Episodes

After 18 months of thought provoking time and pent-up creative energy , Urbanite Theatre is back with "Radiance." Committed to creating visceral, shared experiences by fearlessly lifting up the boldest new voices in theatre, Urbanite Theatre believes in inclusive, artist-first storytelling, daring honesty, and the powerful connectivity of an intimate space...and this season has all of that. They begin their 8th season with a $300,000 fundraising initiative to assist in the move to a 5-day work w...

He taught music in the public schools of West Virginia for 38 years before finding the cultural scene of the Suncoast too good to pass up. Since moving here in 2015, he has become the piano accompanist at Sunnyside Village Retirement Community, the Sarasota Jewish Chorale, director of music ministry at St. Andrew United Church of Christ in Sarasota, performs with the Players Center for Performing Arts, is on the board of the Sarasota Ballet, attends every cultural arts performance in town, AND i...

Dingbat Theatre Project's Luke McFatrich and Amanda Heisey tell us all about their upcoming production of the groundbreaking show Hedwig and the Angry Inch being performed August 27 through September 11 at the Bazaar on Apricot and Lime. This Obie and Tony-winning Off-Broadway smash tells the story of "internationally ignored song stylist" Hedwig Schmidt, a fourth-wall smashing East German rock 'n' roll goddess. This outrageous and unexpectedly hilarious story is dazzingly performed by Hedwig (...

He is a homegrown talent whose path to musical theatre began at Braden River High School, continued at the State College of Florida, ventured to the University of South Florida, and landed him as the choir director and department chair at the Visual and Performing Arts program at Booker High School Now, Alex Zickafoose continues his creative expression outside of Booker VPA by being the musical director at Spotlight Theatre Production and performing community theatre productions at the Manatee P...

He knew from the tender age of five that he was going to be an entertainer and when the opportunity presented itself for Jason Cohen to play Jerry Lee Lewis in the national tour of the Million Dollar Quartet, his life was changed forever. His co-creation of the spin-off Great Balls of Fire has landed him on the Suncoast for an 11-week run at Florida Studio Theatre, and now you get to hear the story of his path to Broadway, his love of Sarasota patrons, the importance of close-toed shoes in New Y...

Many may know them as the heart of dance instruction at the Manatee School for the Arts for the past several decades, but now Pat Ross and Kelly Burnette are teaming up to produce Kelly Burnette's one-woman show, Kelly and Friends Stepping Through Time, to be performed on Sunday, August 8 at 4:00 p.m. at the Music Compound at 1751 Cattlemen Rd in Sarasota. Once co-workers and now "director and actor," this team has hit a homerun! Hear their stories of what dance means to them, how it can change...

Many may not know that Louise Harrison, George Harrison's sister, lives in Sarasota and the leader and "George Harrison" of the Beatles tribute band in Branson, Missouri, the Liverpool Legends, befriended Louise many years ago. Marty Scott joins the club today to talk about his life as a tribute band rock star, his close personal relationship with Louise Harrison, hanging out on a couch and talking with Paul McCartney, the plight the pandemic has had on his band and his performances, and just ho...

From California to Spain to Florida's Suncoast, from swimmer to skier to flute player, from community music school director to instructor of flute at SCF to principal flutist in the Pops Orchestra, Dr. Jane Hoffman has done it all and even some things in between! Hear her unconventional journey to the world of flute playing and how she uses all her connections and experiences to enrich the musical lives of so many, including obtaining a grant from the Imre and Vera Hecht Foundation to support th...

She may have gotten her start as a founding member of Florida Studio Theatre's Improv Troupe, but that led to Christine Alexander starting her own company called Laugh to Feel Good, through which, using comedy and improvisational skills and games, she runs corporate team building and hosts comedy wellness programs for Parkinson's and cancer patients. After 20 years on the Suncoast, Christine uses this podcast episode to bid adieu to her beloved Sarasota as she follows her husband to Albany, NY. ...

He is the recipient of the 2019 Arts Leadership Award for Artistic Achievement for Sarasota County, freelance writer and music critic, author of a new vocal pedagogy text, mountain climber, and conductor and artistic director of Sarasota's symphonic chorus, Key Chorale. Joseph Caulkins didn't get his start as a singer or choral conductor, but his jazz saxophone major in college wasn't quite working out for him. Hear how his musical journey of choral conducting brought him to the Suncoast of Flo...