4 MORE: Candice Handy
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Candice Handy, director of education at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company who directed their production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
The biggest surprise for me this year was how slowly audiences seemed to be getting back into the habit of attending the theatre at the beginning of the year. It seemed to be an uphill battle for many performance art organizations. What is awesome to see though is how attendance numbers have climbed at the end of 2022, as Every Christmas Story Ever Told has sold record numbers in ticket sales! I think people are really enjoying and yearning for holiday cheer and mirth.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
Since (we) last spoke, which was about me directing Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, various exciting career development opportunities are on the horizon for me. I will be attending and facilitating a workshop on “De-Centralizing Leadership” at the 2023 Shakespeare Theatre Association Conference in The Bahamas this year.
We are also welcoming a brand new company of Educational Tour members at CSC, a group of actors who will be performing Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth at schools and educational institutions locally and regionally starting in January of 2023. I am really looking forward to directing both of these productions! I will also be playing the lead role of Wiletta, in Alice Childress’ Trouble In Mind in Spring 2023, directed by Torie Wiggins.
What have you learned about our community this year?
I have learned this year that the Cincinnati community is loyal to the arts. I already knew that, but it has really been confirmed even more for me this year as patrons and donors have continued to support us through contagious illnesses and economy inflation. It is truly because of this community’s love and support for the arts that we survive and get to keep making theatre!
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I am really looking forward to how diversely the education program at CSC will grow in 2023! This year, CSC’s PROJECT38 Festival, our largest and completely FREE education and engagement initiative, has a whole new list of participants including Title 1 schools and predominately Black and Brown schools.
I look forward to seeing how many students of color get bit by the theatre bug early in their education and really start to lean into continued with us in 2023!
Read our interview about Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom with Candice Hardy here.