For the 26th year, the YMCA of Greater Cleveland and Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) are teaming up to reach a common goal: Share powerful stories of recovery and personal triumph based on the lives of Y-Haven Treatment and Recovery Center residents. The two groups are celebrating 25 years of previous performances through the Y-Haven Theatre Project.

"Roots Through Ruin" playbill by Ezequiel SotoFriends and family of novice actors from Y-Haven will fill some of the seats at CPT’s James Levin Theatre for the original play, “Roots Through Ruin,” a play written by Y-Haven residents based on their experiences in recovery, with help from the team at CPT.

Latoya Broadus credits the Y-Haven Theatre Project for at least part of her healing journey. “Having this play to do has really given me more hope,” she says. “I’m not just a recovering addict. I can be whatever I want to be.”

“All of the pivots, all of the encouragement, everything—the village that is required to keep this program going—it makes it all worth it because you know that folks are walking away changed,” says Nicole Sumlin, CPT director of education and co-line producer . “They’re walking away encouraged.”

The one-hour play is in its final stages of rehearsal before it opens on Thursday, April 10 and runs through Sunday April 13.

The performances are free and open to the public, except for the performance on Saturday, April 12, is the annual Y-Haven benefit Steps & Stages. Tickets for this performance are required and start at $100 each for the theater’s 100-plus seats.

When CPT and Y-Haven first collaborated on this project in 1999, the organizers wanted to show how the residents could co-create the scripts and productions. The same philosophy is true today as local artists and Y-Haven residents are involved in every step of the creative process.

“It takes a great amount of courage,” says CPT director, playwright, and co-line producer Melissa Crum. “It takes a great amount of bravery to have the ability to be honest with yourself and share that honestly openly.”

A read-through of "Roots Through Ruin" at Cleveland Public TheatreThe evolution of “Roots”
The “Roots Through Ruin” story came about as residents wrote in their journals while meeting at CPT, sometimes five days a week, to get to know each other and find their places in the future production.

Through shared experiences, the Y-Haven residents took pieces of their own stories of addiction and recovery, while Crum worked her magic and created a script comprised of input from all participants. Six men and five women make up the cast and they receive a small stipend for the extensive time and effort they put into the creative process.

As the Y-Haven actors take the stage, audiences will notice the backdrop is bleak and empty. Set in an abandoned house, a group of seekers must confront the ghosts of their pasts. Their memories linger like shadows on the walls, but this isn’t your typical ghost story.

As the characters face their darkest moments, they try to break free from the weight of their experiences, so they don’t remain trapped there. Redemption shows as light on the horizon, and they find hope for the future.

The audience will witness a moving story about the resilience of the human heart and the powerful journey towards healing.

Stories behind the story
It’s an emotional experience for some of the cast members to act out their parts. “I play a brother of the deceased, so there are flashbacks throughout the play,” says cast member Latwon Martin, 27, a Y-Haven resident of five months. “I’m a wall memory and those memories represent someone who has passed away—I’m talking to my brother who’s still alive.”

Martin took his first sip of alcohol when he was 17 and he was hooked for 10 years. “I was using opiates, and I had a drinking problem,” he recalls of the time before he decided to turn to Y-Haven for help with sobriety. “I was just tired of feeling the same way. I wanted to be a better father and a better fiancé to my woman.”

Martin reflects on past five months at Y-Haven. “I was very nervous at first, I was kind of standoff-ish, but being at Y-Haven, I’ve learned a lot of things about myself,” he says.

He says that joining the Y-Haven Theatre Project has brought him joy and he is looking forward to seeing his family in the audience.

“It’s going to mean a lot to me for them to see something different—[me] looking healthy and sober,” he says. “I just hope they’re able to see that this really is a disease, and they continue to have faith in me as I get better.”

CPT’s Sumlin sees a new cast evolve each year. “Their family, their friends, and their networks are able to see something that they take a lot of pride in,” she observes. “Many of them are on stage for the first time, so overcoming stage fright while in recovery is just another win we can list on their journey.”

The residents had to audition, and in most cases, it was outside of their comfort zones.

“I always kind of wanted to do some form of acting, whether it was the screen or in a play,” says resident Phillip Johnson, 29. “I was nervous because it’s the first time in my life I actually wanted to get picked for something. I was a lone wolf. It’s been a journey.”

Johnson adds that he is taking the advice of CPT director Crum, who encouraged him to trust the process. “There’s definitely some life skills involved in it,” he says.

Johnson joined Y-Haven in November after an 11-year battle with addiction and a series of bad decisions.

“That’s the date that changed everything. It was a very difficult day—but it was the day I decided to get up and make a conscious and active choice to change my life to something positive,” he recalls. The five months of sobriety Johnson has had since joining Y-Haven is the longest he’s been sober his entire adult life.

A father to a three-year-old son, Johnson says he sees the Y-Haven Theatre Project impacting others who have similar stories to him.

“This is the happiest I’ve seen these people, and we cross paths at Y-Haven,” Johnson says. “We come here [to CPT] and we get to enjoy ourselves and be happy and there wasn’t a lot of that before.”

Johnson will be performing in front of his mom, brothers, sister, old friends from school, and old neighborhood friends. He says he also hopes a broader audience will attend.

“People should come to this play if they want to laugh, if they want to go on a journey, maybe cry a little bit, and, if they want to, feel something outside of themselves,” he says.

A small audience gathers to view rehearsals for Y-Haven Theatre Project's"Roots Through Ruin."Broadus is on a healing journey, and her contribution to “Roots” stems from her surviving substance use and seeking a life of sobriety.

In the production, she plays the role of the conscience in the house. She relates to the characters who are actively addicted. “You’re not yourself,” her character explains. “You’re just that—a ghost. You have no control.”

Despair and hopelessness brought Broadus to Y-Haven in October. She has been sober for nine months. “Hurt and pain and shame—that’s something that we all share in many different ways,” she explains.

She says she hopes that her son and others in the audience will see addiction isn’t just her battle—others are fighting the same war.

“My family is very supportive,” Broadus says. “Anything is possible. I can do many things as long as I stay on the right track.”

She says the theatre project is aiding in her recovery. “It opened up a door for me to understand myself more,” Broadus says. “I do live in a world where there is hope."

For now, she says she’s just looking forward to opening night, adding, “I’m so nervous but I can’t wait.”

A breakout artist
The production poster for “Roots Through Ruin” came about by accident. Poster artist and cast member Ezequiel Soto was sketching what he was envisioning in his mind as he thought about the play’s development. He started to sketch the abandoned house as he imagined it.

Soto never thought it would become the official poster, but when the group saw the image, they jumped at the chance to elevate his drawing from doodle to real deal.

“There’s something inherently reflective about where they are in their processes that the arts are such a great match for,” says Crum.

Soto’s time at Y-Haven began in December, shortly after the 52-year-old had a heart attack and triple bypass surgery. He knew he needed to achieve sobriety and become a healthier version of himself.

“I decided that I should involve myself with professional help and give myself a chance,” he says. He has a son, 33, and two grandchildren, ages 10 and 11. “I promised myself and my family I’d become a better man and productive to society.”

Y-Haven resident and "Roots through Ruin" cast member Ezequiel Soto stands by poster.The theater entered into his life, but not without a long journey of struggle.

Soto was born in Puerto Rico and at the age of 15 he came to the states in 1988 with his mother, father, three brothers, and two sisters. Before leaving Puerto Rico, he experienced excessive alcohol use around him.

“There’s always a celebration somewhere,” he says of his time in Puerto Rico. “Alcohol is big, so I grew up around it. I was exposed to it since an early age. It was something you always try as a kid. Your friends laugh at you if you don’t try [alcohol].”

Soto says he didn’t have a problem with alcohol when they moved to the U.S., but he became more rebellious as he grew up and didn’t understand the damage drinking could cause. “I was blind to it,” he recalls. “I didn’t care what people would say.”

Soto didn’t finish high school, became a dad at 17, and eventually experienced housing insecurity. “All I did was make it harder on myself,” Soto admits.

Now three months sober, he has found a cohort he can respect and love. He has shared experiences with his fellow actors. “I think this program has built my self-esteem,” he says.

He has found joy in art again, a joy that is apparent during the play as Soto is in the background, sketching images in real time. The drawings will reflect the story of the abandoned house and his own ghosts. He says he has one line at the end of the play, and he hopes he doesn’t forget it.

Soto plans to keep working at sobriety every day. “I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for Y-Haven,” he reflects. “I learn a lot about myself there, about my disease. I feel back engaged with life.”

A bright future
So what does the future hold for this cast of actors who have found their way in sobriety with acting? It sounds positive.

Martin smiles. “My future is success and happiness,” he says. “There [are] still going to be rough times but I’m able to handle them a lot better today.”

“This shows me I am who I always thought I was,” Johnson reflects. “Being an artist brings creativity, and it helps me and gives me life skills.”

Broadus credits the Y-Haven Theatre Project for at least part of her healing journey. “Having this play to do has really given me more hope,” she says. “I’m not just a recovering addict. I can be whatever I want to be.”

Soto says he wants to continue to have bright days ahead. “Now I can wake up in the morning and I can see a future, I can see a plan,” he boasts. “I didn’t have a plan at all.”

“Roots Through Ruin” opens Thursday, April 10 at 7 p.m. in the James Levin Theatre at Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland 44102, and continues Friday, April 11 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 3 p.m. Admission is free and tickets or pre-registration are not required.

The Steps & Stages benefit production on Saturday, April 12 begins at 6:30 p.m. with an appetizer reception and the performance begins at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $100 each and are required for this event. 50/50 Raffle tickets start at $5 each, with discounts for five-, 12-, and 30-ticket packages. Sponsorships are also available.