New Frontiers: Makeshift Theater Nurtures Emerging Artists in Akron

When Rose Gabriele received an email about the new Makeshift Theater, opening in Northeast Ohio —and its search for directors — she thought it would be fun to submit her idea for a two-person play, “Love Letters.” Jane Bond, the theater’s founder, gave her the green light. Makeshift presented “Love Letters” in 2024 and 2025. It was the first show that Gabriele directed.

Founded in 2023 and now based out of the Coach House theater space on the Akron Woman’s City Club estate, Makeshift provides a place where actors, directors and artists can experiment and grow.

“If you have a monologue that you’d like to try out ...if you have a one-person show that you’d like to try, you can contact Jane, and maybe you can do it at Makeshift,” says Gabriele, who has also worked as an actress. “It’s very hard to find a theater like that. And I just love that vision.”

Makeshift aims to put on performances that support, heal and entertain audiences of all types. It has offered a pilot therapeutic theater program, a senior matinee series and arts incubator services.

The pilot therapeutic theater program — put on in 2024 in conjunction with Oriana House, the Turning Point program at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas and Boston’s Second Act — gave those coming out of addiction and dealing with trauma a space to work through their emotions. A steering committee is deciding whether the program will move forward.

“They don’t do well with group therapy — but acting, being in a role, being in a theater production — it just speaks to them. And they bloom,” says Bond, a retired Summit County Court of Common Pleas judge. “We saw that the first time around. We had some people who’d never been onstage in their life, but they just took to it.”

Starting in October on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., the theater’s senior matinee series presents rehearsed readings. Similar in style to radio plays, these readings utilize the imaginations of audience members to fill in for sets and costuming. Last year, Makeshift and the Silver Lining Players presented a reading of “War of the Worlds."

“Very simple, no elaborate sets, just rehearsed actors, good actors, a good script. ... We wanted to make this accessible to theater lovers who were seniors,” says Bond. “Once people discovered it, they started coming back over and over.”

Makeshift’s role as an incubator for the theater arts lends playwrights and emerging artists, as well as directors like Gabriele, the support to try new things and broaden their horizons.

“We are going to be providing opportunities for people who want to expand their skills, who are first timers, who are newbies,” Bond explains. “We want to be the place where people get started.”

Gabriele is directing a workshop reading for Makeshift Sept. 28 at 7p.m. — “Demise” was written by Bond. It follows a nine-person, optionally all-female cast of characters — including wealthy, headstrong matriarch Rose McCarthy — as they navigate life and an unexpected event.

“I like the fact that it’s so many women because there’s a lot of interaction in the show that I find ... interesting,” Gabriele says. “It unfolds in a way that’s both funny and full of intrigue.”

The choice to put on “Demise” as a staged reading allows for a simpler, character- and script-focused presentation. A talkback with audience members incorporates their feedback into the creative process.

“I truly feel that this show is made for Makeshift,” says Gabriele. “I’m just thrilled to be able to do it."

732 W. Exchange St., Akron, makeshiftakron.org

1 of 14