An excerpt from Producing Artistic Director Todd Olson’s opening remarks at the grand Opening of the Raymond James Theatre, Saturday night, May 30, 2009:

Welcome to this magic place.
Our theatrical town hall.
Our laboratory.
Our multi-colored black box
Our distant cousin to Shakespeare’s “Wooden O”

And even more distant cousin to what the Greeks called their orchestron, their “dancing

place.”
You sit in what they called their theatron, their “seeing place.”
And the Greeks had an altar in the center of their stage for they knew the power and

catharsis that came when the human story was RE-told

Yes, all we want to do in his space is carry on the traditions that began 2,500 years ago
And you must be there too, just as you always have for the same 2,500 years

This is a moment that few Artistic Directors ever get to experience.
This is a special occasion.
The Raymond James Theatre is the first new theatre built for a professional

theatre company in the history of Tampa Bay.
And for this moment this is not only the finest stage house in Florida, but

probably in the southeast as well.

This beautiful new theatre rose out of sand where a tattoo parlor once stood
This theatre space was not designed by consultants

-it was designed by the same artists that knew our old space and made art there

for you every day

That’s the way it should be and is something for which I am proud

Accomplishing this moment was hard.
Planning for the better part of 2 years is a kind of excruciating bliss…
As artists we have learned more about building materials, city code, and ADA then we

ever thought possible
I always say that when you see a play on our stage, there are scores of others that

made that production possible
But tonight it is that times 1,000…or more: countless individuals influenced this space,

from the guy who installed the acoustical tiles so you could hear better, all the

way to Dr. Kuttler himself
So many people had a hand in this moment

We always aspired to design a theatre where our loyal audiences would walk through those doors and feel at home.
-and so many things that you emailed to us or told us over coffee or whispered in

our ear after cornering us at intermission…they are here too (or most of them)

This theatre is uniquely outfitted to produce what AS does best: variety
-From the 229 lighting instruments above to the stage constructed of trap doors

below,
-From the freight elevator that allows us quick access to the stage to the state of

the art sound and lighting systems above you

Variety. Isn’t it great to be a part of an audience that craves such variety?
-an audience that wants to be surprised and challenged and entertained and

provoked every time they walk through that door?
-we do not specialize primarily in musical theatre or children’s theatre or classical

theatre or contemporary theatre or outdoor theatre or cutting edge theatre.
-we are AS so we do them all.
-our brand is our many colors - our many experiences

And you will not find that anywhere else in Tampa Bay
On this stage your new favorite production that you never will forget is coming very

soon.

And so is a play that you’ll dislike so much that you’ll do anything to tell me about it

And in a way, that’s our promise to you

This good college has made for us a building
-a body into which we must fill with blood, and give it a pulse,
-we must imbue it with a heart, a provocative brain, and a generous soul.
Our mandate is clear.

And though our address is different, ASTC will aspire to be what it has always been:
-independent, artistically autonymous,
-aspiring to present the most satisfying dramatic work regardless of theme,

language, or subject matter.
-We will continue to be the gateway through which Tampa Bay area audiences

are introduced to the most exciting work written for the theatre today.

So from Lance Roger’s painting overhead as you entered the theatre, to the way we choose the plays that we will produce, the more things change the more they will

stay the same.

That is our promise to you.

And we are contractually rooted here to make art for at least 40 years with a 20-

year renewal beyond that.

-so just as we have been celebrating our 30th anniversary this season, how

satisfying is it to imagine that we will be in this space twice as long as we have already been in existence.

Let me put it another way:
These days the number of professional theatres in our country that have closing recently easily outnumber the new ones like this 10-1
-companies 30 and 40 years old have closed
-companies enjoying new theatre facilities have closed
-one company had just won the Tony Award for sustained excellence in regional

theatre…closed
-2 of Florida’s largest theatres, closed

Somehow, amidst the worst economic climate in generations

-amidst devastating state and city budget cuts,
-somehow during a time when people have separated the essential things in their

lives from the non-essential things…

AS has managed to remain essential, and we are still standing.

So we are the lucky ones

You are the lucky ones
We are all a great part of this fortunate moment.
Our September opening of August Wilson’s FENCES will begin our 31st season.
So, given our long-term lease on this space, let us commit tonight, right now, that we

will gather in these seats again to celebrate our 40th anniversary, and our 50th anniversary, and our 60th anniversary, and our 70th anniversary, and our 80th anniversary, and our 90th anniversary.

So, in a few minutes, when our long-time friend and patron Tom James declares The Raymond James Theatre officially open,
-It will be time to start filling up this room with new memories, new laughter, and

new ghosts.

-you may have noticed some of our favorite memories that we have forever
burnished on the wall behind you. These are plays you have seen.
-a small handful from our first 30 years - just in time to start collecting new

memories from our next 30 years

For you just finding this building tonight was a crucial first step.
Finding your seat was another.
Now look around and see the improvements.
Find what new you like best.
Find your place in this company - this family that is AS
Because ladies and gentlemen, patrons, trustees, angels, artists…we are now home

and you are home with us.

Welcome to this magic place.

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Actor’s Corner: Todd Olson & T. Scott Wooten speak about Lysistrata

A great letter from a teacher in Orange County, CA:

“As I watched the inauguration yesterday, I was struck by something in addition to the historical significance of the event. When it comes to the highest degree of ceremony in our land, we turn to that which is often the first to be on the chopping block in tough financial times: the arts. There was singing, poetry, an ensemble of some of the most talented and accomplished instrumental solo artists in the world, discussion of the particular painting featured at the luncheon, grand marches played by a band. Because great societies are often measured by their progress in the arts, we seem to understand intrinsically that these things belong, yet we are often unwilling as a society to preserve them in our education system. For every artist who blessed the nation with their gift yesterday, there was someone who had initially recognized their talent, nurtured it, guided its technical preparation, encouraged its development. Someone introduced Yo-Yo Ma to the cello, and put Aretha Franklin on a stage. These things do not just happen by accident.

The next time you hear the flippant suggestion to cut the arts out of the schools because it’s “nice, but not necessary,” imagine yesterday without the arts… a walk to a podium, an oath, a speech, a walk to whatever comes next… no parades, no balls. Imagine the band members who played “Hail to the Chief,” told in middle school that music would not be offered in their school any more. Imagine if Itzhak Perlman never held a violin. Imagine the featured choir given over to the directorship of someone with no vocal training because the chorus position was cut. These things are happening every day, and someday we may be faced with a quickie courthouse ceremony rather than royal pomp and circumstance befitting a presidential inauguration. Think about it.”

American Stage Theatre Company continues its 30^th anniversary season

with Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s KING HEDLEY II

 

Previews: Jan. 21 and 22              Opens: Jan. 23                Closes: Feb. 15

 

“KING HEDLEY II allows us to see with unusual clarity how powerfully Mr. Wilson illuminated the destructive legacies of history.” -New York Times

 

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – American Stage Theatre Company continues its historic 30^th anniversary season with its next chapter in preeminent African-American playwright August Wilson’s “Century Cycle”, KING HEDLEY II, running Jan 21 thru Feb 15. 

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Star of King Hedley II, Postell Pringle, is also known to the video-game crowd as “Playboy X,” one of the main characters of “Grand Theft Auto,” one of the highest selling video games in history.

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Economic Stimulus Productions Presents

 

“THOM PAIN (based on nothing)”

 

A Play By

Will Eno

 

Directed By

Julie Rowe

 

Starring

T. Scott Wooten as “Thom Pain”

 

Opens at American Stage Theatre Company on January 26

 

He’s just like you, except worse.  He is trying to save his life, to save your life – in that order.  In his quest for salvation, he’ll stop at nothing, be distracted by nothing, except maybe a piece of lint, or the woman in the second row.  A Finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, “THOM PAIN (based on nothing)” is a wry monologue in which an ordinary man, Thom Pain, muses on childhood, yearning, disappointment and loss.  Cataloguing the eternal agonies of the human condition, Thom Pain draws his audience into his last-ditch plea for empathy and enlightenment. 

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T. Scott Wooten and Julie Rowe share the genesis of Economic Stimulus Productions and their reworking of the cult film Reefer Madness for the After Hours series at American Stage.

November 12 thru December 28 2008

A TUNA CHRISTMAS

In the third smallest town in Texas, radio station personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie report on various Yuletide activities, including the hot competition in the annual lawn display contest, Joe Bob Lipsey’s doomed production of A Christmas Carol, and 20 other zany citizens of this quirky western town. With quick-change artistry and quicksilver dialogue, two consummate actors portray over two dozen characters, and create an irreverent holiday comedy. A ten gallon evening of laughs and holiday cheer!