Professor Lana Sugarman Stages New Play Readings in Cleveland

Published January 31, 2025

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Professor Lana Sugarman

Earlier this month, Clinical Assistant Professor of Theatre Lana Sugarman directed staged readings of the new play The Vase by Tyler Whidden, with Seat of the Pants (SOTP), an ensemble-based, process-driven theatre company in Cleveland.

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Playwright Tyler Whidden

Directed by Sugarman and produced by Scott Esposito, the readings featured Nicholas Chokan, Esposito, Natalie Sander Kern, Tabitha Raithel, and Kelly Strand and took place at Malone University in Canton, plus the Franklin Circle Church in Cleveland, on January 18, 2025. 80 patrons came to hear and discuss this thrilling new play.

group of people sitting and listening to reading.

The readings are part of SOTP's Salon Series, which focuses on new work, hearing plays read aloud for the first time. Each reading is followed by a talkback with the playwright. Audience members ask curated questions which help to guide the next steps in edits and re-writes.

Seat of the Pants logo.

Patrons also have the opportunity to ask questions about the playwright's experience in crafting the piece up to this point. This is another way that SOTP celebrates process and development as a hallmark of great theatre-making.

audience talkback.

Audience talkback

"Our Salon Series at Seat of the Pants is an invaluable opportunity for a playwright to hear their words out loud for the first time," Sugarman said. "As a director, I find it exciting to guide the actors as they bring new characters to life and to investigate the world of a new play."