Cry it Out

Underground Review

CIO Program

A comedy with dark edges, Cry It Out takes an honest look at the absurdities of being home with a baby, the power of female friendship, the dilemma of going back to work, and the effect class has on parenthood in America.

Pay What You Want Childcare offered onsite by Sitting Made Simple

Available Light Theatre has a history of working to make theatre more accessible to our community. AVLT began our Pay What You Want ticket policy 15 years ago, and in that time, we've performed in many different locations and toured through neighborhoods in Columbus on both traditional stages and in non-traditional venues, all in the pursuit of creative ways to remove barriers and make great theatre available to everyone.

When we read "Cry It Out" as a company, pre-pandemic, there was electricity in the room. The play is not only hilarious, honest, and true, but the parent artists felt seen in a way they never had before, and the child-free artist witnessed this and advocated strongly that we produce this play. To continue to honor the themes in the play and our worn work in making theatre accessible, we saw a way to finally enact an idea we'd entertained for years (with the help of Sitting Made Simple and Parent Artist Advocacy League): pay what you want on-site childcare for all performances. Rehearsals first began in February, intending to open in late March of 2020. Of course we all know what happened and how the world changed. Several times in AVLTs COVID-hiatus we entertained the idea of bringing "Cry It Out" back to the stage. We we knew we needed to wait and do it right, the way we intended, with on-site childcare. This time around, we started rehearsals nearly three years to the day from our COVID shut down and worked on a radically inclusive rehearsal schedule, rehearsing our normal amount, but spread over a longer period of time to better accommodate our parents, teachers, and caregivers in the cast and crew. Rehearsing fewer nights per week for a longer calendar of rehearsal meant there was an easing in the typically intense schedule for the artist parents of young babies. And even for those with older children it meant we missed fewer bedtimes and could attend our children's athletic practices and games and school concerts. Given what the play is about, it would almost feel dishonest for us not to create a circumstance for parents to show up in the rehearsal process and in the audience if we didn't acknowledge and create space for some of the needs and issues parents face.

Accessibility is our responsibility to our community. If on-site childcare makes a difference for you or a parent or caregiver in your life, please consider filling out our survey to let us know as we plan for the future.