© 2021 All rights reserved
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Talespinner Children’s Theatre was founded in 2011 by Alison (Ali) Garrigan. After many years of dreaming of a professional children’s theatre for the young people and families of her community, the moment that put things in motion came during a Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) artists’ meeting, when Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan asked what was missing from Cleveland’s theatre landscape. “A professional children’s theatre,” was the resounding response. Ali knew it was time to go to work, envisioning “something that was smart and unique, a place where children would be honored and engaged, as well as a place where artists could have a voice, stretch and grow.”
Talespinner’s first season included two productions: The Tale of the Name of the Tree and The Magic Flute. During its first ten years, Talespinner produced exclusively world premiere works by playwrights from Cleveland and the surrounding region, intentionally creating opportunities to foster local artists and develop new theatrical voices. In the fifteen years since its founding, Talespinner has been the artistic home for more than 40 new plays presented through both mainstage and touring productions. Today, TCT operates under a hybrid producing model, continuing to generate and commission new work by local artists while also presenting vital, relevant, and engaging Theatre for Young Audiences from across the country and around the world.
Today, TCT produces four to six professional productions each season for children and families, alongside touring productions, educational residencies, classes, camps, and community-based programming that reaches audiences throughout Cleveland and surrounding areas. Significantly, all of our productions are designed to be sensory friendly/relaxed, and to include accessible performances which include tools and designs meant to address the needs of d/Deaf and hard of hearing patrons, those who are blind or have low vision, and patrons who have sensory processing disorders and/or who are on the Autism spectrum. We are proud of the continued growth of our accessibility programming, and to be working closely with community partners like the Cleveland Sight Center, Cleveland Hearing and Speech, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities to ensure that we’re providing high quality accommodations and access tools, and are involving disabled communities in the creative process.
Talespinner’s education programming includes adaptive and inclusive classes, workshops, and camps for children ages 0-18. We have a growing in-school residency program, in which our partnerships are shaped around the particular needs of each school and each class. These residencies vary from more traditional theatrical experiences to utilizing the principles of creative and process drama to teach academic content standards to creating performance troupes. Talespinner also offers professional development opportunities for teachers. As part of our educational programming, we also offer multiple touring productions annually, with shows aimed at PreK and Kindergarten students, students in grades K-3, and students in grades 4-6, that are accompanied by workshops, residencies, and other educational opportunities.
In 2023, Talespinner Children’s Theatre relocated its administrative offices to 78th Street Studios, where the organization continued to grow its productions, educational programming, and accessibility initiatives. In June 2026, TCT relocated to the Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression. This move represents the most significant organizational advancement since the theatre’s founding, providing dedicated office, classroom, rehearsal, and collaborative space while placing TCT within a vibrant community of artists and cultural organizations. We are excited about the continued growth that is to come, and hope that you’ll join us as we envision a world in which all children see themselves represented onstage.
We believe that theatre should be for everyone. And we know that in order for this to become a reality, that access must be woven into every aspect of the work that we do. From ticketing and scholarship policies that ensure that cost is no barrier to participation, to our adaptive and inclusive educational programming, to intentional accessibility design that artistically incorporates tools for d/Deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and low vision patrons, and those with sensory processing disorders and/or who are Autistic into every single production – All Means All at Talespinner.
We believe that theatres are centers of community, and that Talespinner should be deeply present in our neighborhood and the city of Cleveland as a whole. We believe in partnership, and in working alongside other amazing organizations to provide services in spaces in which children exist for free, like schools, libraries, community centers, parks, and more.
We believe that inclusion means ensuring a diverse group of voices in every step and at every possible level. We believe in the “nothing about us without us” model, in which stakeholders from disabled communities are compensated for their time and expertise as they work with us to shape our accessibility designs and programming. We commit to being an anti-racist, equitable, and justice-centered organization for those who work for us, and for our community. We believe that theatre has the responsibility to be both a mirror and a window: an opportunity for children to see themselves represented onstage, and to gain insight into lives that differ from their own, toward greater empathy and understanding. We engage in identity conscious casting, understanding that we are intersectional beings, and that the combination of our identities and experiences impact upon the stories we tell onstage.
We believe that learning is a lifelong process. With that, we know that we may not get it exactly right the first time, or all the time. We will always respond with openness when someone is willing to call us in, and will listen to hear, not to respond.
We believe that children are smaller people, not lesser people. We believe that all children should have access to high quality arts education and are committed to providing a safe space for children to be brave, take risks, and explore while they learn about themselves and others, and grow as creators. We are dedicated to providing significant scholarship opportunities to ensure that cost is no barrier to learning and growing, and are deeply engaged in spaces in which children exist for free, like schools, libraries, parks, community centers, and more. We are also committed to sharing our knowledge to further the growth of adult learners and toward more equitable theatre and educational communities, through workshops and professional development.
Get to know our Executive and Admininstrative leadership and our amazing Teaching Artists!
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Learn more about our incredible group of directors, creatives & specialists.
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© 2021 All rights reserved
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