This weekend, head on down to Urbanite Theatre to catch the final few days of the organization’s Modern Works Festival. Now in its 5th year, the festival looks to serve female playwrights and theater makers by providing a wealth of resources at their disposal.

Here’s how it works. From over 250 submissions, three plays–all containing three characters or less–have been selected to take part in the festival. Over the course of the festival, these playwrights will be given the time (15 hours) and the resources–female dramaturg, a team of professional actors and directors–to develop their work if they wish to do so. The festival ends with staged readings of all three plays featuring professional directors, stage managers and actors from all across the country. “The goal of the festival is to focus on play development. In addition to the teams for each play, we also have a festival dramaturg working on all three plays,” says Summer Wallace, Producing Artistic Director of Urbanite Theatre. “Plays come to the festival in all different stages. Some of them have had a little bit of development, while others have just been read with friends. It’s really an opportunity for these playwrights that culminates in three staged performances with a talk back for each show.”

After the readings, patrons of the festival will be able to vote on their favorite play, crowning a winner. However, in the Modern Works Festival, all three playwrights still win just by virtue of being in the festival. While there is a competitive aspect, the point of the event. is to uplift and support the development of new works by female playwrights from across the country.

This year’s slate features three distinct plays: Lia Romeo’s A Nice Motherly Person, a darkly comedic tale about new motherhood, Baylee Shlichtman’s In the Mouth of the Beast, a harrowing story about a father and daughter’s exploration into a dangerous cave that defies the laws of physics and bends reality and Sarah Elizabeth Grace’s I’m Saving You a Seat, an intimate story of an alcoholic in recovery who moves to a small Hudson Valley town and reconnects with her ex-stepfather and his new girlfriend. Also featured in the festival will be a discussion with featured guest speaker Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015. With everything included in this year’s event, the Modern Works Festival is truly a theater-lover’s dream.

September 4 to 8, Urbanite Theatre, 1487 2nd Street, Sarasota, 941-321-1397.

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design has received a pair of grants from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to expand its community engagement initiatives. The funds will be used to launch two initiatives: a new outdoor play space and Access for All, Every Day, an initiative designed to connect people with disabilities to meaningful experiences at the Museum. The play space is being developed in partnership with The Urban Conga, an international multidisciplinary design studio known locally through their Portal and Coral installations at The Bay. Local parents and families will have the opportunity to provide input during the conceptual phase of the project to inform a design that reflects our community and its children. Lead support for the play space comes from Karen and Barry McClure, Sarasota Art Museum supporters who are passionate about the importance of art and play in children’s development. A celebratory opening is planned for summer 2025. The Access for All, Every Day initiative will initially focus on serving residents who face systemic barriers due to vision loss and impairment, physical disabilities, and/or cognitive challenges, including autism. The initiative will generate Museum enhancements such as audio descriptive tours, materials and tools that adhere to universal access best practices, autism communication and comforting items, art studio equipment modifications and upgrades, and accessibility training for staff and volunteers. The Museum will work with partners such as Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center, Easterseals of Southwest Florida, The Haven, and Oak Park School to reach people with recognizable and hidden disabilities, in addition to visitors with disabilities that visit the Museum independently. The initiative’s first phase will culminate in an exhibition of artwork created by Access for All, Every Day participants on view in Sarasota Art Museum’s Community Gallery.

The Sarasota Concert Association announces its Music Matinees for the 2025 season. These four FREE afternoon concerts showcase outstanding regional musicians performing a variety of musical styles, from opera to jazz. Scheduled this season: Sarasota Opera Studio Artists, Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 2 p.m. The Sarasota Opera’s Studio Artists are members of the more advanced level of Sarasota Opera’s two training programs and often participate in main stage productions by performing supporting roles and covering principal roles. Flutist Karen Large and Pianist Heidi Louise Williams, Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 2 p.m. Flutist Karen Large and pianist Heidi Williams will take listeners on a journey through flute history with their program, "Storytellers." Featuring composers from the Baroque era through the present day, the musicians tell stories using different musical styles and instruments, including the traverso, piccolo, and contrabass flute. Guitarist Edel Muñoz and Violinist Sean O’Neill, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 2 p.m. Winner of more than 20 international guitar competitions, Cuban-American guitarist Edel Muñoz and O’Neill traverse three centuries of compelling music for guitar and violin, featuring music by Bach, Paganini, Piazzolla, De Falla, Albéniz, and Villa-Lobos. Jazz Singer Synia Carroll, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 2 p.m. A jazz vocalist with smooth and soulful vocals, Synia Carroll performs "Wade In The Water Of Song," featuring songs from her latest album. Through the prism of Jazz, the program acknowledges and celebrates the expansion and discovery that is an integral part of the ‘waters’ of our lived experiences. 

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Single tickets for the Sarasota Concert Association’s 2024-25 season are on sale now, including all five Great Performers Series concerts and the season’s two Special Event Performances.  Single tickets, Great Performers Series subscriptions, and Choose 3 subscriptions are available at www.SCAsarasota.orgor by calling the Box Office at (941) 966-6161.
 

Pictured: The Cleveland Orchestra will perform Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Photo courtesy of the artists.

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M A R A Art Studio + Gallery opens the 2024-2025 season with four exhibits. In “Zen,” Midge Johnson guides viewers through a world where silence speaks volumes, using abstract paintings to convey tranquility and serenity. “Canvas Conversations” showcases work by gallery artists, including Lori Childers, Elise Gold Sewall, Midge Johnson, Javi Suárez and Mara Torres González, among others. (September 27-October 22; opening reception is Saturday, October 5, 6-7:30 p.m.) In “Small Talk” Julia Rivera showcases paintings and sculpture that explore identity, culture, and the link between art and politics. (October 25-November 22; opening reception is Saturday, October 26, 6-7:30 p.m.) “Still Waters” features a diverse array of work by gallery artists, who explore the beauty and serenity in moments of calm, inviting reflection and introspection. (November 15-December 20). The gallery is located at 76 S. Palm Avenue, Sarasota. 

Creative Liberties continues in September with an opening reception on Thursday, September 12, 5-7 p.m., for an exhibition of work by Beck Lane, the new artist-in-residence at Creative Liberties at Arcos Apartments location, 340 Central Avenue. Meet the artist, view and purchase her art, enjoy lite bites and beverages. Beck will be the resident artist through October 27. 

It's September and that means it's time for our inside look at what's trending in the ever-changing worlds of fashion, food, the arts and health and fitness. From brunch to dessert and home and design to fitness-there's a lot to learn and enjoy this season and we're happy to share it with you here, September 2024. 

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