Show at Civic's Wild Oscar's chronicles Akron playwright's journey with brain tumor, cancer

Akron playwright Blake Newhem Valenzuela has written his first play, "The Blake & Ollie Show" with the goal of immersing the audience inside his brain.

And Newhem Valenzuela's brain isn't just any brain, considering he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 2015 called oligodendroglioma. He's lived with that tumor, which he's named Ollie, ever since.

Now Ollie plays a big role in Newhem Valenzeula's new play, which continues through July 23 at the Akron Civic Theatre's intimate Wild Oscar's black box theater behind the theater at the Lock 4 level. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday as well as 8 p.m. July 21 and 22.

The play, a dramatic and comedic story, includes puppeteer Justin Miller playing Newhem Valenzuela's brain, which also has him operating the snarky brain tumor puppet Ollie, which is green and furry.

Interestingly, the playwright doesn't see Ollie as an enemy to vanquish.

"He's a tenant in the attic who has a very large presence and we can't be enemies," Newhem Valenzuela said. "I don't feel feel like I'm trying to kill him with the radiation and chemo. I'm trying to calm him."

The experimental play, which brings together characters, voices, sets and multimedia visuals to create the world of Newhem Valenzuela's brain, is produced by The Ghost of the Future LLC and the Civic's Arts Inclusion Incubator.

Newhem Valenzuela is taking to the stage for the first time ever in his "The Blake & Ollie Show."

"I've never been on a stage and it's a terrifying experience of being in a black box and having to remember exact lines," he said. "I wish I wasn't doing it on the one hand because it's so scary and I feel so diminished but I also feel like I'm going out of my way to rebuild neural connections."

The play explores some scary topics, including trauma and terminal illness. But it offers its share of humor, too, including the tagline, "You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll want to get an MRI."

Playwright Blake Newhem Valenzuela's cancer history

Newhem Valenzuela, 54, went through brain surgery in 2015, when 80 percent of the tumor was removed. Before that, going back to 1998, he endured multiple cancer surgeries in his neck and head which were different from his brain cancer.

In all, he has had 18 surgeries, including multiple surgeries for a degenerative spine problem.

Newhem Valenzuela was diagnosed with brain cancer in New York when he was working as a literature professor for SUNY. He moved to Los Angeles and was rebuilding his life in the wake of neurosurgery ― working primarily as a ghost writer for people in business, medicine, entertainment, technology and politics ― until the pandemic began.

In 2020, he and his husband, actor Angel Newhem Valenzuela, moved to Akron at the urging of friends, including a local artist and professor.

"We bought a house for the price of a parking spot in our old neighborhood" in Los Angeles, Newhem Valenzuela said.

Newhem Valenzuela grew up in Long Island, New York, and Angel in Tijuana, Mexico.

"We love Akron. It's become home," Newhem Valenzuela said. "It is remarkable how many artists and creative opportunities there are here and how much money is here for it."

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Last summer, Ollie started growing again after six years of being "indolent," a word that means lazy but in medical terminology meant that, in Newhem Valenzuela's case, it had stopped growing.

Newhem Valenzuela, now a Cleveland Clinic patient, decided not to have surgery again but to go through chemo and radiation, which has diminished the tumor's size.

Angel spreading wings in theater

Working in Northeast Ohio theater has brought some firsts for Angel, too, who has been performing in Akron and Cleveland, including with the Akron Civic Theatre's Millennial Theatre Project. He recently won a 2023 Arts Alive Emerging Artist award from Summit Artspace.

Now, Angel's directing for the first time, working with "The Blake & Ollie Show" cast of six that features his husband as the main performer. Rounding out the cast are Dylan Gregory, September Shy, Patrick D. Warner and Cassie White.

Next, they'll do three performances of the show at the BorderLight Fringe Festival Aug. 4-5 at the Hermit Club at 1629 Dodge Court, Cleveland.

Newhem Valenzuela is grateful for the opportunity to retrain his brain by delving into the new experience of acting. It's been a humbling experience, he said, to learn how to make multiple "detours" in his brain to get from line to line onstage.

"The brain is a wonderful space. It's a strange, mysterious unbelievably crazy space. It's so not understood but I realized through doing this (play) that it's plastic," Newhem Valenzuela said.

Brain rewiring is also happening in his new endeavors as a multimedia collage artist, he said.

Newhem Valenzuela's tumor sits on the language expression center of his left frontal lobe.

"It's there and it will eventually grow because it's cancer," he said.

It's probable that Newhem Valenzuela will eventually lose his ability to speak and write. He's hoping that doesn't happen for a long time and is committed to to writing, publishing and performing as much as possible until that time comes.

"My whole life was words; it was how I defined myself," working as a writer and professor, he said. "I saw it was my special weapon and shield but it was kind of a mask also."

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Neurodivergent actors

"The Blake & Ollie Show's" cast includes nearly all neurodivergent actors.

"They're interested because they care about how the brain works," Newhem Valenzuela said.

Three members of the cast and production team are also cancer survivors, including Newhem Valenzuela, actor White and assistant director Abbey Marshall.

The tiny Wild Oscar black box space where the play is performed has been transformed into a gallery displaying Newhem Valenzuela's visual collages as well as art by his castmates and crew members.

"It's a sensory experience," he said.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Play: "The Blake & Ollie Show"

When: Continuing through July 22, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays

Where: Wild Oscar's at the Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St.

Cost: $15

Information: akroncivic.com or 330-253-2488

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'Blake & Ollie Show' at Civic Theatre a unique lens into cancer journey