Florida Stage Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Protection
Posted: June 6, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage 12 CommentsFlorida Stage
For Immediate Release
Monday, June 6, 2011
Florida Stage files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Protection
The theatre company ceases operations with the close of The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider on June 5, 2011
Florida Stage, one of America’s premiere professional theatre companies dedicated exclusively to the development and production of new American plays, today announced the decision of its Board of Trustees to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court. This decision was based upon several critical financial challenges currently facing the organization, specifically a marked downturn in subscription sales for its 2011-12 Season, negligible ticket sales for the summer production of ELLA, and a lack of response to the company’s intensive fundraising efforts, which has resulted in an accumulated debt of $1.5 Million and an exhaustion of funds to continue operations.
“We have made the difficult, but necessary, decision to cease Florida Stage operations,” said Michael Schultz, Co-Chairman of the Florida Stage Board of Trustees. “Faced with such financial challenges, declining ticket revenues, and insufficient donations, we had no choice but to close the theatre company.”
Problems began with the current economic recession, starting in the fall of 2008. The company experienced a decline in ticket revenue and donations, which was further exacerbated by many of their contributors who were victims of the Bernard Madoff scandal. Florida Stage immediately began a budget cutting process, which resulted in furloughs, layoffs, and a reduction of their overall budget from $4.1 Million to under $3 Million. These proactive and important steps were simply not enough to solve all of the issues they faced. In spite of what the industry publication, Backstage, called "…the most anticipated shows of the regional season", their revenue stream continued to diminish.
With their highly anticipated move to the Kravis Center, it seemed clear that they had found a perfect solution to their situation. In tough economic times, reduce redundancies, maximize efficiencies, and expand collaborations. “We felt that our relocation to the Kravis Center was a model of how to respond to the ‘new normal’ of the economic downturn,” said producing director Louis Tyrrell, who founded the company in 1984 as The Learning Stage, which brought theatre and arts-education to hundreds of thousands of children over the years in the Palm Beach County School District. “By moving to the Rinker Playhouse, our rent and utilities were reduced by $200,000. The wonderful Kravis Center facility and staff welcomed us warmly, and took over security, front-of-house and usher operations, and provided additional box office services, among many other collaborative efficiencies. And moving to the center of the Palm Beach County community, we were sure that an expanded audience would welcome us to our new home, especially with the cross-pollination potential of both the Florida Stage and Kravis Center audiences.” But, instead of audience growth, the company experienced a continuing reduction in ticket sales. The Florida Stage subscriber base has diminished from more than 7,000 at its height to less than 2,000 for the 2011-12 Season.
But, in these many years and nearly 150 plays produced, Florida Stage was beloved by many, and developed a national reputation for its bold mission of producing exclusively new work that was always provocative and innovative, challenging theatrical boundaries. Despite their current plight, there are deep emotions and an abiding commitment to this theatre company. “Florida Stage is a milestone in my growth as a playwright,” said playwright William Mastrosimone. “Its focus on new and emerging work allows for established playwrights like myself to launch new work, but more importantly, young playwrights have a home to grow their talent so that the art may live for another generation.” And Helen Merrill Award-winner, Deborah Zoe Laufer, whose first professional production debuted at Florida stage, said, “Nobody has had more to do with the fact that I’m a playwright than Florida Stage.”
From its start in the Palm Beach County Schools, students were given their first theatre experiences, which helped them discover their inner selves, and through their own writing and performance opportunities, they built their confidence and communication skills. In 1987, in residence at the Duncan Theatre at Palm Beach State College (as Theatre Club of the Palm Beaches), Florida Stage grew quickly, from 400 to more than 4,000 subscribers in its first four years. Outgrowing the small college lecture hall, they moved to the Plaza Del Mar in Manalapan in 1991 where, with the generous support of Lois Pope, the company continued to expand.
Throughout this time, the generosity of their Board of Trustees, individual patrons, foundations, corporations, the Palm Beach County Cultural Council and Tourist Development Council, the Betty Bell Educational Trust, the State of Florida, the National Endowment for the Arts, and most recently, with the Florida Stage relocation, the Board and staff of the Kravis Center, and the Mayor and staff of the City of West Palm Beach, all contributed to the support of the Florida Stage mission and the excellence of its acclaimed productions, until the economic downturn and the loss of its core audience began to take its toll.
The history and impact of Florida Stage will live on as a legacy to Palm Beach County culture. The world-class artists who have graced its stage with their remarkable talents – from playwrights to actors, directors, designers, and the team of theatre professionals who are the true unsung heroes of the theatre – they will move on to create memorable theatre art wherever they go. And perhaps a new audience can be found and developed for the kind of thought-provoking new work for which Florida Stage has become renowned. Time will tell.
"Most of all," said Tyrrell, "we appreciate the audience that has been there for us throughout these last 24 years. They are the reason Florida Stage was able to exist. They, our cherished patrons, are the reason we were able to birth so many new plays that have gone on to thrill and astonish audiences around the country. For this, we are eternally grateful. For having to draw our curtain, we are heartbroken."
Script Notes: Carter Lewis talks about CHA-CHA
Posted: May 23, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage, Playwrights, Videos | Tags: Carter W. Lewis, Florida Stage, playwright, playwriting, The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider, theater, theatre, video Leave a commentGen Z Global Stage Recap
Posted: May 12, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage, Gen Z Global Stage, Young Voices | Tags: arts education, Children of Conflict, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, educational theater, Florida Stage, Gen Z Global Stage, Robert Goodrich 2 Comments
For this second year of Gen Z Global Stage, I was again honored to have worked with an amazingly talented group of young artists from across the globe. As recent world events demonstrate, young people are at the heart of social change. And few things have more dramatically changed the world, and our view of ourselves in it, than artistic expression.
In locations such as Florida, Chile, Singapore and The Philippines, participants spent 5 months getting to know each other through the Gen Z Global Stage Facebook Group; sharing their hopes and dreams, and collaborating on artistic pieces — some of which were presented this past Monday evening before a live audience here at Florida Stage.
The purpose of Gen Z Global Stage is not only to supply a venue for young artists to express themselves, but to also allow us — the audience — a glimpse into how they view the world. As many of us involved in the project were reminded, the challenges and joys of being a young person are remarkably universal.
This is a valuable lesson for these young people to learn as they venture out to make their way as citizens of the world. After working with them these past several months, I can't help but feel the world is in capable and creative hands.
— Robert Goodrich, Media Arts Specialist
Gen Z Takes the Stage
Posted: May 9, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage, Gen Z Global Stage, Press Releases, Young Voices | Tags: arts education, Children of Conflict, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, educational theater, Gen Z, Global Stage, Palm Beach County students, Robert Goodrich, Young Voices Leave a comment
West Palm Beach, FL – Florida Stage’s groundbreaking international educational collaborative, Children of Conflict, has been transformed into a broader artistic initiative called Gen-Z Global Stage. The theatre, along with the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach and theatre directors and students in Singapore, the Philippines and Chile, has created a completely unique global educational opportunity. Gen-Z Global Stage is an effort to cultivate a web dialogue among young artists across the globe, and to facilitate artistic collaboration using digital technology. The web-based exchange will culminate in a multi-media theatrical piece on Monday May 9, 2011. The result will be the creation of a collaborative presentation that will represent all of these amazing young voices and in the process leave all the participants with a deeper vision of themselves as a part of the broader global landscape. This year’s project takes another step in that process with a fresh group of students. The final project presentation will be free and open to the public and will be held on Monday May 9 at 7:00 PM. on the stage at Florida Stage, The Rinker Playhouse at The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
Children of Conflict was the brain-child of Susan Hyatt, former Director of Education for Florida Stage and focused primarily on connections with war-torn countries. The new Gen-Z Global Stage under the guidance of professional filmmaker and playwright Robert Goodrich seeks to focus more on helping students to discover their common connections through artistic expression. With a dialogue that functions via the internet, young people from all of the participating countries share their thoughts, ideas, fears, hopes and triumphs. The project has at its heart the desire to teach young people that even though they are separated by thousands of miles, and in very different cultures, they have more in common than they would have previously realized.
Robert Goodrich is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has worked in both theatre and film for the past 20 years. The Cherry Lane Theatre in New York granted his play Occam’s Razor a staged reading in 2001. His feature film ICON won the Directors Prize at the Video Tusculum Festival. He was awarded Best Director for his short film Spaceship at The Palm Beach International Film Festival, Voices of Local Film. Among his produced plays are Room 101, Other Fish and Signal 20. He is currently the Media Arts Specialist at Florida Stage.
This year, students communicated in a closed Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_155635677803165.
The public can follow last year's discussion and interaction among the students through Google Groups by following this link http://groups.google.com/group/gen-z-global-stage
For twenty-four years Florida Stage has had at its core the precepts of community involvement and educational outreach as a key component of its mission. Now, as the nation’s largest professional theatre producing exclusively new and developing American plays, Florida Stage finds itself in the unique position of being able to facilitate this exciting new program.
OUR MISSION – Florida Stage develops and produces new plays in a passionate, intimate and caring environment, adhering to a standard of uncompromising excellence. We provide a safe harbor for theatre artists and audiences to share in stories of our humanity, a place where the sheer joy of creation and the Florida Stage Experience is paramount. We choose to provoke dialogue in our community and inspire people of different ages and ethnic and social backgrounds through our productions and our innovative educational programs.
Funding for this project was generously provided by the Community Foundation for Martin and Palm Beach
Counties and the Heckscher Foundation for Children.
Interview opportunities are available with all of the participants of Gen-Z Global Stage. Contact Michael Gepner, Director of Marketing for further information.
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Tech, Previews and Opening of The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider
Posted: May 6, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage, Artistic Apprentice | Tags: backstage, Carter W. Lewis, dramaturgy, Florida Stage, opening night, theater, theatre Leave a commentWhen you go to see a play, you know that there is a rehearsal process, but what happens during "tech"? And what is the point of a preview?
"Tech" is short for technical rehearsal. This is often the first time the actors have the chance to rehearse on the set. This is a time for them–with the help of th director and crew–to work out any kinks they may have with set pieces and props (although, many times before this rehearsal, pieces of the set are available during the regular rehearsal period). However, this isn't all that makes "tech" tech. Tech rehearsals are more geared towards set, lighting, sound, and stage management. Cues are built for each of these areas and it is the stage manager's job to call each cue during the show. During these rehearsals, the stage manager is learning the cues, along with adjustments being made by the designers. The actors do a lot of standing around while the technical crew goes to work.
Next, we have dress rehearsals. These rehearsals are for us to run the entire show, like a performance, to see what needs to be fixed or adjusted technically and sometimes with the actors performance as well. Since we have dress rehearsals, you may thinking, "then why do you also have previews?"
Previews give the cast and crew time to get comfortable with all the new adjustments to the lighting, the set, etc. The audience plays a very important role during previews. The audiences give us feedback, but indirectly. The director, playwright and dramaturg (me) sit in the audience and watch not only the performance, but also how the audience is reacting. This allows us to see if there need to be changes made before we officially open the show. For example, a funny moment may not be coming across quite right to the audience and we may not get laughs from the preview. So this information will allow us to make moments happen faster or slower, which helps make these bits become clearer to the audience.
Once we get through all of the tech, dress rehearsals, and previews we are ready stop all changes to the production and the show is completely ready for opening night and for the rest of the run.
Tonight is opening night of The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider by Carter W. Lewis and I hope to see you all there!
~Alison Maloof, Artistic Apprentice
The New New
Posted: April 27, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage | Tags: Florida Stage, new play development, NNPN, theater, theatre, West Palm Beach Leave a commentAs you may have seen from one of our gratuitous puppy photos, we had a booth at the West Palm Beach Greenmarket on Saturday. Now that we're in West Palm, it's really nice to be able to participate in community events–especially on Clematis Street and the waterfront (case in point, we held our annual gala in the glass Lake Pavilion). It's great to meet people and share information about who we are and what we do.
One man stopped by our booth because he knew exactly who we were. "I saw everything you did this season and I hated it all." Such feedback, while not exactly what we love to hear, can be valuable. It's helpful to know what people think, and he did offer more specifics about what he didn't like, so it wasn't just pointless ranting. We also had the opportunity to make it a "teachable moment."
After he was done telling us what he didn't like, he offered a suggestion. "Why can't you do something like what the Caldwell does? They're doing God of Carnage. It's new, and it was on Broadway, and it's very good." Ah-ha! Our teachable moment!
We love the Caldwell, and applaud everything they do. God of Carnage IS a great play. And it's certainly "new" in the sense that it's newer and more recent than Hamlet or A Doll's House or The Price or Buried Child. But when examined against the Florida Stage mission, that play is all grown up. It's had a Broadway run–a step considered by many to be the pinnacle of a play's success.
At Florida Stage, we produce exclusively new and developing works: world premieres or 2nd-3rd productions. Compared to God of Carnage, our plays are teenagers. And, like teenagers, there are some awkward moments, some growing pains, and the sheer urgency that comes with the realization of existing at all. If you've raised teenagers, you know it can be hard work.
Fortunately, we have some help. We're part of the National New Play Network, an alliance of not-for-profit professional theaters that champion new works. Check out their rationale:
The continued life of important new plays of quality is vital to the health of the American Theater. Across the country, hundreds of new plays by emerging and established writers are developed each year, yet only a handful receive full productions on the regional professional theatre circuit. Among the plays that do receive world premieres, only a fraction receive second, third and fourth productions at theaters outside their immediate region. Without subsequent productions, plays have little opportunity to evolve artistically or to generate significant critical attention and momentum. And while there are numerous funding opportunities for play development and world premieres, there are none devoted to the continued life of new plays.
Without the "hype" generated by an Off-Broadway run or a major festival, new plays struggle to attract audiences equal to that of classic plays, musicals and star-studded pre-Broadway tryouts. And even after a new play has had a successful premiere in a region, it remains a risky venture for a theater elsewhere – especially if that theater can't claim its production is a "world premiere." NNPN provides alternative production models – and a new definition of the phrase "world premiere" – to ensure that new plays of quality secure a continued life.
So that, in a nutshell, is what we hope we were able to share with the man at the Greenmarket. He did take a flier for our upcoming 2011-2012 season, which I consider to be a very good sign. Perhaps sooon, a play that had its start at Florida Stage will be the next big Broadway hit, and he can proudly say he watched it mature!
— Kimberly Patterson, Marketing Associate
Puppy-in-a-Box
Posted: April 26, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage | Tags: Clematis Street, Downtown Development Authority, Greenmarket, West Palm Beach Leave a commentOn Saturday, some of the best employees of Florida Stage had a booth at the Green Market on Clematis St. They were there to promote the theater and get people to know more about us! Along with flyers, posters, and pamphlets, they brought along Hurley, our new Puppy-in-Residence. Hurley was pretty exhuasted by all the commotion at the market and decided it was nap time. Here is a picture of him:
This pup is so cute, who couldn't love him?
Enjoy this Puppy-in-a-Box!
~Alison Maloof, Artistic Apprentice
Happy Earth Day!
Posted: April 22, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage, Artistic Apprentice | Tags: dramaturgy, earth day, environment, Florida Stage, theater Leave a commentToday, April 22nd, is Earth Day.
Every year since 1970 the U.S. has be celebrating Earth Day. This day is thought to represent the beginning of the modern eviromental movement, but how did Earth Day begin?
The 1960s and 1970s are thought of as a time of hippies, anti-war protests and a save-the-world mentality. However, this time was not so environmentally great. People were guzzling up leaded gas in V8 engines, air pollution was just part of life, industries burped out smoke and sludge, and most of America remained unaware of what was happening to our world. In 1962, Rachael Carson's book Silent Spring was published, which after selling 500,000 copies made way for the modern environmental movement. People were ready for change, but who was going make it happen?
After a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, CA, a senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, took a stand. He capitalized on the nationwide protests against the war by annoucing his idea for a "national tech-in on the enviroment." The result was the first Earth Day, where millions of Americans had rallies coast to coast on the enrivorment. (To find out more about Earth Day History click here: History)
So, what does this have to do with theater and Florida Stage?
In many way theater lends itself to being enviromentally friendly. Many theaters reuse costumes, set pieces, production equipment and more. Here is a list of somethings Florida Stage does to help our planet:
- Reduse electricity by using natural light in parts of our office
- Recycle all paper waste, bottles, and cans
- Buy recycled paper goods
- Reduse the use of paper by paying bills online, communciating to our audience members, artists, and co-workers through the internet, printing everything double-sided and electronic ticketing
- Purchuse used clothes for costumes
- Reuse costumes, props and set peices
- Use online marketing promotions (reduces paper waste)
- Keep lights off when not in the room
- Many of our staf brings in reusable tableware
- Send our audition material electronically to actors
- Educational materials can be downloaded from our website instead of being mailed to teachers and students
- Our move to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts allows us to share facilities with more people
- Catering from local restaurants for events
To find out what you can do to help our planet click here: Earth Day. If you scroll down the page you will reach four tabs: "Earth Day TV," "Photos'" "Footprint'" and "Earth Day Poster". If you click on "Footprint" you can go through a series a questions to find out what your carbon footprint is on the our planet.
Good Luck Being Green!
~Alison Maloof, Artistic Apprentice
Advance Photos: The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider
Posted: April 21, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage, Photos | Tags: Ahmad Ahmadazi, Bethany, Carter W. Lewis, Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider, Denny, Florida Stage, Loretta, production pics, show photos, Stack Leave a comment
Top: Elizabeth Birkenmeier as Bethany
Bottom (clockwise from left): Eric Mendenhall, Antonio Amadeo, Laura Turnbull, Todd Allen Durkin, Elizabeth Birkenmeier
Photos by SigVision Photography
Press Release: The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider
Posted: April 20, 2011 Filed under: 2010-2011 Season, About Florida Stage, News, Press Releases | Tags: Carter W. Lewis, Florida Stage, Kravis Center, Lou Tyrrell, Press release, Rinker Playhouse, theater, theatre, West Palm Beach 1 CommentThe final play of Florida Stage’s 24th subscription season is the world premiere of a darkly funny, electric and timely new play by Carter W. Lewis, The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider. From the award-winning author of The Storytelling Ability of a Boy and Women Who Steal, The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider asks the questions, what happens when our “soldiers of fortune” outnumber our army troops and can art really make a difference in a corporatized world? The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider continues Florida Stage’s first season as the resident company in the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider preview performances are Wednesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, May 5 at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. The gala press opening is Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. The show runs through Sunday, June 5. Performances are Wednesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. Individual tickets for The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider can be purchased by calling (561) 832-SHOW (7469). Florida Stage subscribers and donors should call the subscriber hotline at (561) 585-3433 for special attention. Order online at http://www.floridastage.org. Prices are $25 and up. The production is sponsored by Kitty and Dudley Omura.
Bethany is home from college, fortified with a BFA in Slam Poetry Performance. As she begins a small expedition to discover the true identity of her father, she herself caught up in a frightening and darkly comic journey with two rogue mercenary soldiers and a vaguely magical Afghani cab driver who has a penchant for Led Zeppelin. The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider takes a fascinating look at how words, ideas and art can be a soothing balm in a world of corporatized everything.
Carter W. Lewis (Playwright) is currently serving as Playwright-in-Residence at Washington University. Prior to that he was Literary Manager & Playwright-in-Residence for The Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, New York. Carter was also co-founder and Resident Playwright for Upstart Stage in Berkeley, California. He is the winner of several national playwriting awards including The Julie Harris – Playwriting Award, The State Theatre – Best New American Play, The Cincinnati Playhouse Rosenthal New Play Prize (1996 & 2001), New Dramatist Playwriting Award, Playwright’s Center Jerome Residency, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation Award, (2003) and he is a two time nominee for the American Theatre Critics Award. He was awarded an NEA/TCG Residency Grant for his play While We Were Bowling. A sample of theatres that have produced his work include The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Syracuse Stage, The Source Theatre, Florida Stage, Studio Arena Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, The Round House Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, The Sacramento Theatre Company, The Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, The Phoenix Theatre, The Barksdale Theatre, American Stage, The New Repertory Theatre, The State Theatre Company, The Barter Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Virginia Stage, The Geva Theatre Center, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Berkshire Theatre Festival, San Diego Repertory Theatre, The Magic Theatre, and The Royal Court Theatre in London. His published works include Art Control, A Geometric Digression of the Species, Soft Click Of A Switch, An Asian Jockey In Our Midst and The One-Eyed Man Is King. Other plays by Carter W. Lewis include Golf With Alan Shepard, Picasso Does My Maps, Longevity Abbreviated For Those Who Don’t Have Time, Women Who Steal, Men on the Take, American Storm by Integrity Out of Molly Brown, Kid Peculiar, Ordinary Nation, Evie’s Waltz and The Storytelling Ability of a Boy.
Louis Tyrrell (Director, Producing Director) has been pioneering Florida theatre since 1974. He founded Florida Stage, a non-profit professional regional theatre in Palm Beach County in 1987. Dedicated exclusively to the development and production of new work in American theatre, Florida Stage has become an important nurturing ground for some of the best new plays being written today. Under his guidance, the company has produced more than 130 new works, many of which have enjoyed rich and rewarding production lives throughout the country. Also central to the Florida Stage mission, the theatre’s education outreach programs are among the most innovative in the nation and have been honored with the Florida Commissioner of Education’s Business Recognition Award for outstanding support of education. As an actor and director, Tyrrell has been recognized extensively. Awards include several acting and directing Carbonell Awards from the South Florida Critics’ Association, the Ubertalli Award for Artistic Excellence from the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, a Florida Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, the Fallon Award for Excellence in Professional Theatre, the FAU Palm Beach County Cultural Leader Award, and the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement.
CAST
Elizabeth Birkenmeier (Bethany) is working on her MFA in dramatic writing at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. She received her BA in acting from Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked with St. Louis Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), and The Merchant of Venice (Portia), and in Chicago with Adventure Stage and Profiles Theatre. She was nominated for a Kevin Kline Award for her performance in the U.S. Premiere of Marija's Pictures at Upstream Theatre. Her play, Plight of the Apothecary, recently premiered at the Red Room Theatre in Manhattan, co-produced by Horse Trade and Wide Eyed Productions.
Laura Turnbull (Loretta) just completed an extremely successful run of August: Osage County at Actors’ Playhouse. Prior to that, she was seen in the hugely-popular A Round Heeled Woman, starring Sharon Gless, at GableStage, and last fall appeared in the hit world premiere of Motherhood, the Musical, Miniaci Theatre. Her credits this past season also include: City Theatre’s Summer Shorts, Distracted at Caldwell Theatre and Equus at New Theatre. She was recently honored with the Silver Palm Award for her body of work in 2010. Laura has worked in nearly every professional theatre in South Florida and has been nominated for, and won, numerous Carbonell Awards.
Todd Allen Durkin (Stack) Last seen at Florida Stage in The Bridegroom of Blowing Rock and Hatchetman. Was recently seen at Mosaic Theatre in The Irish Curse. Notable credits include last spring’s production of Blasted by Sarah Kane at Gablestage, Reasons To Be Pretty, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, BUG, This Is How It Goes and Betrayed, Moon For The Misbegotten, Dealers’ Choice, Thom Paine, Death of a Salesman, The Seafarer, The Zoo Story, That Championship Season, Benefactors, Betrayal, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Love's Labour's Lost, As You Like It, the title role in Hamlet and Lenny Bruce in Julian Barry's Lenny. Todd has been nominated eight times and once awarded the Carbonell Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as named Best Actor three times by New-Times Magazine. His work includes productions at Florida Stage, Gablestage, Madcat Theatre, and Palm Beach Dramaworks. In New York he has appeared at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Theatrix Theatre, Vital Theatre Company, Theatreworks USA and Peccadillo Theatre Company.
Eric Mendenhall (Denny) Eric is making his Florida Stage debut with The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider. Eric is currently based out of Atl
anta, GA and his regional credits include productions at Hippodrome State Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare, Theatre in the Square, Theatrical Outfit, Alliance Theatre, Horizon Theatre, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, NC Shakespeare. Eric just finished filming Wettest County in World (with Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman) which is set for release in early 2012. Other TV/Film: Army Wives, Ben 10: Alien Swarm, I Can Do Bad All By Myself.
Antonio Amadeo (Ahmad Ahmadazai) is thrilled to be back at Florida Stage where he was last seen as Adam in the World Premiere of Steven Dietz's Yankee Tavern. A proud AEA member, Antonio recently completed a critically acclaimed run of A Round-Heeled Woman starring Sharon Gless at GableStage. Previous roles include Katurian in The Pillowman (2007 Carbonell Award Winner), Intimate Apparel and Betrayed at GableStage, Completely Hollywood (Abridged), The Elephant Man, Rock and Roll, Dead Man's Cell Phone and Guest Artist at Mosaic Theatre, Unreasonable Doubt at Actors’ Playhouse, Nerve, Valene in The Lonesome West and Romeo in Romeo & Juliet at The Naked Stage, He was an ensemble member in City Theatre's Summer Shorts Festivals 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Antonio is also a two-time Carbonell nominated set designer for the Naked Stage.
DESIGNERS
Victor A. Becker (Scenic Design) Florida Stage: The Storytelling Ability of a Boy; Dirty Business; Ward 57; Black Sheep. Other theater: Bowdoin College: Openings (dance concert); Guthrie Theatre: Boats on a River; Sex Habits of American Women; Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Noises Off; Missouri Rep: Laughter on 23rd Floor; Portland Center Stage: Road to Mecca; Indiana Rep: All My Sons; National Theatre of the Deaf: An Italian Straw Hat; Milwaukee Repertory Theatre: The Merchant of Venice; NY State Theater Institute: Of Mice and Men. Non-theatre designs include museum planning and coordination for the Peoria Riverfront Museum; the Science Museum of Virginia; the Rochester Museum & Science Center; the Orlando Science Center; TELUS World of Science – Edmonton; the Charlotte Museum of History; New London’s National Coast Guard Museum; the Science Center of Iowa; and Wichita’s Exploration Place. Victor served five years as President of the New Hampshire Farm Museum Board of Trustees and ten years as a director of the renovation of the Wakefield, NH Opera House.
Erin Amico (Costume Design) Erin Stearns Amico joined Florida Stage in 1995, designing costumes for Fish or Cut Bait and Puttin’ on the Ritz, An Irving Berlin American Songbook. In her capacity as Costume Shop Coordinator, she manages the creation and implementation of the costumes and makeup for the entire season. She has also continued to design many shows here at Florida Stage and in the region, winning the prestigious Carbonell Award for Costume Design several times. After receiving her Master of Arts degree in Theatrical Design, Erin spent several years freelancing as a designer, working as a scenic artist and as a professor of theatre in the tri-county region. She has been a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 since 1998 and enjoys the opportunity to contribute to the thriving theatrical community here in South Florida.
Suzanne Jones (Lighting Design) Her first production for this company (then Theatre Club of the Palm Beaches) was The Immigrant, in Palm Beach community College’s 2nd Stage at the Duncan Theatre’s in 1988. Since then she has stage managed 77 productions for the company, including: Ghost-Writer, Cane, The Storytelling Ability of a Boy, Dr. Radio, and Low Down Dirty Blues. Suzanne’s recent lighting designs for Florida Stage include Cane and Sins of the Mother. She has been nominated for 7 Carbonells and received the award for her design of Dark Rapture in 1995. Other designs include The Last 5 Years at Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, Backwards in High Heels at Blowing Rock in North Carolina, In A Dark, Dark House and A Body of Water at Mosaic Theatre in Ft. Lauderdale and That Championship Season, The Price and The Subject Was Roses at Palm Beach Dramaworks. Suzanne has a MFA in Design from Northwestern University.
Matt Kelly (Sound Design) is celebrating his 13th season with Florida Stage. Matt has designed over 30 productions for Florida Stage. Some of his favorites include Cane (Carbonell Nomination), Dr. Radio (Carbonell Nomination), Yankee Tavern, End Days, Ice Glen, String of Pearls, Miklat, Bach at Leipzig (Carbonell Nomination), Running with Scissors, Mercy of a Storm (Carbonell Nomination), and The Drawer Boy. His designs have also been heard at Palm Beach Dramaworks, The Phoenix Theatre, Greenbrier Valley Theatre, the Asolo Theatre, The Illusion Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Dorset Theatre Festival, Capital Repertory Company, Theatre at Lime Kiln, and the now-defunct Florida’s Cross and Sword. Matt is currently the sound engineer and resident sound designer for Florida Stage.
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