With a roar that shook the rafters, SRQ Media’s fifth annual Women In Business Leadership and Awards Luncheon came to the Hyatt Regency Sarasota yesterday, uniting professionals from all across the region to celebrate those women making great strides in everything from education and entrepreneurship to healthcare and the arts.

Over a light lunch (and after an impromptu shopping spree in the lobby with pop-ups from vendors like Molly’s, Apricot Lane, Philosophy and Vines, Saks Fifth Avenue, Diamond Vault and more), the hundreds gathered enjoyed a presentation from Keynote Speaker Geralyn Lucas, the announcement of the 2019 Trailblazer Award Recipient and the induction of the 2019 Women In Business Leadership Circle.

A journalist and author turned advocate for breast cancer awareness and survivor acceptance, Lucas took the stage to tell her own very personal account of being diagnosed at age 27 and facing a mastectomy with little available guidance or support. Equal parts humorous and heartfelt, she shared her story with a rapt audience hanging on to every twist and turn, as she recounted the little victories and the big ones—and lessons learned. “Always take that risk,” she said, and be open about who you are and what you’re going through—reactions may be surprising. “Courage is just so contagious,” she says. “The best thing I’ve ever done is share my story and hold out my hand to someone else.”

A trailblazer who literally wrote the book (her memoir is titled Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist’s Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America), acclaimed journalist Dorothy Butler Gilliam was also in attendance to receive the 2019 Trailblazer Award. The first black woman journalist at The Washington Post, Gilliam’s storied career documents a battle waged tirelessly on two fronts, facing both racism and sexism both in the office and out, yet never backing down. Accepting the award on behalf of black women journalists everywhere, she reflected on her journey. “Women of our generation didn’t really hear our roar,” she said. “So I found a little bit of my roar today. I am not going to be apologetic anymore—I am a trailblazer.”

Closing out the luncheon, the crowd recognized the finalists and inductees into the 2019 Women in Business Leadership Circle, as selected by a judges panel of professional women. Winners this year include: Luz Corcuera, executive director of UnidosNow; Johnette Isham, executive director of Realize Bradenton; Terri Najmolhoda, vice president and general manager with Saks Fifth Avenue; Christine Robinson, executive director of The Argus Foundation; and Sally Schule, director of community engagement with Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation. 

Pictured: Finalists and inductees into the 2019 Women In Business Leadership Circle. Photo by Evan Sigmund.

Florida Studio Theatre teams up with the National New Play Network (NNPN) this year to host the NNPN Women in Playwriting Festival right here in Sarasota, inviting four women playwrights from around the country to bring their latest work for a series of staged readings from April 24 through May 10. The featured artists each receive a week of development sessions with FST, followed by the reading and a talkback session to receive feedback from the audience. In this four-part series, SRQ goes backstage with the playwrights.

A New Jersey-based playwright, Lia Romeo’s The Forest explores unconventional relationships, as a daughter amidst marital crises and a mother losing her memory (but finding something else in her caregiver) must come to terms with the reality of their circumstances and each other. To make matters weirder, a forest inexplicably begins growing through the living room floor. The reading will be tonight at FST.

What was your inspiration for The Forest? I'm often drawn to writing about inappropriate relationships—relationships that feel right to the people involved in them, but that are wrong in some way by society's standards. I'm still working out how the surreal elements and the realistic elements of the play interact with each other, and that's one of the things I want to focus on when I look at the play again as part of the festival.

Why are festivals like this important in this day and age? We're living in a moment where people are listening to women's voices more than ever before, which is really exciting. And to put those voices onstage—to literally give them a platform from which to be heard—is incredibly important.  

How can the theatrical community support women playwrights year-round? As a brand new parent, I'm realizing how important it is for theaters to provide childcare and support for artists with families. (Not that this is specifically a women's issue. It affects male artists just as much, or at least it should.)

How does playwriting give you a voice? I'm a shy person, but shy people still want to be heard—we just don't necessarily want to shout in order to do it. So playwriting is like this amazing shortcut—I can write down all my thoughts and hopes and fears, and then other people can say them, and I can sit in the back of a dark room and watch an audience listen and respond. It's my favorite thing. 

Pictured: Lia Romeo.

Florida Studio Theatre has announced its lineup for the 2019 Summer Mainstage and Cabaret Seasons.

The Off-Broadway sensation, The Marvelous Wonderettes, opens FST’s 28th Summer Mainstage season. When four friends are called upon to perform at their 1958 senior prom, they rally together to entertain their classmates with classic hits like “It’s My Party,” “Lollipop,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” and “Mr. Sandman.” Next on the Mainstage is Ethel Waters: His Eye is on the Sparrow by Sarasota playwright Larry Parr, which world-premiered at FST in 2005 with Jannie Jones, who will be lending her voice to the role once again. Concluding the Summer Mainstage season is the regional premiere of The Cottage by Sandy Rustin, a sophisticated romantic comedy that starts to unfold when Sylvia Van Kipness decides to expose her secret love affair to her husband.

Opening the FST’s Summer Cabaret Series is Come Together: When the 60s Met the 70s by Carole J. Bufford, a music revue that explores the changing musical landscape from 1965-1975. Next up, due to audience demand, The Swingaroos return for a third summer with a brand-new show inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood, The Swingaroos: Hollywood Serenade, paying homage to icons like Frank Sinatra, Cab Calloway, and Fred Astaire. The summer season concludes with a celebration of one of the most successful acts in music history—Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in Who Loves You. 

Florida Studio Theatre

The Sarasota County Libraries, in partnership with the Friends of the Gulf Gate Library, is seeking to commission a sculpture to be located in the lobby of the Gulf Gate Library, and has issued a call to artists.

Sections of copper roofing which were saved prior to demolition of the previous Gulf Gate Library are to be transformed into artwork that will create excitement and interest in the community, honor and commemorate the rich history of the library, celebrate the impact the library has on the community, inspire people to remember the past influence of the library and engage in life-long learning opportunities at the library. A committee comprised of members of the Gulf Gate Library staff, Friends of the Gulf Gate Library members, and Sarasota County staff will review all applications and choose finalists who will have the opportunity to present their concepts to the committee. The call to artists expires on June 7, and the selected artist will be announced on June 28, 2019.

The call to artists and application can be found at the link below. 

Gulf Gate Library Call to Artists

The Sarasota Orchestra is inviting artists to submit applications to exhibit their work during the 2019–20 season in the Orchestra’s Harmony Gallery, located in the atrium of the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center. The application deadline for the 2019–20 Harmony Gallery exhibitions is June 21. Juried decisions will be announced by July 19.

he application process is open to all Sarasota, Manatee or Charlotte county artists and 2D works in any media, excluding installation, video, performance or audio. Interested artists should submit a completed application, along with 10–15 samples of their most recent work either digitally, printed samples or a link to an online portfolio site. Exhibited in public forum with large numbers of children, subject matter deemed inappropriate for youth may be rejected at the sole discretion of the Sarasota Orchestra Art Committee. The Committee has final approval of work presented for hanging. 

The Orchestra will host artist receptions for each exhibition in the atrium of the Symphony Center, and 25% of the proceeds from the sale of Harmony Gallery artwork will be donated to the Orchestra.

Applications are available at the website below. 

Sarasota Orchestra Harmony Gallery Application