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Arts + Culture

Stanley Martin (Rexy), Kraig Swartz (Miss Tracy Mills), and Britt Michael Gordon (Georgia McBride) model Mari Taylor Floyd's finished creations. (Courtesy photo: John Jones.)
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • April 29, 2022
FST costume designer brings characters to life

Clothes make the man (and/or woman). Costumes make the actor. At Florida Studio Theatre, Mari Taylor Floyd makes (and designs) many of the costumes. Her work is vital to every production.

  • Arts + Culture
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 27, 2022
Retirement beckons for Sarasota Ballet's Victoria Hulland

Victoria Hulland captured the heart of Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri in one fateful audition, and she's spent her career doing the same to Sarasota.

  • Arts + Culture
"Laughing Matters" writers Rebecca Hopkins, Jim Prosser, Sarah Durham, and Kevin Allen. (Courtesy Photo: FST)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 23, 2022
FST looks to find the universal laugh

The hard work of penning a musical sketch comedy show takes longer than you might imagine.

  • Arts + Culture
Bramwell Tovey is looking forward to his first season as Music Director of the Sarasota Orchestra. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 20, 2022
Sarasota Orchestra announces program for 2022-23 season

Bramwell Tovey's first year as music director of the Sarasota Orchestra will feature an exciting mix of classical composers and engaging contemporary material.

  • Arts + Culture
Dwell, a multicolored sculpture in the shape of coral by artist Sujin Lim. (File rendering)
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • April 20, 2022
Sarasota Commission rejects Dwell for Tamiami-Fruitville roundabout

Leaders vote to send the art advisory committee back to the drawing board.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Francesco Baronti's "Listen to the Earth" and James Grant's composition of the same name were originally commissioned for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 20, 2022
Composer journeys out of this world with ecological libretto

James Grant's long-awaited opus, created for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, will finally be performed for the first time by Choral Artists of Sarasota.

  • Arts + Culture
Ricardo Rhodes and the Sarasota Ballet are primed for another high flying season. (Courtesy Photo: Matthew Holler)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 18, 2022
Old classics and new ones keep Sarasota Ballet on pointe

Ashton, Balanchine and David Bintley are all in the repertoire for the upcoming season of the Sarasota Ballet.

  • Arts + Culture
Leymis Bolaños Wilmott instructs her daughter Valda and dancers Michael Foley and Monessa Salley.
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 13, 2022
Sarasota Contemporary Dance turns trauma into triumph

For her next dance performance, Leymis Bolaños Wilmott chose a weighty personal topic: The exodus of thousands of children from Cuba during the Fidel Castro regime.

  • Arts + Culture
Andy Sandberg, right, of the Hermitage Artist Retreat engaged playwright Aleshea Harris in a moderated dicussion. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 13, 2022
Playwright returns to scene of giant honor

One year after accepting the Hermitage Greenfield Prize, Aleshea Harris returned to Sarasota. In that year, she's seen her work staged in New York and London.

  • Arts + Culture
Andy Sandberg on stage with playwright Paula Vogel at a Hermitage event earlier this year. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 11, 2022
Hermitage aims for national footprint nurturing artists

Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg wasn't content to steer the Hermitage Artist Retreat through the troubled waters of COVID-19. He wanted to double down.

  • Arts + Culture
Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have proved to be a formidable songwriting team over the years. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • April 7, 2022
'Knoxville' lyricist talks play's path to production

The pandemic seemed to kill the musical adaption, but it’s alive and ready to premiere. Lyricist Lynn Ahrens thinks that’s something to sing about.

  • Arts + Culture
Michael Donald Edwards announced this week that he is stepping down from his position at Asolo Repertory Theatre in June 2023. (Courtesy photo)
  • By Spencer Fordin
  • April 5, 2022
Asolo Rep begins search for new leadership

Michael Donald Edwards and Linda DiGabriele are stepping down from Asolo Rep next year, and the theater is beginning a search for their replacements.

  • Arts + Culture
Lakewood Ranch's Lydia Kaeyer says she felt she had to express her feelings about Russia's invasion of the Ukraine through her paintings. Her work is on display at the ComCenter in Lakewood Ranch.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • April 5, 2022
ComCenter of Lakewood Ranch hosts art exhibit

Lakewood Ranch Art League presents 75 paintings that range from elephants and abstract to support for Ukraine.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
Student filmmaker Will Mauricette stands out from the crowd. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • April 1, 2022
Ringling College student filmmaker hopes for success at film festival

Will Mauricette had a dream. But first he had to develop his skills before he could see it to fruition.

  • Arts + Culture
Nate Jacobs, founder of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, engaged Rhames in a moderated discussion about his career. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • March 31, 2022
Actor Ving Rhames implores WBTT audience to follow their dreams

The "Mission Impossible" actor doesn't know how he made it to the top of the acting heap, but he credits his faith, his craft and his instinct for survival for leading him to Hollywood success.

  • Arts + Culture
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