This week, head over to Florida Studio Theatre to catch Something Rotten at Florida Studio Theatre. The musical comedy, which premiered on November 9th and recently saw its run extended to January 8th, follows two miserable brothers trying to run a theater company in 1592 Elizabethan England. Their biggest competitor? William Shakespeare.

Amongst the cast of the award-winning musical is Sarasota native Lauren Teyke, who is making her debut at Florida Studio Theatre.

“It’s been a really enjoyable experience, I’m enjoying being home. It is nice having people in the audience pretty frequently because they have access whereas on tour it’s harder because you can be really far away,” says Teyke. “It’s also nice to be able to take classes – my family owns the Ovation School of Musical Theater in Lakewood Ranch – and whenever I’m home I always go and take classes to keep up with my technique. It’s very convenient for me,” says Teyke with a chuckle.

Teyke, who recently made her Broadway national tour debut in Anastasia as Odette, is part of Something Rotten’s ensemble cast, meaning that she plays at least six different characters and wears over half a dozen costumes throughout the show. “Something Rotten is definitely a comedy, it’s extremely funny. The show heavily relies on musical references so musical goers will definitely get a kick out of it,” says Teyke. “I’m an ensemble member so I play a multitude of characters – I believe I have twelve costumes in this show and thirteen costume changes.”

Although such a task may seem daunting to some, it’s nothing that Teyke isn’t prepared for. “In the rehearsal process we take it part by part, one scene at a time. Given the circumstances, your blocking and lines and everything else, so you develop them individually and then you come up with your track and how you manage to do your costume changes on time,” says Teyke.

Box Office: (941) 366-9000, 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota. https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/something-rotten. 

Pictured: BillyD Hart, Jahir L. Hipps, Lauren Teyke, Cordell Cole, Kraig Swartz, Olivia London, Travis Keith Battle, and Jordan De Leon. Photo by John Jones.

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Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, announced Thursday that composer and theater artist Imani Uzuri has been selected as the third recipient of the Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA). This national jury-selected prize, established by the Hermitage in 2021 with generous support from the Kutya Major Foundation, offers one of the largest non-profit theater commissions in the country. Uzuri will receive a cash prize of $35,000, as well as a residency at the Hermitage (Sarasota County, Florida) and a developmental workshop in a major arts capital such as New York, Chicago, or London in the fall of 2024. Uzuri, raised in rural North Carolina, is an award-winning composer, vocalist, experimental librettist, improviser, and lyricist. Three distinguished finalists for the third Hermitage Major Theater Award include Nissy Aya, a playwright, educator, and cultural worker; AnnMarie Milazzo, a Tony and Grammy Award-nominated vocal designer, orchestrator, and composer; and Daniel J. Watts, a Tony Award-nominated actor and theater artist.

SILL’s popular Music Mondays series entitled “Musical Conversations with Great Performers” features informal performances and lively conversations with renowned performers of all disciplines. The 2023 Music Mondays, hosted by Dr. Joseph Holt, run January 9 through March 27. The morning sessions are at 10:30 a.m. at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road. Afternoon sessions are at 3 p.m. at Venice Presbyterian Church, 825 The Rialto. Season subscriptions for the Music Mondays series are now available for purchase for $85 for 12 sessions. A Flex Pass for 12 tickets to be used at any SILL event throughout the season is $115. Single-day tickets are available at the door and are $10. A new “Invite a Friend” initiative offers a free ticket to all series subscribers. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit SillSarasota.org or call 941-365-6404. 

Joining a book club means learning new genres such as my recent first time experience with Solarpunk literature, Becky Chambers’ A Psalm of the Wild-Built. Solarpunk, if I wasn’t the only one in the dark, is a genre which blends a narrative set in a sustainable future centering on nature and community.

In A Psalm of the Wild-Built, we meet Dex, a restless tea maker with wanderlust. In his quest to satiate, he meets Mosscap, a robot who has voluntarily left the human world to live on the outskirts of human civilization. Mosscap also has an expedition of his own.

I enjoyed the compactness of the story and the metaphors I chose as analogous to contemporary life and after life themes: reincarnation, hobbies vs. societal contributions and how we continue to make life worth living as we age. Heavy stuff, yet Chambers lyrical writing guides you through a sweet story of friendship and interdependence peppered with questions regarding how far robots might evolve.

Since we’re in the gift giving season, this is a perfect gift for adolescents through nonagenarians. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is available now at BookStore1 117 S. Pineapple Avenue Sarasota FL 34236 or for order on our online store www.sarasotabooks.com.

Published July 2021 ISBN:  9781250236210. 

City administration offices will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, and Monday, Dec. 26 in observance of Christmas and Monday, Jan. 2, 2023 for New Year’s Day. Garbage, recycling and yard waste pickup schedules for City residential and commercial customers will not be interrupted. Holiday hours of operation at City of Sarasota recreational and cultural facilities will vary: Arlington Park and Aquatic Complex, 2650 Waldemere St.: 941-263-6732, Closed: Dec. 23-26 and Jan. 1. Jan. 2: Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lido Pool, 400 Benjamin Franklin Drive: 941-263-6386, Closed: Dec. 23-26, Jan. 1 and 2. Payne Park Tennis Center, 2050 Adams Lane: 941-263-6641, Closed: Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1. Dec. 23 and 26, Jan. 2: Open from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, 1845 34th St.: 941-263-6562, Closed: Dec. 23-26 and Jan. 1, Jan. 2: Open from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail: 941-263-6799, Closed: Dec. 24 and 25, Dec. 23, 26 and Jan. 2: The Box Office will be open regular hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on garbage collection, contact the Solid Waste Division at 941-263-6170.

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Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman is pleased to announce the sheriff’s office is hosting its 6th annual holiday toy drive benefitting the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program, and two new partner organizations. The initiative was launched in 2017 when the agency moved into its new headquarters facility on Cattleridge Boulevard in Sarasota. To date, with help from agency members, residents, local businesses, and organizations, the sheriff’s office has donated more than 10,000 gifts and $31,000 in gift cards to children enrolled in the GAL program over the last five years. Because of the event’s growing success, Sheriff Hoffman this year invited Teen Court of Sarasota and All Star Children’s Foundation to also take part in the initiative. 

Meet the region's 35 Under 35 Awards Honorees for the 2022 program produced by SRQ Magazine to recognize young professionals who are taking a leadership position at their company and in the community. Learn more about Carlos Portillo, Juvenile Justice Director at Youth for Christ!

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Share a recent achievement for which you are the most proud.

I have made a partnership with the School District of Manatee County to initiate mentor groups at four local high schools. We currently send 14 mentors to our schools to mentor over 60 students who are at risk of dropout, expulsion, and falling into the school to prison pipeline. After receiving over 75 referrals from the Department of Juvenile Justice for mentoring and probation assistance, we just created a new life coaching group for system-involved youth in Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Our program will teach students how to make goals, understandfinancial literacy, identify mental health cues, and learn basic life skills. 

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