Fostering Opportunity for Communities
Underserved on the Stage (FOCUS)
about
The FOCUS Program aims to provide exposure, training, mentorship, networking, and direct paid professional opportunities for early-career theatre designers, technicians, and stage managers from underserved and underrepresented communities including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Disabled, Deaf, and Neurodivergent theatre practitioners. Apprentices are provided mentorship in their design department of interest, given opportunities to shadow or assist with design on a variety of productions, and are connected with other theatres in the region to expand their network and create potential future employment opportunities. Over the course of the season, each FOCUS apprentice receives compensation for all onsite training and production work. Every apprenticeship is curated for the individual artist. FOCUS apprenticeships can last multiple years, and apprentices can explore more than one aspect of technical theatre by working with more than one department.
commitment
The time commitment for a FOCUS apprentice varies based on the individual artist’s area of interest. In the past, FOCUS apprentices have assisted a designer on an average of two to three productions per season, as well as participating in set builds and strikes, light hangs, scenic painting, and supporting other Dobama events, such as Drag Story Hour and the Heights Halloween Festival.
We have found that successful FOCUS apprentices are intrinsically motivated, comfortable working independently and collaboratively, and able to communicate their needs and goals. All FOCUS apprentices are encouraged to express any interest they may have in other areas of theatre, and Dobama staff will do their best to connect apprentices to additional opportunities.
FOCUS apprentices work throughout the entire season at Dobama. The start and end dates are flexible based on the FOCUS apprentice’s availability and are determined through a conversation with Dobama staff.
application timeline
Applications for the FOCUS Program are due no later than April 1. Offers are made no later than May 15. All application materials should be submitted via the Google Form.
Dobama Theatre encourages applicants to reach out in advance to have a conversation about their interest in the program and to ask any questions you may have about the theatre, the FOCUS Program, and/or the submission materials. Please email Director of Programs, Erin E. Dolan at edolan@dobama.org to start that conversation.
2024/25 FOCUS APPRENTICES
Josy jones
lighting Design
Josy Jones (she/her) is a theatre artist and arts administrator whose work focuses on providing a platform to amplify community voices, shifting power structures in the arts, and challenging the theatrical artform, all while honoring the sacredness of art practice. Jones founded the Chameleon Village Theatre Collective in 2015 to use site-specific theatre to activate underutilized space in Macon GA and throughout Northeast Ohio. Her work in the arts has been recognized by 880s Cities through the Emerging Cities Champions Fellowship (2018), through acceptance for publication as a “Promising Practices Case Study” (2022) by the Arts and Creative Placemaking (WE-Making) Repository at the University of Florida’s College of the Arts, through the 2022 Arts Alive Award for Outstanding Artist in Theatre, and through 30 for the Future by the Greater Akron Chamber. She has utilized her skills in playwriting, directing, dramaturgy, creative community building, site-specific work, art administration, performance and more to build community in Northeast Ohio. She currently serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC) and the Associate Producer and Director of Community Building for the BorderLight Theatre Festival! Now, she finds herself interested in the art of lighting design and how she can utilize the artform to deepen her relationship with artists and her community.
EMMETT SCOTT
SCENIC DESIGN
Emmett Scott is an artist and theater technician from Cleveland, Ohio. He is recent Kent State University graduate with a B.A. in Theater Studies. During his time at Kent, he gained experience as a house management lead, and a stage manager. Emmett also has credits scenic painting, as well as props artistry and stitching. The joy and process of creation is a feeling that he is always chasing.
BELLA BREHM
SOUND Design
Bella Brehm is a 2024 Kent State University graduate with a B.F.A in Theatre Design, Technology, and Production with a concentration in Sound Design. Bella discovered her love for theatre at a young age and from there grew a passion for sound design. Some of Bella’s recent design work includes: Cabaret (Kent State University), The MouseTrap (Weathervane Playhouse), and Murder on the Orient Express (Arena Fair Theatre). In her free time outside of the theatre, Bella enjoys bird watching and painting.
WAYNE Smith III
Projection Design
Wayne Smith III is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, and artist born and raised in Cleveland Ohio. A life-long storyteller, Wayne wrote and produced his first play at the age of seven and graduated from Syracuse University in 2015. Wayne’s artistic body of work explores themes of identity, community, science fiction, history, the Black experience, disability, loss, and surrealism. With much of his work, narrative storytelling comes first. In 2016, he founded Liaison Media LLC, a strategy-driven video production agency. For almost a decade, countless clients have partnered with Liaison Media LLC for its professional cinematography, commitment to storytelling, and ability to pull on viewers' heartstrings. In 2021, Wayne established his creative venture, Narrative Roux, and in that setting, he experiments with expanded cinema and interdisciplinary artistic expression. In 2023, Wayne premiered his documentary Where We Overlap at the 47th Annual Cleveland International Film Festival to a sold-out crowd. He also premiered his first expansive cinema art installation, No Two Flowers, at Ingenuity Fest 2023. His current artistic vocation consists of developing experiential art installations and expanded cinema experiences in galleries, theaters, and other third spaces. His goal is to continue to push the boundaries of filmmaking into new dialogues, understanding, and dimensions.
FOCUS Program Apprentice Alumni
Jasmine Golphin
(Projection Design)
E.J. Buckner
(Sound Design)
Cam Henderson
(Stage Management)
Want to inquire about working with a FOCUS Program Apprentice or alumni?