×

Blossoming artists find common ground through theater company

Common Ground Theatre Company, a new hybrid theatre company, launched Oct. 1 to the glee of Fredonians, Manhattanites, and many other actors and writers along the East Coast, digging to unearth inevitable common ground by curating space for creation, discussion, and disruption.

Common Ground started as Disruptive Compassion, an online play-reading group founded by Fredonia students Matthew B. Cullen and Julia Marie Black in May 2020 to discuss existing theatrical works and enact their takeaways from the works in their daily lives. This group grew into an outlet for young theatre professionals to keep performing, practicing, and creating in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This small online group has expanded to a full company in order to include plays and musicals, including “Pippin” and “Everything Feels Like the End of the World,” host monthly Resident Ensemble sessions to create plays from scratch over Zoom, and continue their Disruptive Compassion play readings with the playwrights included in their talkbacks. Common Ground plans to perform in a hybrid format, meaning some works will be presented in person at varying locations in the Fredonia area, and others will be presented online for patrons to enjoy anywhere. The company aims especially to perform new works written by blossoming artists.

The facilitating team includes Artistic Director Matthew B. Cullen, Associate Artistic Director Julia Marie Black, Managing Director Stefanie Workman, Financial Director Caroline Schettler, Marketing Team Members Violet Stefania, Aja Pandey, and Brenna Jackson, Casting Director Katie Fitzpatrick, and Resident Ensemble Lead Facilitators Molly Conklin, Mitchell Pelissier, and Matthew B. Cullen.

For more information on Common Ground Theatre Company and upcoming theatrical events and opportunities, visit www.commongroundtheatrecompany.com, as well as their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Donations welcome through GoFundMe.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today