I had the pleasure of attending the "Theatre 620: Sweets and Shorts" fundraiser Monday night at the gorgeous new American Stage site on 3rd Ave. N. in St. Petersburg. Over 100 people showed up for this Studio@620 event, drank and ate to the accompaniment of Paul Wilborn on piano and Eugenie Bondurant on vocals. I had a good talk with actor Eric Davis about his search for a permanent space for the freeFall Theatre Company, and I was happy to chat with St. Pete poet laureate and CL columnist Peter Meinke and his artist wife Jeanne. Serving drinks was American Stage jack-of-all-trades Andy Orrell, and moving graciously from guest to guest was Studio artistic director and co-founder Bob Devin Jones. After a half hour, we all moved in to the theater proper, where 12 acts presented — among other things — excerpts from Lane DeGregory's Pulitzer Prize-winning story "The Girl in the Window," presented in Living Newspaper style, and scenes from Bill Maxwell and Beverly Coyle's play Parallel Lives and Mark Medoff's The Same Life Over. Artistic director Jones introduced the readings and dramatizations, and actors included Jones himself, Sharon Scott, Bonnie Agan, Robin O'Dell and Wilborn. Poet Enid Shomer read from her own work, and guitarist Nick White accompanied it all with lovely acoustic music. A quick overview of the audience reminded me of how much good Jones has brought to area arts with his Studio, and how willing the Bay area is to welcome new theaters. It was a delightful evening: and it suggests once again that Tampa/St.Pete has huge potential for growth in the arts.
This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2009.