Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007 - (Page 41)

Arts & Culture Magazine : : PERFORMING ARTS ‘07 Backlot Theater. During that time, the subscription audience Jacobs had started to build disappeared. “People had trouble finding us, so a lot of the audience dissipated,” he says. It became such a chore to keep the company going that Jacobs became discouraged. Just as he was seriously considering quitting, he got a call from Dwight Currie, the Curator of Theater Programming at the newly renovated Historic Asolo Theater, who offered Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe a permanent home. During the first season there, the audience tripled. “It’s amazing what a venue can do,” says Jacobs, “it gives you a presence in the community.” Community is essential to Jacob’s vision for what Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is all about. More than an outlet for African-American plays, he sees it as a place where young local artists can learn, grow and be discovered. “I have a passion for that supporting people with talent who don’t normally get a chance to be in the light,” he says. “Many of them are right under our noses. We are a net for many underserved young artists who are yet to be discovered.” The most prominent case is Teresa Stanley, who started in Jacob’s theater classes at the Westcoast School, graduated to Cotton Club Cabaret, and now performs in The Color Purple on Broadway in New York City. To further the dream of supporting young artists, Jacobs hopes that Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will have its own facilities some day. The building would include a theater, rehearsal space and studios for the company’s own training program. “We would start with kids five years old and work up to early adults, with the goal of matriculating them into our productions,” Jacob says. For many young performers, much of the training happens in the process of being in a show. That is one of the reasons Jacobs brings in guest performers for roles that need especially strong actors, such as A Soldier’s Play this season. “It raises the acting level of the rest of the company, and is a great experience for everyone,” Jacobs says. He is also holding auditions in Tampa for the first time this year, although the core of his performers comes from Sarasota and Bradenton. Another big goal is to bring greater diversity to Sarasota. Says Jacobs, “All our shows have multi-cultural casts, but we look for plays that give African-Americana actors significant roles.” At the same time, he feels strongly that the company needs to continue to feature the work of black American playwrights. “Someone has to be responsible for keeping the plays of August Wilson, Langston Hughes and James Baldwin alive,” he says. “We want to be stewards of these works and to introduce them to African-Americans that don’t know them.” He adds, “That way, both the actors and the audiences are learning about their history and heritage.” The Historical Asolo Theater is located on the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art grounds at 5401 Bay Shore Rd. Call the Box Office at 941.360.7399 for exact time and date information. Image courtesy of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. arts and culture magazine : : 41

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007

Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007 Contents Extra! Extra! Modern Times Gallery Interview - Jopseph Caulkins Exhibitions Dodi Reifenberg and Bradley Wester Profiles Center Stage Carnevale Horse Feathers Grill & Lounge Dancing on the Stage of Life Gallery Guide Calendar of Events

Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007

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