The word Asolo comes from Asolo, Italy where a lovely 18th century theatre was acquired by the State of Florida for the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and moved to Sarasota, Florida, in the 1950s. This theatre, where Eleanora Duse once performed, became home to a summer theatre company founded by faculty of Florida State University in 1960. Known as the Asolo Theatre Festival, the company was warmly embraced by the Sarasota community and in 1966 became a year-round, professional LORT Theatre. In 1968, The Florida State University (FSU) School of Theatre began sending acting students on a regular basis for internships at the Asolo. Then, in 1973, the entire graduate actor training program was shifted from the main campus in Tallahassee to Sarasota, creating the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, one of America 's premier actor-training programs leading to a Master of Fine Arts degree. In December 1989, after 30 years in the Historic Asolo Theater, the LORT company moved into a new performing arts center. Originally dedicated as the Asolo Performing Arts Center, the facility became the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts in 1991.

In 2006, the Asolo Theatre Company was renamed to Asolo Repertory Theatre. This new name was chosen to more accurately reflect their status as one of the only rotating repertory theatres in the country. Currently, the Asolo Repertory Theatre and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory perform in the FSU Center on two stages—the Mertz and the Cook Theatres. This season both Asolo Rep and the Conservatory are proud to come full circle as they each perform one show in the Historic Asolo Theater, located in the Ringling Museum's Visitors Pavilion. The acclaimed Asolo Rep performs primarily in the beautiful Mertz Theatre, an elegant 500-seat facility that was originally built as an opera house in 1903 Dunfermline, Scotland. The Dunfermline Opera House building was demolished in the 1980s, but the interior was rescued, shipped to Sarasota and painstakingly restored to its original splendor within the FSU Center. It is here that from November to June Asolo Rep presents a unique rotating repertory ranging from classics to new works, providing theatergoers with the opportunity to enjoy up to four different plays in a single weekend. Each season more than 100,000 people attend the Asolo Rep's productions. The second stage within the Center is the Cook Theatre. Built in 1994, the Cook is an intimate 161-seat space designed to create a close relationship between audience and stage. It is here that students of the Conservatory perform their season of plays. The Conservatory season provides a varied repertoire of classic and cutting-edge plays, selected to offer wonderful challenges for performers and exciting theatre for audiences. Students also present a series of original works known as the "LateNite" series, and the FSU School of Theatre presents a variety of other special events and performances. The Asolo Repertory Theatre also performs one or two plays in the Cook each year as part of its regular season. Whether in the Historic Asolo Theater, the historical Mertz Theatre, or the Cook Theatre, local residents and visitors alike have enjoyed the outstanding professional live theatrical productions of the Asolo Rep for generations. As we embark on our 48th season, it is our sincere hope to continue this legacy of presenting the highest quality professional theatre for the enjoyment and education of many generations to come.