Steps & Stages is a long-running collaboration between YMCA of Greater Cleveland's Y-Haven and Cleveland Public Theatre that gives Y-Haven participants the opportunity to transform their lived experiences into an original theatrical production.
Through workshops, writing and rehearsal, participants work alongside professional theater artists to develop and perform a production shaped by their experiences with addiction, homelessness, recovery and rebuilding their lives.
Each production is different because the stories come from the people participating in the program. Through movement, music, spoken word and theater, Steps & Stages creates a powerful opportunity for participants to share their voices while giving audiences a deeper understanding of recovery and the people behind it.
A Partnership More Than 25 Years in the Making
Y-Haven and Cleveland Public Theatre have been bringing Steps & Stages to the Cleveland community since 1999.
What began as a creative collaboration has grown into an enduring part of the Y-Haven experience. Each year, Y-Haven participants work with Cleveland Public Theatre artists to create an original production inspired by their own experiences.
The partnership celebrated 26 years of theatrical collaboration in 2025, reflecting the commitment of Y-Haven participants, Cleveland Public Theatre artists and the many people who have supported the program throughout its history.
Recovery Through Creative Expression
Steps & Stages is about much more than putting on a play.
The process of creating a production gives participants an opportunity to express themselves, work collaboratively and develop skills that can support them as they move forward in recovery.
Participants take part in the creative process through writing, acting and other aspects of developing the production. Along the way, they have opportunities to build:
- Self-confidence
- Communication skills
- Teamwork
- Creative expression
- Connection with others
No previous theater experience is necessary. The focus is on giving participants a supportive environment where their experiences and voices can become part of something meaningful.
The program complements Y-Haven's broader work helping individuals transform their lives through substance use disorder treatment, mental health counseling, vocational services, community housing, nursing care management and other supportive services.
From Lived Experience to the Stage
The annual Steps & Stages performance is the culmination of months of collaboration and creative work.
Participants work with professional theater artists through workshops, writing and rehearsals to develop the year's production. Rather than performing a pre-existing play, the group creates an original work rooted in participants' experiences and perspectives.
Professional artists from Cleveland Public Theatre help guide that process. The 2025 production, for example, included a producer, directors and supporting teaching artists working alongside the cast.
The result is a performance created not simply about people in recovery, but with and by people who have experienced the challenges explored on stage.
Changing the Conversation About Addiction and Recovery
Steps & Stages also creates an opportunity for the broader community to hear stories that are too often reduced to statistics or stereotypes.
By sharing personal experiences through theater, participants invite audiences to see the complexity of addiction, homelessness, incarceration and recovery through the perspectives of people who have lived them.
Their stories can include difficult moments and consequences, but also courage, connection, hope and the possibility of change.
For audiences, Steps & Stages offers an opportunity to listen, learn and better understand what recovery and rebuilding a life can look like.
Experience Steps & Stages
Each year, Y-Haven and Cleveland Public Theatre bring a new Steps & Stages production to the stage.
The public performance gives participants the opportunity to share the work they have created while bringing members of the Greater Cleveland community together around stories of recovery, resilience and hope.
Information about the next Steps & Stages performance, including dates, location and tickets, will be posted here as it becomes available.
About Y-Haven
Y-Haven is a YMCA of Greater Cleveland addiction treatment and residential program serving people experiencing homelessness, re-entering the community following incarceration and recovering from opioid use disorder.
Y-Haven provides substance use disorder treatment, mental health counseling, vocational services, community housing, nursing care management and other supportive services designed to help individuals transform their lives.
Support Y-Haven
Programs like Steps & Stages are part of Y-Haven's commitment to helping people find hope, strengthen their recovery and build a path forward.
Your support helps Y-Haven continue providing treatment, housing and supportive services to people working to transform their lives.