Dobama Emerging Actors Program performances begin July 28

The DEAP Class of 2016.

Dobama Theatre continues its commitment to education programming with the seventh season of its Dobama Emerging Actors Program (DEAP), an intensive summer acting program for high school and college students.

This year’s DEAP production is a double bill of Greek drama: Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptations of “The Trojan Women” and “The Persians.”

The performances are at Dobama Theatre on Thursday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, July 29, and Saturday, July 30, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, July 31, at 2:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Each performance will feature both productions.

Dobama created DEAP in 2010 to provide students in Northeast Ohio with serious, technique-based acting training. DEAP’s education model is that of a college conservatory curriculum. Guest artists and master teachers lead high-level courses, preparing young actors for collegiate programs and giving them a broader perspective on their craft.

The students work with instructors from respected performing arts programs, who have extensive professional experience. DEAP features faculty from Baldwin Wallace College, Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Play House M.F.A. Program, among others.

Throughout the month of July, the students apply their skills in rehearsals for a heightened text blackbox production, stripping away elaborate sets and costumes to focus on the acting work onstage. Combined with their coursework, the productions are centered on ensemble building, character development, storytelling and communication, as well as a deeper understanding of text.

For more information on DEAP and to purchase tickets, visit the Dobama website at www.dobama.org or call the box office at 216-932-3396. Dobama Theatre is located at 2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, in the Lee Road Library annex.