“It’s been a wild ride. It was a four day shoot in total with the first shooting date in late September, but the second week got postponed a whole month because of the hurricane that ripped through Florida,” says CJ Callins. “My actors weren’t students, they were real-life, full-time actors–my lead was from Miami and we had to alter his looks to look like he did a whole month and a half ago.”

Callins, a Ringling College Branded Entertainment Film major, is speaking on his senior thesis film, Contagious Swagger, which will be airing this week at the Sarasota Film Festival. The 11-minute comedic short, which focuses on a Black man meeting his Asian girlfriend’s parents for the first time, is a rarity for the Sarasota Film Festival–Ringling College thesis films typically aren’t completed in time for submission to the festival. “I don’t know the last time a Ringling College film has been in it because usually senior thesis films are completed until around late April or late May, but I made it a goal to get it in there in time. This is actually the first branded entertainment film to be in the festival which is kind of historic and exciting for me,” says Callins.

A branded entertainment film, as Callins puts it, “is more like a sponsored short film than a commercial”. It’s a film that connects with a brand to tell a story. Callins, interested in exploring the intersection of Black and Asian cultures, picked a brand that he felt was resonant in the Black community: Air Jordan. “The biggest message of this film revolves around cultures coming together. In the film, the boyfriend has to take off his Air Jordan’s when he steps into his girlfriend’s home – it’s like taking a piece of himself off,” says Callins. “I didn’t really get to experience or educate myself about Asian culture until I came to Ringling College. My suitemate from freshman year was Asian and I’ve lived with him ever since. The similarities between his culture and mine really inspired me to make this film.” 

Pictured: CJ Callins behind the scenes of his Ringling Senior Thesis film, Contagious Swagger. Photo courtesy of the artist.

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Florida Studio Theatre announces its 39th Richard and Betty Burdick New Play Festival, presenting three staged readings of new works by contemporary American playwrights. This year’s Festival features the quirky comedy, Advice by Brent Askari, the heartfelt one-man musical, Todd vs. The Titanic by Scott Rothman, Joe Kinosian, and Kellen Blair, and the dark comedy, Bleeding Hearts by Steve Yockey. Readings will take place on April 21, April 28, and May 5 at 3PM each day in FST’s Keating Theatre. Subscriptions to all three readings are $15-25. Single tickets are $10. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or by calling FST’s Box Office at 941.366.9000. As Sarasota’s Contemporary Theatre, FST is heavily invested in New Play Development. To date, FST has produced over 30 World Premieres, many of which have been nurtured through the theatre’s artistic initiatives. Through reading series, like the Burdick New Play Festival, FST gives select works-in-progress a platform, a live audience, artistic support, and valuable feedback. The playwrights highlighted in this Festival will each travel to Sarasota for a week of rehearsals with FST’s artistic staff and guest artists. At the end of each week of development sessions, a staged reading of their play or musical will be performed for a live audience, followed by a discussion with the audience about the work-in-progress.  

On Monday evening, March 20th, the Hermitage celebrated its 20th Anniversary Season with a concert featuring Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg, returning to his roots as a performer. “This is my first time doing anything like this in about twelve years,” Sandberg shared from the stage. He performed an evening of classic and contemporary Broadway songs, with a few other pop favorites, as well as original songs by Hermitage alumni, including award-winning composers Adam Gwon and Rona Siddiqui. “It’s a rare and special thing,” stated Gavin Creel in his introduction, “that an Artistic Director and CEO like Andy has the talent and the willingness to get up and do a very daring thing – to sing and perform with a bunch of his friends and inspirations who are also some my favorite Broadway performers, in order to raise more money to help this amazing place… I will always love the Hermitage.” Between sponsorships and ticket sales, the event raised nearly $200,000 for the Hermitage and its ongoing hurricane repair efforts. 

Pictured: Jeannette Bayardelle, Laura Bell Bundy, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg, Ann Morrison, and Raleigh Mosley II. Courtesy of the Hermitage.

Art Center Sarasota will work to strengthen its entrepreneurial capacity and increase its mission impact with earned-income strategies developed and implemented through its participation in Margin & Mission Ignition, an opportunity presented by The Patterson Foundation. As one of four regional organizations selected for Margin & Mission Ignition, Art Center Sarasota will work with No Margin, No Mission, a social enterprise and national consulting firm engaged by The Patterson Foundation, over a 30-month process. No Margin, No Mission will work with each nonprofit to develop and implement business plans to generate revenue and support their efforts in the community. Throughout the process, the organizations participating in Margin & Mission Ignition will come together to learn from and share with one another based on their experiences. Margin & Mission Ignition is part of The Patterson Foundation’s Nonprofit Thrivability initiative. This initiative connects nonprofits with expertise and resources to learn concepts like strategic decision-making while adopting and implementing entrepreneurial principles to generate enough revenue to support and eventually grow their operations. For more information about Margin & Mission Ignition, please visit thepattersonfoundation.org. Join the conversation on social media by using #TPFMarginMission. For more information about Art Center Sarasota, please visit https://www.artsarasota.org/ 

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is excited to welcome Postmodern Jukebox to Sarasota on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 7 p.m. Tickets for Postmodern Jukebox – Life In The Past Lane Tour are on sale now. Times change and trends come and go, but -- like a 1961 Jaguar XK-E -- the classic sounds of the past only appreciate with age. Postmodern Jukebox's Life In The Past Lane Concert Tour is a celebration of the greatest 20th century musical genres, fused with the recognizable hits of our own modern era, for the perfect patina of "vintage" and "modern." As always, we'll be bringing the Postmodern Jukebox Universe to life with a cast full of today's most exciting vocalists, instrumentalists, and tap dancers, to bring you the top-shelf entertainment experience for which Postmodern Jukebox is known. Whether you're a vinyl aficionado or a TikTok fashionista, catch a ride with us for an unforgettable trip through 100 years of timeless music. Tickets start at $27 and can be purchased at www.VanWezel.org, by calling the box office at 941-263-6799 or by visiting the box office Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Groups of 10 or more should contact 941-263-6726. Pre-show dining is available through Mattison’s at the Van Wezel which is located inside the theatre. Reservations can be made on VanWezel.org or through the box office. 

Photo courtesy of The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

Nathan Benderson Park (NBP) Paddling program’s NBP Survivors in Sync, consisting of breast cancer survivors, will participate in the 2023 International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission (IBCPC) Participatory Dragon Boat Festival in Lake Karapiro, Cambridge, New Zealand from April 10-16, 2023. NBP Paddling Coach Angela Long will not only coach in the event but will also race. Twenty-four team members will travel and participate in the parade of teams on Friday, April 14. Two boats will compete in the 500-meter races and in the 200 meter races. They will be accompanied by supporters, friends, family and NBP paddlers who will also compete in supporter races held each day. The IBCPC Participatory Dragon Boat Festival is held every four years. The festival is an international non-competitive participatory event for breast cancer paddler teams who engage in Dragon Boat activities as post breast cancer diagnosis rehabilitation.
The NBP team placed fourth at the most recent IBCPC Participatory Dragon Boat Festival in 2018 in Italy. They are also the International Dragon Boat Federation’s reigning world-champions in the 500-meter and 200-meter sprints. The World Championships were held at Nathan Benderson Park in 2022. The NBP Paddling program trains at Nathan Benderson Park, a Sarasota County park, and is composed of a diverse group of men and women. The following groups make up the NBP Paddling program: NBP Survivors in Sync: NBP’s Breast Cancer Survivor Team. The "SISters" are a team of breast-cancer survivors that competes in events worldwide, NBP Veterans: Veterans train and compete with others who share their experiences, NBP Dragons: The NBP Dragons compete internationally year-round, NBP Warriors: The warriors are a team of men and women who have survived cancers of all-types. They compete year-round.