MISSION
The mission of True Theatre (a 501(c)(3) non-profit) is to bring together a wide variety of people to share stories in an effort to create Community, encourage discussion, and remind everyone that ALL of us have stories to tell with unique insights and broad appeal. Though storytelling can take on many forms, True Theatre realizes that what great stories have in common are their power to hold attention, slow time, and capture the imagination. They may redden cheeks, make eyes water, and elicit eruptions of laughter. They take you somewhere. Although great storytelling is not limited to true, personal stories, True Theatre believes that these real moments of our lives, from the mundane to the extraordinary, give both the speaker AND the listener the ultimate sense of being part of a larger community than they were aware. Come join us for an evening of True Theatre ...where time slows down and we can listen.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dave Levy, Artistic Director
Dave can trace his love for storytelling all the way back to riding in the rear seat of his family car while his parents played Harry Chapin on the 8-track. He is fond of the traditional forms of storytelling (fables, cautionary tales, and other fiction), but is particularly interested in factual, auto-biographical tales like those you hear on The Moth podcast or by such greats as the late Spalding Gray ("Monster in a Box," etc.) and the on-time Mike Birbiglia ("Sleepwalk With Me," etc.). As is true with everything he loves, he wants to share it with others who he hopes will love it, too. That was his motivation behind partnering with Jeff Groh to create True Theatre and what keeps him bringing people’s stories to the stage nearly a decade-and-a-half later. David has lived in Cincinnati since 1992 and, when he's not programming computers or enjoying time with his family, he is at the gym enjoying CrossFit (don’t get him started!) or involving himself in the local theatre scene, telling stories via a different medium as both an actor and sound designer.
Holly McGowan
By day, Holly works at ArtsWave on everything from social media to donor events to customer service. By night, she can be found lurking in the shadows as a stage manager, hunting ghosts or watching horror movies. A native of Toledo, Ohio, Holly moved to Cincinnati upon graduating from Bowling Green State University in 2015. She lives on the West Side with her husband, Chris, her daughter, Evelyn, and her menagerie of animals (four cats, two cockatiels, a guinea pig and an 80-pound lap dog.)
Holly has stage-managed over 20 shows with Cincinnati Landmark Productions and eventually wants to try her hand at directing and prop design. She is excited to make an impact on the board for True Theatre and immerse herself in the Cincinnati arts scene.
Annette Ouchie, Production Manager
Annette is a 40 year veteran of working in theater mainly in production and stage management, but has worked as a director, actor, and house manager.
Annette was thrilled to join True Theatre as Production Manager in 2018 at the beginning of Season 8. During the day, she is a part-time executive assistant currently working at a branding, experience and design company. Annette finally agreed to join the board of True Theatre and looks forward to serving our organization in the future.
Chris Strobel
In his real-life gig, In his real-life gig, Chris is a Professor of Electronic Media and Broadcasting, primarily focusing upon media aesthetics and filmmaking, in the School of Media and Communication at Northern Kentucky University. Creatively, he’s a writer-director-producer-editor with over 30 years of experience telling stories on a screen.
He has edited five feature films (none of which you've seen), ran his film and video company (Good Morning Egg Productions) for four years, taught Audio-Video Production at Southern Ohio College, jumped across the river to NKU, earned tenure, designed the media infrastructure of Griffin Hall (the College of Informatics’ home), won a few awards (for his teaching, producing, directing, screenwriting, editing… and even one for dancing) and was promoted to full professor. Beyond his professorial duties, Chris directs NorseMedia, NKU's student-staffed media production house.
In the theatre and dance world he was the stage manager and lighting and sound designer for de la Dance Company for ten years while his daughter danced with the company. He also coordinated Film Fringe for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival in the early 2000s, and has designed sound for a few shows at the Falcon Theatre. And now he’s enthused to help tell the story of True Theatre!
Ramona Toussaint
A native of New Yorker, Ramona moved to Cincinnati in 1992 to get her Masters in Educational Foundations at UC. She believes in the power of the performing arts to make a significant impact on learning for children and adults and subsequently stayed on in Cincinnati, eventually choosing to make her home in College Hill.
This deep conviction, that art can educate and enlighten as well as inspire and entertain, drew Ramona to MUSE, Cincinnati's Women's Choir, a community choir who sings for social justice. She started singing with MUSE in 1998, and just concluded a 9-year tenure on their board.
It is through MUSE that Ramona discovered Cincinnati Community Shares (a fundraising organization for a collective of 28 progressive member groups whose focus is on social justice, a healthy environment, and economic equity) where she served on their board for 10 years.
In partnership with Cincinnati Arts Association and the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall, Ramona works as Program Director for Historic Music Hall. Through tours and educational outreach, she helps transform the stories of our history, of Cincinnati's rise to greatness, and the role Music Hall played in its success, in educating, inspiring, and entertaining experiences for audiences young and old.
Ramona is thrilled to serve on the Board of True Theatre to help make an impact in our community.
Also (w/ pix and bios coming soon):
Marcellus Harris
Marta Hyland
Zach Moning
Marissa Staples, Secretary
HISTORY
David Levy and Jeff Groh had known each other for years before they realized their shared passion for storytelling. Once they began to discuss their love for the art form, they knew they had to create a home in which it could thrive. In the wake of their discovery, True Theatre was born, a place where people from all walks of life could have a chance at a microphone and receive coaching while developing their story. Since its inception in 2010, True Theatre has provided an opportunity for nearly 300 unique voices, over the course of 13 seasons, to share their stories.
From the beginning, the mission of True Theatre has been to “build Community,” but Dave and Jeff were truly surprised at how vividly they could watch a Community grow every time someone shared a story. Dave and Jeff like to say “Everyone has a story to tell and the only difference between strangers and friends is the sharing of that story.” At every True Theatre performance, the audience makes several new friends.