are free. (Online registration is recommended.) Dramatic writers of all skill levels can participate in workshops and discussions. Fans of live theater can attend staged readings of local works and take part in a recording of Mike Geither’s podcast play, Flame Puppy. Other offerings include a luncheon and post-show reception. The festival will be held at Waterloo Arts in Collinwood (15605 Waterloo Road, Cleveland, OH 44110).

Information on festival sessions and registration is available at www.playwrightslocal.org. Tax-deductible donations in support of this new, locally focused arts organization also may be made at the site.

I’m just typing here to let you know that I’ve ordered for you and sent out a DVD called Forks Over Knives. I was recently referred to it by Mike Geither, who was my playwriting professor at CSU.

The conversation came about because I was talking about the movie Food, Inc. which I had just watched, and how the American food system was not only corrupt, but dangerous. I was talking about how Kirsten and I were looking to buy food from local farms and CSAs (community supported agriculture) associations. I was really miffed because in grocery stores you see all this product marketing and labeling that shows sunshine and farms, etc, when really most of the products in stores come from 4 or 5 corporate industrial farms that could give a shit about anyone’s health or safety.

Mike told me about Forks Over Knives. In it there is detailed information that the Western diet POISONS the vast majority of people who ascribe to it. Not by design or malice, of course, but because the evolution of man has not prepared the body for the diet that we have today: high in sugar, salt, fat, and animal protein. There is such a vast amount of data that points to the fact that the eating of meat, dairy, processed sugars, etc. causes cancer, heart disease, coronary artery disease, diabetes, allergies, etc., that I just could not ignore the parallels. One of the lead researchers is from the Cleveland Clinic. I am changing my diet for good. Kirsten and I have been talking for a while about changing our diets and the diets of [our children]. This is the foundational change that we will point to. We are going to ease into the transition, and we are not likely to be as radical–meaning we’ll eat, occasionally, some cheese and free-range eggs, etc. But we will be discontinuing the consumption of meat because the evidence points to how devastating it is to the arteries, heart, and how the consumption of animal proteins and by-products causes cancer of the liver, colon, breasts, etc. Not to mention the hormones, antibiotics, and other crap that has been injected into the food supply for so long.

A while ago I asked Dad what he was doing to change his diet in the wake of his colon cancer and he said that he didn’t know and hadn’t seen any resources to help. The DVD I’m sending is a wake-up call for me, and I hope it is for you, too. It is accompanied by a book about diet and has recipes that advocate for an all vegetable, whole foods diet. The DVD talks about cancer and how such a diet REVERSED many of the forms of cancer and other diseases people had, as well as their heart conditions–far more so than prescription medication. Kirst and I are under no illusions about how difficult such a transition will be, especially with kids; and I have no doubt that it will be tough for both of you, given the cultural history of food in this country. I cannot, however, be more convinced of what this DVD has to say and the necessity of making the change.