8-1-18 Interview

8-1-17 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. Listen to this thoughtful, intelligent man talk about what it means to be an actor and describe his role in Florida Studio Theater’s current production of The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelky. Jeff says that he was “graced’ but I think it is we who are graced by being able to watch this extraordinary actor become all the remarkably distinct roles in this extraordinary play

7-26-16 Interview

7-26-16 Although he adored stories, read everything he could get his hands on and went to the theater as often as possible, Mark St Germain never expected to be a writer. He never considered it an option – no one he knew was a writer… In his mid-20’s he was helping to put on a woman’s poetry event and decided it needed something comedic to lighten the mood – no one would write it – so he did. When the audience laughed, he was so delighted that he decided then and there to be a writer. Listen to the way he pursued this goal which lead to the creation of many wonderful plays. Mark has had a long relationship with Florida Studio Theater in Sarasota, which has produced many of his plays. Most recently they commissioned a play called Relativity and produced its premiere performance. In it protagonists, Albert Einstein and the daughter he gave away when she was 2, debate the thorny question of whether a great man – one who contributes to the good of the community/world – need also be good. In this show Mark talks about his life and work and Jason Cannon, who directed and was part of the creative collaboration which culminated in Relativity, discusses the development and production of the play and Sharon Leslie reviews it.