For the past decade, the Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) Test Flight play development program has been a launchpad for local artists—giving playwrights, choreographers, and performers the chance to develop new work in front of live audiences and respond to feedback in real time.

Evolving from CPT’s 2001 Big Box initiative, Test Flight has adapted over the years to better meet the needs of both artists and audiences—clarifying the path from concept to stage along the way.

From participant to leader
Melissa Crum knows that journey well—both as a Test Flight participant and as CPT’s director of education. She got to know Test Flight as a participant in 2018, developing the dark musical “Everything is Okay (and Other Helpful Lies)” with co-writer Caitlin Lewins. The piece went through multiple phases at CPT, beginning as a 15-minute work before expanding into a full production that later made it to the New York Musical Festival in 2019.

A scene from Melissa Crum's 'Everything is Okay' 2018 Test Flight Performance."I can speak to two really strong experiences," Crum explains, reflecting on her time with Test Flight and crediting the program with providing a rare and intensive development opportunity.
"I think the great advantage there is that for three days in a row you've got an opportunity to have a full audience—responding to the work that you're doing—and the opportunity to change it in real time, and make adjustments based on the feedback that you're receiving," Crum says.

That balance of creative freedom and practical support has become central to Test Flight’s identity. Crum says staging a performance is an artist’s chance to take over the theater, mount the play, iron out production details, and collect feedback.

“[You can experiment with] lighting, sound, and any set pieces that you might want to try out,” she says. “You basically just have the theater for that week to put it up on its feet and then have the audience for that weekend give that feedback."

Melissa Crum and Ananias Dixon are collaborating on the work-in-progress, 'Gray Space.'As Crum now guides artists through the same Test Flight process she went through, and leads other educational programming at CPT, she also continues to participate as a creator.

She collaborated with actor and theater educator Ananias Dixon on "Gray Space," which ran in the 2023 Test Flight series, reinforcing Crum’s belief that Test Flight offers both artistic growth and professional grounding.

"I think it's a space to grow creatively,” she says, “but it also has a very practical application of the things that you need on the business end of it."

Crum says “Gray Space” also had a staged reading at the 2022 BorderLight Theatre Festival and the piece is still in development. However, she says she hopes to have a complete draft reading this spring at CPT—with invited guests to help determine the next best steps for the piece.

Crum says Test Flight ultimately is about access and possibility, noting that the ultimate goal is to "demystify the process of things so that everybody who wants to create something knows that they can.”

“We can remove those boundaries and those things that make it feel like it's not possible so that Cleveland artists have access to make their work and have their work be known."

Elizabeth PollertUnboxing talents
That philosophy is embodied in the 2026 Test Flight production “Boxed,” a dance theater piece devised and choreographed by Cleveland-based artist Elizabeth Pollert. Running today, Thursday, Feb. 5 through Sunday, Feb. 7, “Boxed” challenges audiences to examine the labels and categories that shape identity, using movement, humor, and an unexpected abundance of cardboard boxes.

The idea emerged from Pollert’s observations about how easily people are defined—and confined.

"It really started as this thought that as soon as we get out of one box, or remove ourselves from one, we're immediately in another box,” she says. “It’s about this question of what boxes do we have that we’re put in—either by ourselves or others?"

“Boxed” began as a small sketch and has expanded into a full production featuring five cast members in the Test Flight performances. "Originally it was just me and one other cast member, and now there are five cast members,” Pollert says. “I play a very minor role in there as well.”

Visually, “Boxed” leans fully into its central metaphor, incorporating an estimated 100 cardboard boxes gathered through community donations. "[There are] probably over 100 boxes, I would say. I've lost track," Pollert estimates. "People will still walk up to me and say, ‘here's some boxes,’ or ‘I have been saving some boxes for you.’"

Though this is Pollert’s first Test Flight production, her relationship with CPT stretches back more than two decades, including work in CPT’s annual fundraiser Pandemonium.

A 'Boxed' rehearsal at Cleveland Pubic Theatre"I've done stuff with CPT for years,” she says. “But this is the first [production] I've done that's all of my work, all mine."

A veteran of Northeast Ohio’s modern dance scene, Pollert brings experience from companies including Inlet Dance Theatre, Elu Dance Co., Ajayi Dance, and Blessed Out Human Collective.

"I'm a modern dance gal—modern dance and theatrical things," she states.

Pollert’s background fuels both the movement and the casting of “Boxed,” which intentionally reflects a range of identities and perspectives.

"I was able to pull together a really fun cast coming from Akron, Lakewood, and Shaker," Pollert says. "It really is a fairly diverse cast, which I was really looking for when I was casting this piece. I think it's hard to talk about this with a cast that all looks the same."

“Boxed” runs as part of a double bill with “Perigon: A Birth Story” today, Thursday, Feb. 5 through Saturday, Feb. 7. Tickets are sold on a “choose what you pay” basis, ranging from $1 to $80—an approach that mirrors Test Flight’s mission to keep experimentation accessible, inclusive, and firmly rooted in Cleveland’s creative community.

Sage advice
As a Test Flight veteran, Crum has simple advice for those who have their works in this year’s showcase or even those who are thinking about submitting works in the future.

“Don’t be afraid to take big risks in-between performances,” she recommends. “That thing you want to try that seems crazy? Do it—see what happens. Gather as much information as you can while having an audience to collaborate with.

“Feedback is just another form of information,” Crum continues. “It’s important to continue to steer your work in the direction of your own artistic compass.”