Bobgan will succeed current executive artistic director Randy Rollison, who earlier announced his plan to leave CPT.

Bobgan has been with CPT in various capacities for over a decade and, in partnership with his wife, actress Holly Holsinger, served as acting artistic director during founder James Levin's sabbatical in 1995-96.

"I can't think of anyone better on a local or national level to take the reins of CPT," Rollison said in a statement. "Raymond is a dynamic and exciting choice as both an artist and administrator. He's had a long association with CPT on many levels and provides a continuity of organizational culture which is critical. I've worked with him closely for eight years and have always been impressed with his passion, energy, intellect and artistry."

Lora Levin, president of the board of directors of Cleveland Public Theatre, told the board: "We were all impressed with Raymond's artistic experience and vision and his understanding of CPT's mission. He possesses leadership skills that allow him to lead a diverse group of people. Raymond is an excellent communicator with a collaborative and team-building style. Raymond has great passion for CPT and knows the challenges CPT faces and he has creative ideas for moving ahead. We feel Raymond is the person to lead CPT into the future."

Bogban's noteworthy productions as a director at CPT include the critically acclaimed productions, Blue Sky Transmission: A Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Confessions of Punch and Judy, Summer and Smoke and The Skin of Our Teeth. He is currently the associate artistic director and has served as resident director at CPT as well as director of education programs. According to its website, www.cptonline.org, the mission of Cleveland Public Theatre "is to inspire, nurture, challenge, amaze, educate and empower artists and audiences, in order to make the Cleveland Public a more conscious and compassionate community."

It's billed as "an alternative performance company with a commitment to help develop original theatre artists from our area — particularly those whose work is experimental in form and/or challenging in content."

CPT is "known as one of the nation's leading experimental and political performance venues, sponsoring much dance, music, poetry, and performance art as well as theatre. We sponsor several multi-cultural ensembles and function as an artistic home for dozens of self-producing artists."