BorderLight Theatre Festival

09/23/2026

ONE NIGHT ONLY BENEFIT PERFORMANCE
Thursday, October 8th at 6:30pm
𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦: 𝘐 𝘈𝘮 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢 by Sora Baek

Inspired by the true stories of North Korean women defectors, this acclaimed solo performance follows a 15 year old girl’s extraordinary struggle to save her dying mother. After performances in New York, Chicago, and a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, award winning Korean playwright and performer Sora Baek brings this unforgettable production to Cleveland for its regional premiere.

🎟️ Tickets start at $50. Purchase with the link in our bio.

09/12/2026

🏆 Award Spotlight: Intimate Gem Award for 𝘎𝘳33𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘻𝘪𝘦𝘴 & 𝘌𝘨𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴.

This award recognizes a piece that is highly impactful no matter how small in scale. 𝘎𝘳33𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘻𝘪𝘦𝘴 & 𝘌𝘨𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 perfectly embodies this, as their show required no performance, yet still created a place of discovery and interactivity. Providing a low-fi calming space for families to explore together reminded us to slow down and enjoy the little things, a helpful perspective when a fringe festival can feel so big.

Congratulations Award Winners!

09/09/2026

🏆 Award Spotlight: Collaborative Excellence Award, AKA the “Good Human” Award, for Lethan Candlish’s 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘈𝘮 𝘐, 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯?

This award recognizes an individual whose work is purposeful in service of the greater good––art made not just to be seen, but to make the world a little bit better.

Watch our interview with Lethan captured at our opening night event: Fringe Unleashed!

Congratulations Award Winners 🎉

09/01/2026

ONE NIGHT ONLY BENEFIT PERFORMANCE
Thursday, October 8th at 6:30pm
𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦: 𝘐 𝘈𝘮 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢 by Sora Baek

Inspired by the true stories of North Korean women defectors, this acclaimed solo performance follows a 15 year old girl's extraordinary struggle to save her dying mother. After performances in New York, Chicago, and a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, award winning Korean playwright and performer Sora Baek brings this unforgettable production to Cleveland for its regional premiere.

Purchase Tickets: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/annual-gala-6681

08/18/2026

A day in the life of our intern Karina Lovins! We always look forward to providing a unique internship experience for talented students from John Carroll University year after year.

💫 An internship with BorderLight lasts 3 months and covers a plethora of responsibilities before, during, and after the Festival.

Thank you karina lovins for your hard work ensuring the success of 🤩

08/18/2026

Many congratulations to BorderLight board member Terry Stewart on receiving the Martha Joseph Prize for Distinguished Service to the Arts! 🏅🎊 We’re proud to have him as part of the BorderLight family.

Announcing the 2026 Cleveland Arts Prize Winners and Special Honorees!

Discipline Prizes:
Emerging Artist Award: Chris Webb (Theatre & Dance) https://www.chriswebbspeaks.com

Mid-Career Artist Award: Aimee Lee (Design) https://aimeelee.net

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dexter Lee Davis (Visual Arts)

Special Prizes:
Special Citation from the Board of Trustees: Barbara Stanczak, Sculptor and Arts Educator https://barbarastanczak.com

Robert P. Bergman Prize: Héctor Castellanos-Lara, Artistic Director, Parade the Circle and Dia de Mu***os; an Artist

Martha Joseph Prize: Terry Stewart, President Emeritus and CEO, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Barbara S. Robinson Prize: The Connor Foundation https://connorfoundation.org

Please join us in congratulating these impressive recipients at The Cleveland Museum of Art on October 29th!

To buy your tickets vist - https://clevelandartsprize.org/annual-awards-event/

Thank you to our 2026 jurors and to everyone that took the time to nominate and apply!

08/12/2026

⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔WE ARE HIRING ݁ ˖*:･༄

BorderLight is seeking a relationship-builder to join our team as a Development Manager. We're looking for someone with nonprofit fundraising and donor relations experience who is excited to help advance our mission.

Read the full job description:https://www.borderlightcle.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-Job-Posting-for-Development-Manager.pdf

Send this message to someone you think would be the perfect fit!

08/11/2026

08/07/2026

Every year, CSU Theatre and Dance generously partners with BorderLight by providing the use of its spaces, making it possible for us to bring more artists and performances to Cleveland audiences. We’re deeply grateful for their ongoing support.

This year, 16 shows and one workshop took place in CSU spaces.

Pictured here are all 16 shows, beginning with CSU's own productions, "Sawdust" and "Journey West." Did you catch any of these performances? 👀

08/03/2026

She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment 🙌 A few words from our Volunteer of the Year, Kimberly Ruth Melville!!

Kimberly truly embodies the spirit of BorderLight, and has been committed to volunteering with us since we launched in 2019.

Thank you, Kimberly, for all that you do for us.