On the eve of Karamu House’s centennial celebration, one well-known alum, actor Bill Cobbs, who's appeared in dozens of films including "Night at the Museum," recently returned to his hometown of Cleveland and the Karamu stage to speak with some budding actors.
Karamu House, the place where Bill Cobbs got his start was founded In 1915, by a pair of Oberlin graduates, Russell and Rowena Jelliffe, who set out to establish a place where people of different races, religions, social and economic backgrounds could come together to share common experiences through the arts. That place, located at 38th and Central Avenue, became known as the "Playhouse Settlement". Its name was later changed to Karamu, a Swahili word meaning “a place of joyful gathering.” A documentary about the organization's rich history called, "Karamu House, More Than a Theatre" is in production and we screen a portion of that film.
Throughout the month of April on WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN ideastream we've been sharing reports about Cancer in an effort to empower people, reduce their risk and help cancer patients to better manage their disease...on this episode of Applause America we continue our look at this issue with the inspiring story of actor Sean Kyle, who survived the illness while holding onto his dream of performing throughout that difficult time.
One of the signature events at this year’s Cleveland Orchestra's "At Home Residency in the Broadway Slavic Village” was the Orchestra's Community Concert. It was held earlier this month at Our Lady of Lourdes Church at East 55th and Broadway Avenue. We share a bit of that performance and the ties that bind The Cleveland Orchestra to the Broadway Slavic Village neighborhood.
Actor Bill Cobbs
Sean Kyle, Actor