Pictured: Students participating in the 2023 Stage of Discovery program rehearse the culminating musical, FAME The Musical. Photo by Sorcha Augustine.

For the eighth summer, aspiring actors, dancers and singers ages 13-18 are taking the stage with Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. WBTT is proud to present "Stage of Discovery," an intensive, five-week summer musical theatre program that is offered at no cost to participants; the program will culminate with two public performances of FAME The Musical in mid-July. The teens are under the direction of WBTT Founder/Artistic Director Nate Jacobs and Education Director/Artistic Associate Jim Weaver. WBTT staff and guest instructors – including choreographers, musicians, actors and vocal coaches – offer lessons in dance, acting, singing and improvisation, and provide behind-the-scenes experience with set and costume design. Students are also enjoying the “creative lab” headed up by WBTT’s Resident Property Artisan Manager, Annette Breazeale. The Stage of Discovery program is free to students, thanks to support from the community. Founding Sponsor is the Robert E. Dods Family Foundation. Presenting Sponsors are: Carol Beeler (in memory of Tom Beeler); The Community Foundation of Sarasota County; Sy Goldblatt; Gulf Coast Community Foundation; Lee & Lydia Rainer, Rainer’s Grace Donor Fund; and Pat Singletary. FAME The Musical is a stage musical based on the 1980 musical film of the same name. It follows the lives of students at New York's High School for The Performing Arts as they navigate their way through classes, auditions, and life's highs and lows. This bittersweet but uplifting story explores the issues that confront many young people today, with an almost entirely new score (except for the title Academy Award-winning song, Fame). Weaver is the director, WBTT Resident Choreographer Donald Frison is handling the choreography, and Resident Music Director Matthew McKinnon is the show’s music director. Performances take place in The Donelly Theatre at WBTT (1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota) on Saturday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets, which are $27/adults, $17/active military and students age 25 and under, are now on sale; visit westcoastblacktheatre.org or call the Box Office at 941-366-1505.

Pictured: Students participating in the 2023 Stage of Discovery program rehearse the culminating musical, FAME The Musical. Photo by Sorcha Augustine.