Media contact: Julia Guzman / 941-351-9010 Ext. 4800 / Julia_guzman@asolo.org
ASOLO REP FOURTH ANNUAL
AMBASSADORS SOCIETY HONORS SUPPORTERS
Sarasota, FL (MARCH 28, 2008) –Asolo Repertory Theatre announces the fourth annual induction for the Asolo Ambassadors Society and is inviting into membership individuals who have made significant financial, service and other contributions to Asolo Rep since its creation nearly 50 seasons ago.
Margaret Wise, president of the Asolo board of directors, stated, "Asolo Rep is the premiere theatre of Florida and one of the top regional professional theatre companies in the country. Many people have contributed to this success over the years. The Asolo Ambassadors Society recognizes and honors some of these individuals each year at the Gala. This year the ceremony takes on special meaning as we launch Asolo Rep’s 50th anniversary."
Persons listed below will be recognized and inducted into the Society at the Asolo's annual gala at 6:00 PM on Saturday, March 29, 2008, in the Searing Gallery of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. Individuals to be inducted this year include:
Pat Huisking is an Asolo Rep patron whose ties to the company stem back to the 1960s when she served as an usher in the Historic Asolo Theater. Through the Huisking Foundation, Pat supports a variety of local cultural and social service organizations in addition to Asolo Rep, including Asolo Rep, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory, the Ringling Museum of Art, Easter Seals, the Van Wezel Foundation and the United Way of SarasotaCounty. Pat continues to donate an annual contribution to the FSU/Asolo Conservatory Scholarship Fund. The current student benefiting from Pat’s generosity is Juan Javier Cardenas who can currently be seen in Equus.
Jody Kielbasa is a graduate of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. He moved to LA and founded the award-winning Tamarind Theatre in Hollywood. Jody returned to Sarasota in 1995 and began serving as Managing Director and then Producing Artistic Director of American Stage in St. Petersburg. In 1998, he was recruited to help helm the then fledgling Sarasota Film Festival. In his nine years with the Festival, he has guided its growth from a 3-day mini-festival to a 10-day event attracting some of the Industry's most celebrated films and film artists. Kielbasa has directed the Festival to phenomenal growth and success in only nine short years, creating one of the preeminent regional festivals in the United States. Kielbasa is currently co-producing the independent film, The Deal, starring William H. Macy and Meg Ryan.
Bruce Rodgers has worn many hats throughout his distinguished career including musician, writer, administrator, producer and playwright, among others. Some career highlights include three years with the West Point Band, lyricist with the famed BMI Musical Theatre Workshop in New York, resident playwright at McCarter Theatre, Literary Manager of the GeVa Theatre in Rochester, NY, and co-writer of Innovation Inc – A Guide to Creativity in the Workplace. From 1993 to 2004 Bruce was the Associate Artistic Director of Asolo Rep. He first came to Asolo Rep in 1991 as a playwright when Asolo Rep produced his play, Lost Electra, winner of the Rosenthal New Play Prize at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Asolo Rep would continue to commission and produce two more of his works (Centerburg Tales and The Gravity of Honey). His work has been produced at major regional professional theatres throughout the United States and abroad. With a deep commitment to arts education, he is the President-Elect of the Florida Alliance for Arts Education. He is proud to be a MacDowell Colony Fellow, a Seaside Escape to Create Fellow, and is currently the founding Executive Director of the Hermitage Artist Retreat on the beach on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Florida.
Ulla R. Searing is one of Asolo Rep’s biggest supporters and is a member of the Asolo Rep’s elite Crystal Society having bequeathed $2 million to the theatre. Known for her incessant generosity and philanthropy work, Ulla continues to be an active leader in Sarasota’s Arts Community. She has given generously to numerous organizations including: Sarasota Opera, Youth Opera, Sarasota Ballet, Asolo Repertory Theater, Sarasota Circus and The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The Searing name now honors the RinglingMuseum’s new art galleries (Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing) as a lasting testament to her husband’s and her life long interest in history and the arts. Mrs. Searing also supports higher education donating funds to the New College Foundation, Ringling College of Art & Design and Lehigh University, her husband’s alma mater.
Sharon Spelman started her professional career at Asolo Rep and returned 25 years later as a resident company member. During her time here she has portrayed 60 different characters, 40 during her 11 year tenure (1996-2007) as a resident company member. Roles included: Mrs. Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby, Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Goody Nurse in The Crucible, Judith Bliss in Hay Fever, and Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Sharon considers Asolo Rep her home. It was here she found her husband as well as the freedom to explore her craft that she could find nowhere else.
For information about the Asolo Ambassadors Society or A STAR IS BORN (The Asolo Rep 2008 Gala) please contact Deborah Trimble at 941-351-9010 Ext. 4700.
Asolo Repertory Theatre and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training operate, train and perform within the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts at 5555 N Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Florida.