Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is proud to announce that Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast) has awarded the regional theatre a $65,000 Empowering Arts Grant Award, funded through the Mildred and Garrett Eelman Charitable Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. This grant will underwrite FST’s upcoming three-show Winter Cabaret Series, four-show Winter Mainstage Series, and 2025 Summer Mainstage Series. With the Empowering Arts Grant, Gulf Coast will also serve as the lead sponsor of FST’s Annual Shindig, the theatre’s annual fundraising event, scheduled for Spring 2025. For fiscal year 2024, Gulf Coast awarded Empowering Arts Grants to thirteen arts organizations in the region, including FST, recognizing the positive impact they have on the economy and community. During the 2024-2025 season, FST presented over 20 theatrical productions, weekly performances by its resident improv troupe, two New Play Festivals, the 14th Annual Sarasota Improv Festival, and brought its award-winning youth playwriting program, WRITE A PLAY, to schools across the country. Funding from foundations like Gulf Coast enhances FST’s ability to continue to offer these programs and produce high-quality, contemporary theatre. For more information on the Empowering Arts Grant Awards contact Gulf Coast Community Foundation. For more information about FST’s mission and contribution opportunities, please contact Matthew Glover, FST’s Director of Development, at 941.366.9017 x326 or MGlover@floridastudiotheatre.org.