7-9-18 Interview 7/9/18 When Carol Lieberman was three years old her grandfather gave her older brother a violin and Carol fell in love. She was unable to begin lessons until she was six and her parents could afford to buy the ½ violin she needed.…
7-2-18 Interview 7/2/18 Justin Cowan is the Musical Director for Always Patsy Cline which is currently playing to several times extended audiences at Florida Studio Theater. Although he never planned to be a musical director people continually urged him to join the choir, audition for…
1-8-18 Interview 6/25/18 Beverly and Bob Bartner had long and successful careers. They were interested in all kinds of performances, but it wasn’t until they were captivated by a production of Wit at the Long Wharf Theater in Connecticut that they decided to actively participate…
6-18-18 Interview 12 year old Trudie Kessler was recruited to help her 18 year old brother learn his lines for a high school play. Watching him on stage and mouthing all his lines, Trudie knew that she wanted to do that too. She waited, not…
8-2-16 Interview When Alto Sax player Frank Ascone was four years old he saw the Louis Prima band and fell in love. Unable to play an instrument at that time little Frank taught himself to tap dance. Seeing that he was captured by Jimmy Dorsey’s…
6-4-18 Interview 6/4/18 Actor, theater maker Brendan Ragan loves being on stage. He always knew he was a natural; but he “never wanted to settle for pretty good,” and the need to hone his “artistry,” to be pushed, to be torn down and rebuilt if…
1-15-18 Interview 5-28-18 Jerry Billik is a composer, arranger, songwriter, conductor, and director of stage productions. Although he downplays his skill and accomplishments Jerry’s career is extraordinary. A musical virtuoso by the age of 13, he has composed more than 50 pieces of music, from…
5-21-18 Interview 5-21-18 Actor, Singer, Dancer Jared Joseph never actually decided to be a musical theater performer. His first love was art, he drew and painted and won awards while still in elementary school. But his mother encouraged him to join the choir and a…
4-30-18 Interview 5-7-18 As a boy Chuck Smith felt his family’s distress when his uncle, a Merchant Marine, was lost at sea. Chuck decided that he wanted to matter as much as his beloved uncle and, as soon as possible, enlisted in the Marines, believing…
5-14-18 Interview 5-14-18 Marie Thomas-Foster knew by the time she was twelve years old that she didn’t want to follow in her families tradition – and become a teacher – she wanted to perform. She began taking dance lessons as soon as she could and…
4-30-18 Interview 4-30-18 Bill Selby was 11 years old when his mother asked him to accompany her to an audition. Bill had no idea that he would be auditioning. Listen to Bill describe how his “competitiveness” asserted itself the moment he understood that he was…
4-30-18 Interview 4-23-18 Leon Pitts was nine years old when he met his mentor, his “rabbi,” Nate Jacobs. Nate was a teacher at Leon’s school and although, neither knew it at the time, one day Nate would be the founder of The West Coast Black…
4-16-18 Interview 4-16-18 Shakespearean scholar Johnny Epstein has had a long career as an actor beginning when at seven years old he spontaneously adlibbed to cover a fellow student missed cue. Currently a professor at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, where he teaches a…
4-9-18 Interview Actor, singer, dancer, and now film maker Kathryn Parks says that she always wanted to star in a film, and one day realized that she could create that opportunity for herself. This is a fascinating story of the evolution of an idea into…
4-2-18 Interview 4-2-18 Actor, singer, dancer, musician Joe Casey brings his talents once again to Florida Studio theater’s cabaret, this time in Blue Suede Shoes where he gets a chance to play guitars and sing Elvis’s songs. In this interview Joe tells us that he…
3-26-18 Interview 3-26-18 Bob Fuhlrode got a drum when he was five years old and immediately he began, not only to play it, but to keep good time. He commandeered a pot to act as a sock cymbal and began to jam with his grandfather’s…
3-19-18 Interview 3-19-18 Actor Matt DeCaro “always knew what he wanted to do.” When he was four years old his cousin took him to see the movie “Snow White.” It made such an impression on him that he can still see it in his mind’s…
3-12-18 Interview A self-described “multi-hyphenate” Jason Cannon is the quintessential theater professional. A union actor, union director, published playwright, stage manager, set designer, and educator, Jason’s title as Associate Artist at Florida Studio Theater, does not begin to describe his duties. In addition to all…
3-5-18 Interview 3-5-18 Shirley Goodman’s father taught her to dance when she was a small child. Although the family could not afford to pay for lessons, teachers choose to teach her for free. Modestly Shirley says’ “I guess they believed I had talent.” She began…
2-26-16 Interview 2-26-18 Director Ashley Teague was born a director. As a small child she instructed her mother to let her enter Kindergarten on her own, and take her to an audition. Ashley knew instinctively that the theater was her place, but somehow she never…