Raymond Bobgan, executive artistic director and CEO of the Cleveland Public Theatre in the Gordon Square Arts District, has been in his role for 20 years. He is celebrating the achievement by returning to the stage as an actor in the premiere of “Into the Heart of One Star” alongside actor Anastasía Urozhaeva.
Bobgan grew up in California and picked up a love of theatre from his mother, a dance and theater major in college. He studied in California and then moved to Akron to work as an assistant with the New World Performance Laboratory, which was once based there. Bobgan found his way to the Cleveland Public Theatre after that and was mentored by CPT’s former artistic director, James Levin, to take over the role in 2006.
Bobgan spoke with Signal Cleveland to reflect on his 20 years running the Cleveland Public Theatre, to talk about changes the theatre is undergoing right now, and to discuss what his legacy may look like.
Q: What are some significant memories from your time at CPT?
Most of my memories are not really moments, they’re like people or projects. … One is Teatro Público de Cleveland [a collective of Latinx theater artists whose debut performance was in 2013]. The opening of that company and being in the audience for that [first] show was just so powerful.
And then Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi, [a CPT group open to people of Arabic-speaking cultures with an interest in theatre]. That first show [was] called “Dream of Home.” This group of artists were telling such personal, powerful stories of their experience of coming to America. And thinking back on their homeland, but also being here in America and navigating what that is.
Q: How about challenges?
Our first crisis was really when I started. The theater was in a huge financial crisis. We were able to overcome that over a number of years through just discipline and smart finances and the [financial] sacrifice of so many people and artists.
There were a series of national crises [that impacted] the theater world [like 9/11, the 2008 recession, COVID],” he adds. “And CPT has weathered each one stronger than when it began. You know, just like in life, maybe it’s a good idea to live each day as if it’s your last, but also as if you will live forever with whatever you have done.
Q: What is your vision for CPT’s future?
We’re at this very interesting moment in CPT’s history. On the one hand, we’re on the verge of completing a capital campaign that was unimaginable when I began. Yet, simultaneously, we continue to face the incredible threats to the industry and to the world of arts right now. So here we are in a time of incredible promise and incredible danger.
Q: Tell us more about the renovation campaign?
This [renovation] campaign is about the sustainability of the organization, and, ultimately, is about my succession.
The properties, as much amazing [use] as we get out of them, they are an incredible burden. They are in conditions that are not tenable. We are really turning that around so that the properties really truly serve the mission of the organization. [We want]our spaces [to] feel accessible and inclusive and welcoming. That people, when they walk in, have a sense of belonging, not a sense of, ‘Where am I? Which door do I go through?’
[Note: Visitors are invited to tour the new renovations on April 16 and May 14 at 5:30 p.m. Learn more here.]
Q: What is something you want people to understand about your job?
I think the thing most people don’t really understand are the sacrifices made, not just by myself, but by the staff and CPT. We’re in an industry that pays less than most. We work many hours, many hard hours.
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Many times before a production has even had a first rehearsal, we have already spent more time and effort than any of the actors will ever spend on that show. We’ve already poured more of our heart and our soul into those projects.
Opening night, many times, by that point, we are totally forgotten. And that’s sort of the nature of what you do. But it’s because we’re not in the room. Those emotional bonds aren’t created. And so our work is oftentimes erased or not seen.
Q: What is something you’re most proud of that you’ve accomplished outside of CPT?
National New Play Network is a national organization of 30-plus theaters…dedicated to new play development. I was able to not only serve on the board, but ultimately serve as the president of the board and [we] drove the strategic planning process that transformed that organization.
The first strategic plan I was a part of was looking at who was at the table at the board. And at that time, that board looked like the artistic and managing directors of the theater world, white folks. By asking all of those members to give up their board seats, [by saying that doing so would mean] that the board can represent more of the theater that we’d like to become, that it would move the NNPN forward.
It was something that was really instrumental in transforming the field. And it also was part of my own journey at looking at culture and how to see culture as something that can be not controlled, but can be guided and directed.
