The Mission
Know Theatre of Cincinnati exists to build belonging through bold theatre.
Vision
A Cincinnati where theatre is not an exclusive club but a gathering place for artists and audiences of every background. A Fringe Festival that continues to be a safe space for experimentation and artistic risk. A MainStage season that invites Cincinnati to think deeply and feel together. A MainStage that reflects the city’s complexity, offering work that is both artistically rigorous and emotionally accessible. An organization whose health is measured in trust, reciprocity, and belonging. This vision is intentionally adaptive. Just as Fringe thrives on unpredictability, Know Theatre’s future remains flexible. What remains constant is our north star: belonging built through bold theatre.
Core Values
- Collaboration – We believe in reciprocity over transaction. Collaboration shows up in how our team supports artists, how Fringe facilitates rather than prescribes, and how staff rely on one another across roles.
- Community – We are not the sole creators of community; rather, we provide a home where communities can gather as themselves. Fringe artists find a cohort, patrons connect in the Underground, and local groups discover space where they feel welcome.
- Approachability – Patrons describe the Know as “come as you are.” Tickets are affordable, Welcome Thursdays lower barriers, and staff engage anyone who walks through the door. Approachability replaces vague ideals with concrete practices of openness.
- Care – Care is our humanist underpinning. It is why staff hand out popsicles to unhoused neighbors on hot days, why artists feel supported in risk-taking, and why our space operates like a village where people share resources and look out for each other.
- Integrity – We lead with transparency and truthfulness. From staff transitions to donor communications, integrity ensures we tell the truth even when it is difficult.
- Stewardship – We are entrusted with resources—financial, artistic, and relational—and we manage them with care for the future. Stewardship is accountability in practice.
Our History
The Founding of Know Theatre
The Know Theatre of Cincinnati was formed in the summer of 1997. Ann Pennick, Julie Vehorn, Dwaun Watson and Jay Kalagayan developed a mission to make theatre more accessible to the community. They planned a bookstore tour featuring sketches and short plays by local writers. The Know Theatre Tribe was expanded to include other performers and the tour began in September of that year.
In 1999, the Know Theatre Tribe took up its first residence in Gabriel’s Corner, a community performance space in an Over-the-Rhine church basement, Salem United Church of Christ, and produced a full season of plays.
In 2004, Jason Bruffy became Artistic Director of Know Theatre Tribe.
The David C. Herriman Center for Performing Arts
In the fall of 2005, David C. Herriman, a friend and patron of Know Theatre, offered to purchase the building at 1120 Jackson Street for the company.
The purchase closed in March, 2006. After 43 days in which seven staffers worked around the clock to renovate the space and install equipment, the space opened with In the Blood by Suzan Lori Parks on April 27.
A year later, Know Theatre expanded by merging with the four-year-old Cincinnati Fringe Festival. This merger created what was, at the time, the only regional theatre that also produced a Fringe Festival.
In the fall of 2008, Know Theatre partnered with Matheatre to launch a national tour of Calculus: The Musical! Over the next 7 years, Calculus served over 50,000 students and teachers across the country.
In 2009, both Jason Bruffy and founder Jay Kalagayan left Know Theatre. Managing Director Eric Vosmeier became Artistic Director.
In 2010, Know Theatre launched the Jackson Street Market, a resource sharing program to foster our local community of individual artists and independent arts organizations. Graduates include OTRimprov and TrueTheatre, which are now independent artistic entities.
In 2013, Know Theatre became an associate member of the National New Play Network, giving us access to a wide network of resources and raising the profile of both Know and the greater Cincinnati Theatre community.
In 2014, the Artistic Leadership team of Andrew Hungerford and Tamara Winters took the helm of the organization. In that season, the Know renewed its commitment to economic accessibility by introducing The Welcome Experiment, a program which provides low cost advance tickets to Wednesday MainStage performances, and reserves half of capacity for those performances as walk-up tickets available free of charge.
In addition to audience accessibility, the Know strives to pay all artists employed in MainStage productions a fair wage for their work.
In 2014, Know launched Serials!, a Monday Night Episodic Theatre Party where local playwrights bring work to audiences before the ink is dry.
Know Theatre is now among the region’s most dynamic small arts organizations, producing an award winning MainStage Season, the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, a Cabaret Stage season of works focused on local artists. In 2024 the Leadership structure shifted to include a Producing Artistic Director, Bridget Leak, and Managing Director, Ri Moodie.
The Community
With over 20 years as part of the neighborhood, Know Theatre seeks to be a full citizen of Over-the-Rhine.
Through partnerships with other not-for-profits such as ArtsWave and the Art Academy, Know Theatre aims to be a good neighbor and advocate for our community in Over-the-Rhine.
The community of Know Theatre is not limited to its neighborhood, however. We consider the artistic community of the Know to be made up of the staff, artists, volunteers, donors, board, and patrons – and all of our work is created with the intent to nurture this community.
Our Work
Our second-floor MainStage seats just 99 people, no one more than 20 feet from the stage. It is where we show off the highest levels of production on the most intimate stage in Cincinnati. From an actor’s gentle gasp, to the hem of their skirt, to the paintbrush strokes on the set, you will discover endless details on our MainStage.
Because of donors like you, every run includes an ASL-interpreted performance, $20 tickets for arts and service industry workers, and free-to-$15 seats every Welcome Thursday. Ticket revenue alone does not cover that pricing, but your gift does.
Our current 2026 – 2027 MainStage season explores themes of redemption, trauma, regret, and hope through bold, belonging storytelling:
Make Believe by Bess Wohl
A regional premiere mystery following four siblings who retreat to their attic playroom and confront their childhood ghosts three decades later.
Dates: September 10–26, 2026
Die Hard is a Christmas Movie
Returning by popular demand, this outrageous holiday comedy blends action movie nostalgia with Looney Tunes-esque humor.
Dates: December 3–20, 2026
Grangeville
Two brothers reconnect and question a future without forgiveness: a defiantly optimistic meditation on masculinity, memory, and forgiveness.
Dates: February 11–27, 2027
Wuthering: A Musical On The Moors
An original folk musical inspired by Emily Brontë’s classic novel about the socioeconomic brutalities of class, race, and gender in late Regency England.
Dates: April 2–18, 2027
MainStage productions will have ASL-interpreted performances on the final Friday of each run, $20 tickets for Arts & Service Industry Workers on select Monday night performances, and $15 advanced reservations and pay-what-you-wish tickets available at the door for every Welcome Thursday MainStage performance.
Subscriptions for the 2026-2027 season are now on sale for $275 and may be purchased online at www.knowtheatre.com or by phone at (513) 300–5669.
Deep in The Underground, our Cabaret Stage is where we take our biggest risks on emerging local talent. Artists and audiences collide through octKNOWber, Serials, and Cincy Fringe Late Night, as new artists test their work in a place where it is okay to fail, so long as they keep trying!
$250 pays the crew who make one Cabaret Stage night happen: the venue tech running sound and lights, and the bartender keeping the Underground open late.
Our current 2026 – 2027 Cabaret Stage season offers local, independent programming:
octKNOWber Nights
A full month of spooky, independent programming.
Dates: October 22–30, 2026
Serials
5 Local Writers. 5 New Plays. Episodic Theatre over 5 Monday Nights.
Dates: January 25 – February 22, 2027
A 14-day celebration of theatre, art, music, film, dance, and everything between — it’s Cincinnati’s Summer Theatre Party! The Cincy Fringe (as it’s succinctly known) presents over 150 performances of 35+ theatre productions during the first two weeks of June, plus free Late Night programming every night of the festival at Fringe Headquarters – the Know Theatre.
The Cincy Fringe – like all other Fringe Festivals – exists to give opportunities to artists — especially independent artists — to present their work. The freedom artists have to create whatever they want — within the parameters of an hour — makes Fringe Festivals a popular destination for more experimental and unusual productions. The Cincy Fringe has grown into an exceptional opportunity for independent theatre artists — both local and touring — to present brand new or in-progress work. Our low upfront costs make the Cincy Fringe a low risk financially, and our immensely supportive core of patrons – the All-Access Pass Holders — are deeply invested in seeing as many productions as possible. We intentionally curate a smaller festival in order to create the opportunity for artists and patrons to see every production presented over the span of the two week festival.
Fringe exists to say yes to artists working outside the usual rules. Low entry costs put the financial risk on us, not them, so more voices get a stage, and a small, intentionally curated festival means patrons can actually see everything.
$125 paves the way for an emerging Cincy Fringe producer by covering their production fee.
Founded in Season 27, the Know Theatre of Cincinnati provides dynamic educational programs that blend dramatic artistry with technical stagecraft: youth theatre camps, understudy programs, and educational matinees.
Our education programs treat kids, college students, and adults as real collaborators. Three pillars form the foundation of education at the Know: classes and camps for youth artists exploring the stage for the first time; understudies, internships, and workforce development for emerging professionals; and educational performances for local schools. Needs-based scholarships keep our programs open so that everyone can feel like they belong, including over half of our education students.
$400 sends one child to summer camp with InBocca Performance on full scholarship, so cost is never the reason a kid does not get to write, direct, and perform their own show.
Our current 2026 – 2027 Education Programs:
Summer Devised Theatre Camps
Formed via a collaboration with InBocca Performance for grades 3–12. Students completely write, direct, and perform their own 90-minute production.
2026 Program: The Road To Oz
Fall Theatre Camps
Specific thematic sessions are offered for grades 3–12, taught by local artists. Courses integrate ensemble building, playwriting, costume/set design, and vocal acting.
2026 Program: Puppetry & Performance
Educational Matinees
Our educational matinees for the 2026/2027 MainStage Season is for Wuthering: A Musical on the Moors.
Understudy Program
The Know Theatre Understudy Program is an educational and professional development initiative created specifically for current college students and recent graduates. Launched by Bridget Leak in Season 27 (with14 understudies that covered the 2025/2026 Season), this program bridges the gap between academic theater and professional career opportunities by embedding early-career actors into MainStage productions.
Know Theatre of Cincinnati exists to build belonging through bold theatre. We are deeply committed to paying local theater-makers a fair wage for their work and providing resources to help local independent artists thrive. We believe in reciprocity over transaction. Collaboration shows up in how our team supports artists, how Fringe facilitates rather than prescribes, and how staff rely on one another across roles. We lead with transparency and truthfulness. From staff transitions to donor communications, integrity ensures we tell the truth even when it is difficult. We are entrusted with resources—financial, artistic, and relational—and we manage them with care for the future. Stewardship is accountability in practice.
Get Involved & Support Your Local Artists
Donate Directly: As a non-profit company, donations and sponsorships directly fund local artist payouts and program resources.
Attend a Show: MainStage tickets are typically $40, but we offer Welcome Thursday Tickets for $15 to keep local theater financially accessible.
Purchase a Season Pass: The 2026–2027 subscription costs include tickets to all four MainStage productions, five Serials! performances, and complimentary cabaret tickets.
Volunteer as an Usher: Get involved with local theatre by helping out with guest hospitality and earn free tickets to upcoming productions.
The Space
Know Theatre is a 99 seat contemporary black box theatre located in the David C. Herriman Center for the Performing Arts at 1120 Jackson Street in historic Over-the-Rhine.
Our lobby, the Underground, has a full bar and cabaret stage for second stage programming and special events.
Our second floor MainStage is an intimate space with general admission seating. No audience seat is more than 20′ from the playing space.
Accessibility
We do have elevator access to our upstairs MainStage. Because the configuration of our space frequently changes, patrons using the elevator are accompanied by ushers.
If you or a member of your party have mobility concerns, it’s helpful if you give us a call ahead of time at 513.300.5669.