Ray Caspio
Ray is an actor, performance artist, teaching artist, and the founder of Michael Chekhov Center Cleveland. Caspio's performance work has been recognized as "transcendent," "magical," "powerful," "riveting," "intensely honest and unflinching," with Ray being called "a shapeshifter of an actor" twice by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Ray has created pieces spanning theatre, cabaret, installation, web, and personal storytelling, and served as performer-creator in numerous devised works, originating over 30 roles. Ray’s original creations have been performed at BorderLight International Theatre + Fringe Festival, Cleveland Public Theatre, Theater Ninjas (Associate Artistic Director 2012-2015), Playhouse Square, Playhouse Square International Children’s Theater Festival, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ray's work as a stage actor has been seen at Playhouse Square, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Public Theatre, convergence-continuum, Playwrights Local, Theater Ninjas, and Talespinner Children’s Theatre. Caspio appeared on Best of Theatre lists for Cleveland Scene Magazine (2014 & 2017) and WCPN/NPR’s The Sound of Applause (2014, for the conception and performance of the immersive cabaret exploration of gender, sexuality, and marriage equality, "TingleTangle"). Caspio was also profiled by Cleveland Scene as “The Thespian” of 2014 and received a 2016 Creative Workforce Fellowship for their body of work. Ray has appeared in commercials and short films. Caspio created the "Uncle Toots" YouTube series and ongoing live performance pieces, in addition to the comedy and conversation podcast, WHO•RAY, which was co-hosted with Uncle Toots. Ray is trained in Bouffon (Giovanni Fusetti), Eccentric Performance (Avner Eisenberg & Julie Goell), the Alba Method (Certification Level 2), and Improv & Sketch Writing (Second City Chicago). Caspio studies with master teachers of the Michael Chekhov technique at the Michael Chekhov School, Hudson, NY, and the international faculty of MICHA, the Michael Chekhov Association. Ray founded Michael Chekhov Center Cleveland in 2018 after a decade exploring the technique to share his understanding of Chekhov’s principles with Northeast Ohio performing artists. In Fall 2021, Ray Guest Lectured at Baldwin Wallace University in their Music Theatre program, working with sophomores on Michael Chekhov Technique and contemporary applications. In Summer 2022, Ray will teach Chekhov Technique to the artists in Dobama Theatre's Emerging Artist Program.