Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007 - (Page 47)

Arts & Culture Magazine : : PERFORMING ARTS ‘07 If Turoff’s name sounds familiar, that is because he is the son of the owners of the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, where he worked before taking this job a year and a half ago. As Glenridge’s theater manager, he has broadened it beyond its previous menu of almost entirely classical music. To the delight of its residents, the center now offers a well-rounded mix of jazz, light classical and folk music, plus theater and dance. Turoff had great success last year with a series of one-woman shows, and has done several concerts with the Sarasota Jazz Ensemble, a 20-piece big band. In partnership with the Jazz Club of Sarasota, the center presents the ‘Sunday Jazz at 2 p.m.’ Turoff is also in talks with the Sarasota Film Festival to have one of its films screened at Glenridge. Then there is the local angle. “We have a ton of local talent here!” says the affable Turoff, who is featuring a local cabaret act and contracting with a barber shop quartet as well. The center’s shows tend to run for one night each, and there are two or three performances per month, on average. “Some months, in season, the schedule gets a little heavier, and some out of season get a little less.” As he builds the audience of Glenridge residents and the outside community, shows may eventually run for more than one performance. To decide on programming, Turoff polls residents and attends conferences like the most recent one in Louisville, Kentucky, where he met with hundreds of artists and bookers to try to work out dates. He is working with other theaters in Florida to create tours that would lower costs. “One night of an act might be a $5,000 cost, but if it’s one of five nights in the state, I might be able to get the same act for $3,500,” he says. One thing that makes his job easy is Glenridge’s stunning theater. “When they were designing this place, they could have just built a multi-use auditorium, but this is a very upscale community,” Turoff says. “Because there are movers and shakers here, people on the boards of Asolo and La Musica, they built what I call a mini Van Wezel, a 260-seat theater with beautiful, well-positioned seating and full sound and light capabilities to do anything we need to do here.” The theater is in use almost every day for something, its manager says. “Whether a movie, a concert, or a class, it’s a very busy place.” And Turoff plans to keep it that way. The Glenridge Performing Arts Center is located at 7333 Scotland Way. Call the Box Office at 941.552.5325 or visit www. theglenridge.com for more information. Images courtesy of the Glenridge Performing Arts Center. http://www.theglenridge.com http://www.theglenridge.com

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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