Monica
boone
moved to Shaker
Heights in 2003 to be near her
parents, occupying the upper level
of their duplex in the Moreland
neighborhood. She never envisioned
how that move would one day
provide the catalyst for bringing her
personal passion – theater – back
into her life. Neither did she imagine
how that passion would bring about
transformative connections within
her community.
Boone majored in theater at
Kent State University, making her
debut on stage at Karamu House in a
performance of Tennessee Williams’
“Glass Menagerie.” Although she
enjoyed performing, she eventually
found herself working on the other
side of the stage as the audience
development director for The
Cleveland Play House (when it was
located at East 85th Street).
During her years with The Play
House, Boone often found herself
lingering in the theater after hours,
watching the directors at work with
their casts, absorbing their methods
and filing it away for future use.
She also helped bring to the
stage The Holiday Heart Project,
which featured the play “Holiday
Heart” by Cheryl West. This antidrug
program was performed for
more than 2,000 students of the
Cleveland public schools. That was
her first taste of how theater could
be used to reach the community
with an important message.
Eventually, Boone’s professional
life drew her away from the theater.
She now works as a regulatory affairs
specialist at Invacare Corporation in
Elyria, which she says, “is a perfect fit
for me because I’m a neat freak and
highly organized.” She also became a
Moreland homeowner in 2013 when
she bought the home next door to
her parents, her ideal neighbors.
WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | SUMMER 2019 37
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE