Russell Johnson was fascinated with sound. As a child, he crawled inside his church’s pipe organ to find out how it worked. By his teens he wanted to record classical music as a studio engineer. Russell Johnson, part of the original team of planners for our performing arts center in Tampa. He became a renowned... Continue Reading →
There weren’t just nuns on stage Thursday night at Nunsense: A-Men’s return to the Jaeb Theater. Members of the Tampa Bay Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence attended the Straz-produced musical comedy which features misters as sisters cracking wise and singing their habits off to raise money to bury fellow nuns who succumbed to a bad batch... Continue Reading →
The art of origami might mean more than you think Photo: Ned Averill-Snell Mother Nature loves to fold. Flowers, wings, you name it. Just look at us, human beings: our brains and guts are wrinkles doubling back on themselves; proteins, the building blocks of life are intricately folded amino acids. And if those amino acids... Continue Reading →
Guest Blogger and Jobsite Artistic Director David M. Jenkins gives Caught in the Act a look inside the nightmares and belly laughs of Shockheaded Peter https://videopress.com/v/dpzfcUxr?preloadContent=metadata A little bit Tim Burton, a little bit Edward Gorey, Shockheaded Peter is the phantasmagorical staging of Heinrich Hoffman’s 1845 pitch-black children’s book, Der Struwwelpeter. It’s a self-proclaimed “junk... Continue Reading →
Jobsite Theater’s latest production, Doubt: A Parable, features wife-and-husband team of Summer Bohnenkamp directing and David Jenkins in a lead role. How do they do it? This week, Caught in the Act takes a deep-dive into the working-life-partners relationship of Summer Bohnenkamp and David Jenkins. The pair talks about the tricky business of work-life-love balance and... Continue Reading →
Shout! The Mod Musical in the Jaeb Theater, March 2020. SHOUT! The Mod Musical is returning to The Straz, so now is the perfect time to take a strut down memory lane with a few of the show’s mega-hits from the 1960s. We put together this fab list of choice info to give you the... Continue Reading →
We enlist the help of Paul Bilyeu, our senior director of communications and the former lead publicist for dance at The Kennedy Center, for a little dance appreciation 101 about this must-see modern dance company. 1970s Omaha, Nebraska. Not exactly a progressive hotbed of boy ballet students, but there our senior director of communications Paul... Continue Reading →
Consummate storyteller John Tesh speaks in this exclusive interview with the Straz Center A few months ago, our senior marketing manager Carol Cohen interviewed John Tesh over the phone for his current Q&A in the back of The Straz’s official publication, INSIDE magazine. The interview covered some interesting ground that we had to edit from... Continue Reading →
The Straz Center’s Wee Folk series is designed specifically for the toddler set. Welcome to the room where wiggling is allowed. You may not know this, but on the ground floor behind Morsani Hall, we have a large, tall rehearsal room that regularly sees Opera Tampa rehearsals, ballet classes, chamber music practices and the occasional special event. However, three... Continue Reading →
The essential guide to cult classic catch phrases This week, Caught in the Act welcomes guest blogger Alex Stewart, media relations manager for The Straz and a big fan of the Mean Girls movie. Our resident subject matter expert on the most memorable lines from the film, Alex agreed to take us through this Mean... Continue Reading →
A Straz Center exclusive interview with National Geographic LIVE! wildlife photographer Shannon Wild. On Jan. 21, our popular National Geographic LIVE! speaker series kicks-off with Australian-born photographer Shannon Wild. Caught in the Act writer Marlowe Moore caught up with Shannon via phone at her home in Africa, where Shannon is currently working on a documentary... Continue Reading →
What started as a conversation about celebrating the Tampa area's rich artistic heritage turned into a free concert series drawing unexpectedly large crowds. The Straz Center's Arts Legacy REMIX was a long time in the making and looks like it's here to stay. After a brutal warrior’s stint in Vietnam that gave him an ultimatum... Continue Reading →
There are two stars in this Christmas story, and they’re actors Spencer Meyers and Derrick Phillips. The first wave of the Tuna, Texas two-man laugh-a-thons roared through theaters in the 90s, drawing tons of attention to the original actors, Jaston Williams and Joe Sears. The guys concocted a series of stage plays about a fictional... Continue Reading →
Club Jaeb artist Kyshona Armstrong talks about the music that made her and her journey from a music therapist into a singer-songwriter in this exclusive interview. Caught in the Act caught up with folk musician Kyshona Armstrong while she was on the road to Missouri for a gig. She appears next Monday, Dec. 16 as... Continue Reading →
A first for The Straz, the new fabric designs represent a wild collaboration between dance costuming and graphic design. When people think of the graphic design department in a performing arts non-profit, they may imagine program layouts, banners, signage, logos and the like. They may not consider a couture collaboration to produce custom costumes specifically... Continue Reading →
The Straz Center arts education partnerships program with Tampa’s The Centre for Girls In addition to our many performances, lectures, classes and workshops, the Straz Center hosts a super cool outside-of-the-spotlight arts education partnership program which brings us into fruitful, fun and inspiring relationships with many organizations around the area. This semester, one of our... Continue Reading →
The 2019 D’Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition honors Opera Tampa’s dedication to nurturing new artists. On a more personal note, the competition represents Opera Tampa League Board Chair Gina d’Angelo’s commitment to continuing her parents’ love of music through philanthropic support. When Straz Center donor and Opera Tampa League chairperson Gina d’Angelo was in college,... Continue Reading →
Jobsite Theater’s latest knockout of a show presents the work of Native American playwright Larissa Fasthorse. Obviously, she’s gonna have a few thoughts on Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving Play opened in the Shimberg Playhouse a few weeks ago to rave reviews. The play is terrifically funny, especially if you’re looking for someone to jab a sharp... Continue Reading →
The Straz Center’s self-serve candy station in Morsani Hall is a year-round Halloween dream come true. No tricks here. It’s just all candy all the time, and we love it. Each year, we buy about 2,100 pounds of candy. That much candy is roughly the weight of two full-sized grand pianos. Each month, our guests... Continue Reading →
Straz Salutes is an organizational mission to make sure our military and veteran communities know they have a place at The Straz. We provide tickets, outreach programs and presentations for military, veterans and their families. We’ve always had a soft spot for military, veterans and their families, which is why we’ve offered discounted tickets for... Continue Reading →
