Florida Rep Launches Virtual Series: Stage@Home

Florida Rep Launches Virtual Series: Stage@Home

Florida Rep has launched a FREE Virtual Series: Florida Rep Stage@Home.
The Weekly Series ran for 12 weeks from April through June. The past episodes are replaying weekly on Florida Rep’s Facebook Page on Fridays at 3:30 PM, or you can watch the past episodes by clicking below. 


PAST SESSIONS! WATCH NOW
Also available on Facebook, or in Podcast Format on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Anchor, and RadioPublic.

Friday, April 10: Stage@Home | “A Doll’s House, Part 2” Talkback
We kicked off our Virtual Talkback Series, Florida Rep Stage@Home with a talkback featuring the cast and director of “A Doll’s House, Part 2” by Lucas Hnath. Hear from them on how this experience has been uniquely different due to coronavirus and switching to a streamed show.
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, April 17: Stage@Home | Jam Session
Florida Rep presents a jam session with some of your favorite actor-musicians, including Brady Wease (Million Dollar Quartet’s Jerry Lee Lewis), Gregg Hammer (Million Dollar Quartet’s Johnny Cash) David Darrow (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Molly Coyne (The Fantasticks), Victoria Casella (musical director & pianist, A Gentleman’s Guide & Tenderly), and more.
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, April 24: Stage@Home | Murder by Design
Join Florida Rep on April 24 for a discussion with the design and creative team behind this season’s hit musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. This week’s LIVE discussion brings together set designer David Arsenault, Costume Designer Charlene Gross, Lighting Designer Tyler M. Perry, Projection Designer Rob Siler, Sound Designer Katie Lowe, and Stage Manager Janine Wochna for an in-depth talk about how the hit musical came to the Arcade Stage!
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, May 1: Stage@Home | The Healing Power of Theatre & Brilliant Things
Join Florida Rep on May 1st for an in-depth discussion about the making of a groundbreaking play, Every Brilliant Thing, and the unprecedented partnership it helped form between Florida Rep and Lee Health. The one-person-show played in the ArtStage Studio Theatre for three weeks before closing early due to COVID-19. A story of hope and healing and the importance of mental health awareness, the production marked the beginning of a partnership with Lee Health, Kids’ Minds Matter, and Lee County Schools to bring over 1,000 high school students to the theatre to see the play. This Stage@Home talkback brings the show’s director (Eleanor Holdridge), actor (Michael Satow), and stage manager (Amy Massari) together with Paul Simeone, Vice President of Mental & Behavioral Health for Lee Health, and Lori Brooks, Director of School Counseling & Mental Health Services for Lee County Schools to talk about the play, the process, and the newfound partnership.
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, May 8: Stage@Home | Making New Plays in the Regional Theatre
Join Florida Rep on May 8 for a discussion with some of the playwrights you’ll recognize from PlayLabs past. Back in 2014, Florida Rep made a commitment to nurture new plays and help playwrights develop new work. Florida Rep’s PlayLab is responsible for six world premiere or regional premiere productions, two commissioned works for young audiences and two National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere productions – including this season’s Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly. This roundtable will feature big names in the world of new plays and is not a discussion to miss.
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, May 15: Stage@Home | Meet the Cast & Director of Barefoot in the Park
Join Florida Rep on May 15 for a fun and informative chat with Artistic Director Greg Longenhagen and the whole cast of 2020’s HIT comedy, Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon. The acclaimed American comedy about learning to live together has never been more timely…since we’re all stuck at home with our spouses around the clock. Meet Hannah McKechnie, Brian Hatch, ensemble member V Craig Heidenreich, Katrina Ferguson, ensemble Member Brendan Powers, and newcomer to the stage, Mike Filipowski for a talk about the process of bringing the Neil Simon classic to the Arcade stage.
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, May 22 | Tackling Difficult Issues for Teens – Making Bulletproof Backpack with Eric Coble
Join Florida Rep on May 22nd for an in-depth discussion about tackling school violence in the world premiere commission, Bulletproof Backpack. Director & Education Director Kody C Jones and playwright Eric Coble are joined by Dr. Laura Wright, a researcher for the piece and two teens, Brice Kingsley, and Danica Murray, who helped to develop the play. Originally set to be read in the 2020 PlayLab Festival, the world premiere is planned for later in the summer. Don’t miss this incredible discussion about how a new play can take on serious issues in an innovative and accessible way. Eric Coble is a Broadway playwright whose work for Florida Rep’s Theatre for Young Audiences program includes the world premiere commission of ZAP!, The Giver, and the world premiere adaptation of Refugee.
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, May 29 | The Art of Arts Administration
This week’s Stage@Home takes audiences into the seldom-seen world of the theatre’s administration department. From Finance to Company Management, this week’s virtual talkback pulls the curtain back on the office that makes the theatre tick by paying bills, selling tickets, and picking actors up at the airport. Theatre is an art form, and we frequently hear from the actors, directors, designers, and technicians, but this week’s panel will show viewers how much art it takes to make the business run smoothly and to create an environment where artists can create. The panelists are Executive Director John Martin, Finance Director Julieta Figueroa, Marketing Director Bryelle Dafeldecker, Director of Operations Daniel Benzing, and Company Manager Aaron Martin.
Watch the Session Here

 

Friday, June 5 | Where are They Now? Checking in with Florida Rep Interns
Since the theatre’s early days, its internship program has been training a generation of young professionals in all departments. From actors to stage managers to arts administrators, the program’s alumni are a who’s who at major regional companies and stages across the country. In this virtual talkback, we will hear from past interns about their careers beyond Florida Rep and how the internship set them up for success.

Watch the Session Here

Friday, June 12, 2020 | Becoming Helen Keller

For this week’s Stage@Home, audiences will get a chance to talk to the three amazing women behind Florida Rep’s 2018 production of The Miracle Worker. Director & Ensemble Member Maureen Heffernan joins Liza Jayne Longenhagen and Betsy Hogg, the actresses who portrayed Helen Keller and her famed teacher, Annie Sullivan, for an in-depth discussion about what it took to bring the American classic to life. Now a 13-year-old student at the Sanibel School, audiences will learn how Liza prepared for the monumental role at such a young age. Both emotionally taxing and physically demanding, New York actress, Betsy Hogg, took on the iconic role of Keller’s determined teacher and in this talkback, we’ll find out how she did it.

Watch the Session Here

Friday, June 19, 2020 | Alabaster’s Challenges: Scars + Folk Art

This week’s Stage@Home Rerun takes us back to the December 2019 National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly. Originally broadcast June 19, this week’s discussion looks at how Florida Rep’s team of designers and technicians created the film-quality prosthetic scars for the central character, June. The production also called for some original Alabama folk art, and Stage@Home shows you how we did it. Join panelists Audrey Cefaly, costume designer Charlene Gross, folk artist Sara Morsey, wardrobe technician Andrew Burns, and ensemble actress, Rachel Burttram for a discussion that is not to be missed.

Watch the Session Here

Friday, June 26, 2020 | Revisiting August Wilson’s Fences

In this final spring Stage@Home broadcast from June 26, 2020, audiences get an inside look at Florida Rep’s 2019 production of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning modern classic, FENCES. The panel includes the shows acclaimed director, Benny Sato Ambush, and his cast, Mujahid Abdul-Rashid, Gayle Samuels, Mark Alexander Pierre, Daniel Morgan Shelley, Brian D. Coats, and John Archie, and

Watch the Session Here


Florida Rep Stage@Home is a free series but we always warmly accept any and all donations! You can donate here.


Have Students at Home? Check out our Education Series!