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October 23 - November 26, 2021 , Allen Theatre

Where Did We Sit on the Bus?

by Brian Quijada

Run time: 90 minutes, no intermisson

During a third grade lesson on the Civil Rights movement and Rosa Parks, a Latina child raises her hand to ask, “Where did we sit on the bus?” Her teacher can’t answer the question. This autobiographical solo show follows that kid from her childhood to adulthood, as she explores her family’s history, her identity as a first-generation American, and what the world will be like for her future children. Featuring live music that brings together Latin beats, hip-hop, and looping, Where Did We Sit on the Bus? is a high-energy, tour-de-force theatrical experience that examines what it means to be Latinx in America.

Photos & Videos Download Hi Res Photos

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Satya Chávez as Bee Quijada in "WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?". Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Inside CPH

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Did you see people who look like or have a similar background to you and your family represented in lessons at school? In pop culture? When did you first see that representation?

Is there a legend that has been passed down in your family? What is it? How has it shaped your understanding of yourself? Have you ever questioned any part of it?

When did you discover your voice? How do you share it with others?

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To read more about the play’s origins – as well as an interview with Brian Quijada and his parents – check out this great article!

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Before or after seeing Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, why not treat yourself to some authentic Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Latin American cuisine? We invite you to VISIT these terrific eateries, some of which are located in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood (*).

There, Cleveland Play House is excited to be developing some fruitful partnerships through the work of our Creative Community Builder, Andrew Aaron Valdez. His focus is on meeting with individuals and groups in the community to discover what is most important to them and then develop action plans for enacting social justice through theatre programming, arts education, and more.

Algo Diferente (Catering)
Facebook: Algo Diferente Catering Co.

Cleveland Mofungo
11621 Lorain Ave, Cleveland
clevelandmofongo.com

El Jalapeños Authentic Mexican Restaurant
1313 W. 117th St, Cleveland
eljalapenos.com

Empanadas Latin Street Food
5543 Ridge Rd, Parma
empanadascle.com

*Half Moon Bakery
3460 W 25th St, Cleveland
Facebook: Half Moon Bakery

La Plaza Supermarket and Taqueria
13609 Lakewood Heights Blvd, Cleveland
plazataqueria.com

*Las Dos Fronteras – Mexican
3292 Fulton Rd, Cleveland
Facebook: Las Dos Fronteras

*Las Villas Deli and Pastries
3216 W. 41st St, Cleveland
Facebook: Las Villas Deli and Pastries

Orale! Contemporary Mexican Cuisine
Westside Market
1979 W. 25th St, #F6 & F7, Cleveland
oralecmc.com

*Pupuseria y Antojitos Gunaquitas
2998 W. 25th St, Cleveland
pupuseriayantojitos.com

*Sazón Domirriqueño
2886 W. 25thSt, Cleveland
Facebook: Sazón Domirriqueño

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Inside CPH would love to hear from you: Who or what helped you discover your voice? And how did you learn to “speak?” Through music? Art? Sports? Activism? Feel free to post your answer – and a childhood photo, if you’ve got it – on your social media and tag #InsideCPH, or send us your picture and answer to insidecph@clevelandplayhouse.com, and we’ll share it for you!

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Here’s what Kiara Vance, CPH’s Access and Inclusion Manager, had to say: “Junie B. Jones, Hermione Granger, and Miss Honey helped me discover my voice during this period of my life (6-7 years old). I would get lost in books and movies and found quite a bit of comfort in their stories. Junie was loud, goofy, and carried herself as though she was three feet taller and twenty years older. Hermione was confident, intelligent and unapologetically herself. Miss Honey advocated for those who could not advocate for themselves despite not having anyone to advocate for her, especially around the dynamics of family which are often overly complicated. Their characters still inspire me today but in different ways, and I wish I could thank them in real life for sharing their stories with me during a time when I needed them most.”

experience experience

Inside CPH invites you to learn more about spoken word, beat poetry, and rap culture – right here in Cleveland!

experience

The People Poetry Slam is the official open mic for creative expression in Northeast Ohio, organized through Poetry Slam Incorporated. Competitive poetry competitions and open mic sessions take place on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at B-Side Lounge in Cleveland Heights (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd).

You can check things out this month on October 27. Doors open at 6PM, with the slam happening from 6:30-9:00 PM. Tickets are $5 at the door, or $2 for anyone under 21. If you’re interested in sharing a song, dance, poem, rap, or stand-up routine, be sure to arrive early to get on the list! Performances are limited to one piece or 5 minutes. And if you’re lucky, you might even get a chance to hear CPH’s Creative Community Builder, Andrew Aaron Valdez, share his own work!

Artists

Satya Chávez

Satya Chávez

(Bee Quijada) is a Chicago based actor, composer, and musician, thrilled to make their Cleveland Playhouse debut. As an Actor, their credits include: Where Did We Sit On The Bus? (Colorado Springs FAC, Actors Theatre of Louisville); American Mariachi (Dallas Theater Center, South Coast Repertory, Arizona Theatre Company); more(Bee Quijada) is a Chicago based actor, composer, and musician, thrilled to make their Cleveland Playhouse debut. As an Actor, their credits include: Where Did We Sit On The Bus? (Colorado Springs FAC, Actors Theatre of Louisville); American Mariachi (Dallas Theater Center, South Coast Repertory, Arizona Theatre Company); Empanada (The Public SA); Undesirables (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center); The Happiest Song Plays Last (Curious Theatre); Othello, Twelfth Night (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); Ghost Of Lote Bravo, Shoe (John F. Kennedy Center); Black Elk Speaks (Aurora Fox); and Jesus Christ Superstar (Arvada Center). As a Composer, their work includes; an original score for the Drama League Nominated Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, by Brian Quijada (Actors Theatre); Refuge, co-created with Andrew Rosendorf, (NNPN Rolling-World-Premiere Spring 2022); Hamlet and Ophelia (The Artistic Home); Life on Paper (Jackalope Theatre Company. Proudly represented by Paonessa Talent Agency, stay connected at www.satyachavez.com

Matt Dickson

Matt Dickson

(Director) is a director based in Brooklyn with a focus on new work, classics and musicals— as well as a teacher, a coach, and an actor. He spent the last year pioneering the medium of digital theatre-making. Recent credits: Everything is Wonderful by Chelsea Marcantel (Juilliard); Where Did We more(Director) is a director based in Brooklyn with a focus on new work, classics and musicals— as well as a teacher, a coach, and an actor. He spent the last year pioneering the medium of digital theatre-making. Recent credits: Everything is Wonderful by Chelsea Marcantel (Juilliard); Where Did We Sit on the Bus? (a digital creation w/Actors Theatre of Louisville; nominated for Drama League Award), Mike Pence Sex Dream by Dan Giles (Ensemble Studio Theatre); Regrettably, The Ghost That Was Previously Haunting Our Mansion Has Died created with Nadja Leonard-Hooper (NYU Stella Adler); We The People: America Rocks! (Theatreworks, US Tour); Selkie by Krista Knight (Dutch Kills); Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window (NYU Grad); Machinal (Strasberg Institute); Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh (Drama League DirectorFest); Blood Wedding And The Cider House Rules (Rutgers Mason Gross); The Adventures Of Minami by Leah Nanako Winkler (Dramatists Guild); Kid Prince & Pablo by Brian Quijada (Ars Nova); Bizet’s Carmen (New York Opera Exchange); Sir by Jahna Ferron-Smith (Winner, Samuel French Festival); Oscar Hammerstein Festival w/ Adam Gwon (Bucks County Playhouse); Lanford Wilson's Home Free! and Michael John Garcés Audiovideo (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Upcoming: Macbeth (NYU). As an actor he has appeared on Broadway in War Horse and The Coast Of Utopia (Lincoln Center Theater); and most recently OffBroadway in Nicky Silver's Too Much Sun (Vineyard Theatre). He is a 2021-2022 recipient of the Drama League Next Stage Residency, a 2017 Drama League Fellow, a Jonathan Alper Directing Fellow (Manhattan Theatre Club) and member of Ensemble Studio Theatre. He is currently an adjunct professor at NYU teaching, “Theatre-making in the Digital Age". B.F.A. from Boston University. mattjdickson.com

Brian Quijada

Brian Quijada

(Playwright and Music Supervisor) is actor, playwright, composer, and Artistic Director of The Wild Wind Performance Lab for New Play Development. Quijada has spent most of his career acting in Off-Broadway and Regional Theaters including The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwright’s Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Victory Gardens, and more(Playwright and Music Supervisor) is actor, playwright, composer, and Artistic Director of The Wild Wind Performance Lab for New Play Development. Quijada has spent most of his career acting in Off-Broadway and Regional Theaters including The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwright’s Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Victory Gardens, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. As a playwright/composer, Brian’s plays and musicals have been developed at Pittsburgh CLO’s Spark Festival, Victory Garden’s Ignition Festival, Ars Nova’s Ant Fest, New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Festival, The Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage, and The O’Neill’s National Musical Theatre Conference. He has composed music for theatre and TV including Nick Jr's "The Always Song" celebrating 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month. Commissioning institutions include Woolly Mammoth, Oregon Shakespeare, 1st Stage, A.R.T., and The Kennedy Center. His Hip Hop Live-Looped solo show "Where Did We Sit on the Bus?" has been produced at Victory Gardens, Teatro Vista (Jeff Award), Ensemble Studio Theatre (Drama Desk Nomination), Geva Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville (Drama League Nomination), Boise Contemporary, 1st Stage, and City Theatre Pittsburgh. Brian is a proud member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in NYC.

Lex Liang

(Scenic and Costume Designer) is delighted to be back at CPH where he previously designed Shakespeare in Love (SD/CD), Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville (CD), The Three Musketeers (CD), The Little Foxes (SD/CD) and many others. Int’l/Nat’l Tours/NYC/Off-B’way: 100+ productions, including Judy Gold’s Yes, I Can Say That! currently playing at more(Scenic and Costume Designer) is delighted to be back at CPH where he previously designed Shakespeare in Love (SD/CD), Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville (CD), The Three Musketeers (CD), The Little Foxes (SD/CD) and many others. Int’l/Nat’l Tours/NYC/Off-B’way: 100+ productions, including Judy Gold’s Yes, I Can Say That! currently playing at Primary Stages, directed by BD Wong. Other recent work includes the world premieres of Emma, Mr. Holland’s Opus, The Tattooed Lady, and May We All. Other Regional: Actor’s Theatre Louisville, Alliance Theatre, Asolo, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Center, Geva, Guthrie, La Jolla, Long Wharf, Paper Mill Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Playmaker’s Rep, Portland Center Stage, St. Louis Rep, Syracuse Stage, Woolly Mammoth, ... Lex is the founder and principal of LDC Design Associates, the experiential event design and production company in NYC. Recent projects/clients include Absolut Vodka, Operation Smile, Johnson & Johnson, Ubuntu Pathways, Invesco, The Tony Awards Gala, NYFW, NYWFF, William Hill, and others. www.LexLiang.com @Lex92

Michael Boll

(Lighting Designer) is a Cleveland-based Lighting Designer. His Cleveland Play House designs include Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, Pipeline, Native Gardens, An Iliad, The Invisible Hand, The Good Peaches, The Little Foxes, Venus in Fur, Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, In the Next Room or the more(Lighting Designer) is a Cleveland-based Lighting Designer. His Cleveland Play House designs include Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, Pipeline, Native Gardens, An Iliad, The Invisible Hand, The Good Peaches, The Little Foxes, Venus in Fur, Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, In the Next Room or the vibrator play, and Stew and the Negro Problem. Productions with the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program include Macbeth, Metamorphoses, The Winter's Tale, An Orchard, and Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. Other Cleveland lighting design work includes Cleveland Public Theatre, Karamu House, Cain Park, Cleveland Museum of Art, Dobama Theatre and Beck Center for the Arts. Off-Broadway credits include The Moliere Cycle (Classic Stage Company), Songs for a New World (George Street Playhouse), Dog Sees God (SoHo Playhouse) and The Moonlight Room (Associate Lighting Designer, Beckett Theatre). His work has also been seen at the N.Y. Fringe Festival, La MaMa E.T.C., HERE Arts Center, and Yale Cabaret.

Curtis Craig

(Sound Designer) has sound designed for Where Did We Sit on the Bus? (Cleveland Play House), The Devil and Me (Lantern Theatre), Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (Syracuse Stage), Pipeline (Cleveland Play House) and Indecent (Denver Center), as well as world premieres of Dominique Morriseau’s Mud Row at People’s Light more(Sound Designer) has sound designed for Where Did We Sit on the Bus? (Cleveland Play House), The Devil and Me (Lantern Theatre), Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (Syracuse Stage), Pipeline (Cleveland Play House) and Indecent (Denver Center), as well as world premieres of Dominique Morriseau’s Mud Row at People’s Light & Theatre Company, and The Great Leap at Denver Center. His work has been heard at Baltimore Center Stage, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Seattle Rep, Detroit Public Theater, Clarence Brown Theatre, Chautauqua Theater Company, the world-famous Apollo Theater, New York Fringe, and the Dallas Theater Center. In 2022, his composition and sound design for the American premiere of Frankenstein will be exhibited at the World Stage Design expo in Calgary, following his 2017 Silver Medal in Sound Design in Taipei, Taiwan, for the Denver Center production of All The Way and his Gold Medal for Pentecost in 2009 in Seoul, South Korea. www.curtiscraig.com.

John Godbout

(Stage Manager) was Cleveland Play House's resident stage manager from 2001 to 2008 and returned to CPH in the fall of 2011. "Most recently, John stage managed A New Brain at Barrington Stage Company. John has also stage managed at North Shore Music Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, The more(Stage Manager) was Cleveland Play House's resident stage manager from 2001 to 2008 and returned to CPH in the fall of 2011. "Most recently, John stage managed A New Brain at Barrington Stage Company. John has also stage managed at North Shore Music Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, The Weston Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Northern Stage, Seaside Music Theatre, and Porthouse Theatre.

Kyra Button

(Stage Manager) is excited to be returning to Cleveland Play House for her sixth season. At CPH, she has worked on Antigone, Where Did We Sit On The Bus?, Tiny Houses, Into The Breeches, and Pipeline, to name a few. Her previous credits also include ABCD (Barrington Stage Company), more(Stage Manager) is excited to be returning to Cleveland Play House for her sixth season. At CPH, she has worked on Antigone, Where Did We Sit On The Bus?, Tiny Houses, Into The Breeches, and Pipeline, to name a few. Her previous credits also include ABCD (Barrington Stage Company), Dreamgirls (Virginia Stage Company), Hurricane Diane (Dobama Theatre), Baby Camp (Leviathan Labs), Resistance (Semicolon Theatre), The Heart’s Impatience (Shufflefoot Theatre Company), A Streetcar Named Desire (St. Ann’s Warehouse), Medea and Dreamgirls (Red House Arts Center), This Day Forward (The Vineyard Theatre), and The Intergenerational Project (Rose Bruford, London). Kyra is proud to hold a BFA in Stage Management from Syracuse University’s Department of Drama and is overjoyed to be working on this production.

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