9-10-13 — Audio Interview

Ann Gundersheimer knew from a very young age that she wanted to be an actor; she can still recite a piece she performed in elementary school. Her father, a charismatic lecturer, inadvertently encouraged this impulse by sharing his love of oratory with his daughter. But her parents frowned on the idea of her having a career on the stage so Ann majored in English instead of theater in college, although she “acted all the time,” and then got her Masters Degree in theater. But her life took several other turns so she wasn’t able to purse her passion for acting until she retired. And now she is finally able to act as often as she is cast. Currently she is one of the two characters in a reading of The Guys, a play which will have one performance on 9/11 at The Players Theater, about the impact of the World Trade Center catastrophe on two people who had very different experiences.

9-3-13 — Audio Interview

Two and a half year old Joyce Valentine would stand by the piano and listen to her music teacher mother give lessons. Although shocked when she heard little Joyce playing the song she’d just taught to her seven year old student, Mom began to teach her remarkable little girl and by the time Joyce was three she was playing and singing on the radio, and by four she was performing on The Children’s Hour. Not surprisingly from then on Joyce’s life has been about playing the piano. Listen to her talk about the up’s and down’s, and all the hard work. Hear her describe how, while a student at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri at Kansas City she was asked to learn the Beethoven A Major Piano and Cello Sonata overnight, because none of the professors wanted to try it and how that experience introduced her to a lifelong friend, Cellist, Debbie Brooks. And listen to these remarkable musicians play one of Joyce’s original compositions in their joint creation of the CD Reunion.

8-27-13—Audio Interview

Actor, writer, singer, dancer, storyteller, philanthropist and Druid Goddess, Annie Morrison is impossible to categorize. Like the Celtic Spirit she embodies Annie is a force for artistic creation. Raised in an artistic hothouse with a family dedicated to artistic collaboration Annie was trained to create, but not to compete. Listen to this charming, ebullient, creativity machine tell the story of how she became who she is and come to New York to see just some of her prodigious artistic expression; on Labor Day (Sept 2nd), at 54 Below where she will be performing NOW YOU KNOW An evening Steve, Lenny –and Annie (the work of Sondheim and Bernstein) and on Nov 14th at 4:00 PM at theUnited Solo of Theatre Row in New York to see her new one woman show Word Painting: Soliloquies around an Easel.

8-20-13—Audio Interview

Class clown and family entertainer De’Zhon Fields always knew that he would be a performer he just didn’t know what form it would take. Without training or a mentor or a teacher or any real direction, with only his certainty that entertaining was what he was meant to do, De’Zhon found a way. At 19 he studied to become a ballroom instructor thinking that whatever he learned he could use. After that he created very successful Karaoke business which lead him to a gig at a Casino in Washington State. There, unexpectedly he found what has become his passion, creating an homage to Sammy Davis Jr.; something it had never occurred to him to do. Listen to this delightful man talk about how he follows where life leads, hear an example of his remarkable voice, and hurry down to see Sammy Tonight.

8-13-13 — Audio Interview

Jo Morello has always been a writer. She got her first job at 8 years old when, in the 3rd grade, she assigned to write the School Page for her parochial school newspaper. But Jo’s nature ran counter to the dictates of her culture, she wanted to do many things that the boys/men were allowed to do but the girls/women were not allowed to do; study medicine, get married when she wanted to. She confronted many obstacles as she tried to be who she really is. She had many “fights.” She won some and she lost some but she never stopped fighting. Listen to the many identities Jo carved out for herself, including the most recent, that of playwright for which she is receiving a lot of recognition. And come to a reading of her play Ma, Moonflowers and Me, a comedy for people old enough to know better at the Players Community Theater on August 13th.

8-6-13 – Audio Interview

Even in the 2nd grade Jeff Plunkett didn’t want just to read the story in class – he wanted to act it. To deal with his chronic ear infections Jeff’s doctor prescribed voice lessons and from the time he was 13 he not only studied voice but had small roles in his voice teachers Opera Company. Although majoring in biology/psychology in college (thinking he might become a doctor), Jeff took every acting role he could and by the time he graduated knew that acting, not medicine was his path. Jeff says that he was “graced’ but I think it is we that are graced by being able to watch this wonderful actor become the role he is playing. Hurry out to see Jeff’s outstanding performance in Michael McKeever’s South Beach Babylon and listen to this thoughtful, intelligent man talk about his role in the show and what it means to be an actor.

7-30-13 – 2 Audio Interviews First Beth Duda and second Michael McKeever

Beth Duda still remembers being the tightrope walker in her kindergarten circus show, and cajoling her non artistic family to participate in and be the audience for the shows she relentlessly insisted on creating. But she followed her practical upbringing and became a teacher instead of a performer, until the twists and turns of her life made it possible for her to pursue/combine both of her passions, today she is the Director of Education and Resident playwright at Florida Studio Theater. Listen to this delightful, enthusiastic woman tell her charming story.

Multi-talented, Michael McKeever decided that he had a better chance of making money as an artist – something he was very good at and enjoyed doing – rather than in the theater where he “soul really was.” He majored in advertising design and did in fact make “stupid money” as an art director. But when life gave him opportunity and he jumped on it. He wrote his first play at 30 years old, and his “soul” must have been right because in the 15 years since he wrote that first play, Michael’s written 21 plays and all of them, including the first one, have been produced. Listen to this exuberant, passionate man talk about the joy of finally being what he was always meant to be. And come to Florida Studio Theater where his play funny, thoughtful, compelling play South Beach Babylon is currently running.

7-23-13 – Audio Interview

Bruce Jordan discovered his passion for performing in the 7th grade when the audience broke up laughing as he danced with a broom named Matilda. Bruce says “it was like a drug, you want to have more of it.” But while, for many, this experience would have triggered a yearning for an acting career, Bruce yearned to emulate his Jr. High and High School drama coaches, he wanted to be an drama teacher and give others the gift he’d been given. So having soaked up everything he could from his years at Geneseo University, he worked for “4 of the happiest years” of his life as a High School drama teacher. And here is where the story gets ironic. Realizing that he didn’t have know enough about the business of acting to help those students who wanted to become professional actors, Bruce decided to take a year off, go to NY and experience it firsthand. But the third agent he saw sent him to audition for a national commercial – he got the commercial and his first check was more than a year’s salary teaching. Needless to say he never returned to teaching. Listen to this delightful man tell a story which is full of the serendipities which led him to places “he loved,” doing things “he loves” including directing The Underpants which is currently running at Florida Studio Theater.

7-16-13 – Audio Interview

Elliott Raines grew up in what says is “now called the East Village, but when I grew up was called a slum.” Second generation, born to parents who believed in giving their children a “well rounded education,” Elliott studied piano and music theory, spent a year at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and most of his high school years in Drama Club, chorus and plays. He got a BA in Theater and an MFA in Acting, taught acting at his alma mater, and had some success as an actor. However at age 28 Elliott realized that the thing he hated most was looking for work, and acting – no matter how successful you are – is always about looking for the next job. Having realized this Elliott promptly went to Law School. He spent a career in law – with forays into acting and directing. And now having retired is once more able to pursue his passion for the theater. Elliott is currently directing The Boys Next Door at the Players Theater.

7-9-13 – Audio Interview

Mary Testa is a working actress, singer, dancer, Jill of all trades in the theatre, and winner of a Drama Desk Award for “3 decades of excellent work.” Most recently she starred as the intrepid Annie Edson Taylor in the musical Queen of the Mist, which was written for her by composer, lyricist and librettist Michael John Lachiusa, who has himself been nominated for several Tony and Drama Desk Awards. Like the character she plays in Queen of the Mist, Mary Testa “has greatness in her.” She found a way to survive a childhood which didn’t celebrate her. In Catholic school she was treated very badly because she “everything she wasn’t supposed to be;” Italian, when the nuns were Irish, curly haired and breasted, when the norm was straight hair and a flat-chest, out-spoken and defiant, when good girls were quiet and obedient. Refusing to go to Catholic High School Mary attended the public high school where she was the new kid in town and therefore, once more, odd man out. But Mary would not be suppressed and developed a full out – in your face – “I will say what everyone is thinking but no one else will say,” personality. Accompanying this outgoing personal style is Mary’s prodigious talent and that is what has kept her working in theater. Listen to this guile-less, passionate, funny, thoughtful woman talk about her life and her work, and come see her remarkable performance in the one woman tour de force in My Brilliant Divorce at the Asolo Repertory Theatre.

7-2-13 Audio Interview

First a singer, then an actor and currently a director Meliss Kenworthy was the little girl with the loudest voice in her class. She fell in love with Opera as a very young child and pursued her passion for singing, until finally finding that where she really belonged was in Musical Theater, where her beautiful voice, acting ability and good looks made her a shoo-in. Currently she is expanding her reach by directing the Painting Churches the first play in the Banyan Summer Season – Listen to Meliss’s story and hear Sharon Lesley’s review of Painting Churches.

6-25-13 – Audio Interview

Gale Fulton-Ross is a phenomenon, she is impossible to categorize as she creates art in every possible visual form, she draws, paints and sculpts, she works in both the literal and the abstract, she’s turned her graphic designs into textiles; clothing, pocketbooks, pillow cases, bed spreads anything that requires a fabric now has a Gale Fulton-Ross design. And finally she is getting back to her first love, she is writing a book. But Gale is more than an artist – she is a deeply spiritual person who imbues all of her work with her honesty, courage and love. She says “I work hard to create the world I want to live in – my figures have dignity because I think that is what all human beings should have.” Gale has dignity as you will certain hear in this interview.

6-18-13 – Audio Interview

Do you like toe-tapping music, incredibly clever lyrics, and exuberant choreography performed by a remarkably talented ensemble? Then run right down to Florida Studio Theater’s Gompertz Theatre to see The World Goes Round a revue of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s music – much of which will be familiar to you as it comes from Chicago and Cabaret and many other of their splendid musicals. And in that delightful revue (which has been extended through June 29th) you will see the very talented Zak Edwards who says he was “always a musician,” having begun piano lessons at 5 years old and performing professionally by the time he was in the 4th grade. Listen to this skilled performer talk about his recognition of what he was meant to do and be, and hear his interesting explanation of what it means to be the dance captain of a show.

6-11-13 Audio Interview with Tobin Ost, Costume and Set Designer

Both a set and costume designer, Tobin Ost thought he was going to be an architect, but a series of experiences when he was quite young; seeing a production of Pirates of Penzance where a ship literally comes off the stage above the audience and a TV show of Japanese theater coalesced when, as a high school student looking for a summer job he was turned down by the architectural firm, and went instead to the Community theater where was hired to paint and hammer nails. But his mentor (and the mentor of many), who Tobin says must have “seen something in him,” gave him more and more design work until Tobin realized what he was really meant to do. Listen to the surprising twists and turns which led to his becoming Jeff Calhoun’s “secret weapon”. And hear this soft spoken and thoughtful man give us the Tobin Ost crash course in set and costume design.

6-4-13 Audio Interview with Steve Orich – Orchestrator

Steve’s Mom says that when the piano arrived at their house eight year old Steve walked over to it and immediately began to pick out melodies. He says “I learned how to read music instantly, it was a language that spoke to me on a very special level, I looked at it and within days I could read anything.” He was understandably bored by the series of traditional piano lessons that followed, so he stopped taking them and just taught himself. Steve’s career included musical direction, accompaniment, playing for off Broadway and then Broadway shows, until a course with legendary orchestrator Don Sebesky completed his training and showed him what he was really meant to be/do. Listen to how he became the orchestrator for the smash hit Jersey Boys, the soon to be Broadway opening of the revival of Cole Porter’s Can-Can and the orchestrator for Noah Racey’s Pulse.

5-28-13 Audio Interview

Jeff Calhoun knew what he wanted to do by the time he was eight: he wanted to be Dick Van Dyke, he wanted to be Fred Astaire, he wanted to dance with the Ernie Flat dancers on the Carol Burnett show; he wanted to be a dancer! It was “in his DNA.” And, as if it was meant to be, a series of surprising circumstances propelled him on the path to becoming a dancer, choreographer and director of musicals. Listen to unexpected way he became the protégé of the amazing Tommy Tune and the remarkable series of happenstance’s that led to his directing Newsies, Bonnie and Clyde The Musical, Jekyll and Hyde, Grease and many more. And hear him talk why he decided to collaborate with Noah Racey who he thinks is the best dancer he has ever seen.

5-21-13 Audio Interview

When he was just three years old Noah Racey’s Dad gave him a snare drum and was stunned to hear, within the first week, his infant drummer playing an entire John Phillip Souza album. Discovering a place to put his excessive energy and deriving a feeling of belonging and pride at being allowed – by age six – to play with his father’s drum circle, Noah put his foot on the path that would define his life; a life that has grown to include dancing, singing, acting, writing and the creation of his own extraordinary company of triple threat performers. Come see Noah and his troupe perform the premier production of his very own creation; Noah Racey’s Pulse, at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota Fl, and listen to the thoroughly delightful, spontaneous, joy-filled man talk about his love of the work to which he is giving his life.

Noah has danced in or choreographed for Fine and Dandy, Curtains with David Hyde Pierce, Busker Alley, Where’s Charley?, Babes in Arms, Do Re Mi, Never Gonna Dance, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Baby and Johnny Project, and Look Ma, I’m Dancin’!

Audio Interview

Although always surrounded by music in his childhood, Robert H Fowler followed his parent’s advice and became an electrical engineer. He was working as an engineer and studying gymnastics as a hobby when his coach suggested he take a dance class. Someone in his class offered him a job dancing in Las Vegas and he never looked back. Although that job fell through it freed him from his previous life and set him on the path to a career as a dancer, a singer, and an actor. Rita Rhen was not only a working professional by the time she was 11 but an entrepreneur as well. She and her sister created The Entertainers – a group of young girls who put on plays and became so successful that they were in demand in their community. Listen to these two talented people talk about the interesting and very different paths they took to becoming professional performers. And come see the result of all their hard work in By Gershwin and The Book Of at Florida Studio Theater.

Audio Interview

May 7, 2013 – Charlie Tyler and Rita Corn are appearing as the eccentric Elwood P. Dowd and his long suffering sister Vita Louise Simmons, in the delightful production of the much loved comedy Harvey, which is currently running at the Lemon Bay Playhouse in Englewood Florida. As Charlie mentions in his interview “Harvey” is the 6th longest running show in Broadway history. That is quite understandable because while it is funny, charming, and outrageous, it is also thought provoking, as it asks us to think about what is really important in life. Both Charlie and Rita discovered their love of theater/acting when they were very young and ironically both had to put off really indulging in their passion until they had lived otherwise productive lives. Listen to these charming and interesting people talk about the way they kept their love of theater alive until they could dive in, which to our delight, is what they are currently doing.

Audio Interview

4-30-12 – Raised in an environment in which jobs, not careers, were considered appropriate and neither acting nor writing was taken seriously as a way of life Tyla Abercrombie nonetheless discovered early that she was a poet and that she was attracted to, and intrigued by performances of all kinds. Exposure to the classic movies she watched on TV to keep from being scared till her mother came home from work; a performance by the Alvin Ailey dance company at her grammar school; and a production of Sweeney Todd, captivated her. These experience plus the impact she realized she had on others when she read her poetry, stayed with Tyla and although she’d planned to study accounting thinking that it would enable her to “make some money,” she was finally able to honor herself and do “what she wanted;” which was to study writing and acting. And anyone who has seen Tyla on stage as we in Sarasota have been lucky enough to do (she is appearing in You Can’t Take it With You and Clybourne Park at the Asolo Repertory Theatre) is glad that she made that choice. Listen to the forthright, delightful woman tell how she did it her way.