Asolo Rep Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Carole Crosby, President Larry Haspel, Vice President Jules Price, Vice President Dennis Dirks, Treasurer Gigi Huberman, Secretary Betsy Marshall, General Counsel

Robert Baer Beverly Bartner Robert Bartner David I. Bavar Terry O. Brackett Mary Braxton-Joseph Susan Buck Terrance Burzynski James R. Chandler III Ann J. Charters Warren J. Coville Jaime DiDomenico Susan Dweck Andrew Economos L’Tanya Evans Kathleen France Herman Frankel Ron Greenbaum* Gary Heard Nona Macdonald Heaslip Judith Hofmann Charlie Huisking Mark Irwin Deb Kabinoff Stanley Kane* Carolyn Keystone Beverly Koski Ruth Kreindler Lucie Lapovsky Nancy Markle Elenor H. Maxheim Scott Merritt Joel Morganroth Melanie Natarajan Paul Nelson Carol Phillips* Joanne Powers Flori Roberts* William Sandy Nikki Sedacca Stephanie Shaw Morton Siegel Eva T. Slane Chester Thompson William S. Villafranco James Wadsworth Marysue Wechsler Mary Lou Winnick Margaret Wise Joan H. Wood Geri Yonover

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

Patricia Anderson, President, Asolo Repertory Theatre Guild

John Thrasher, President, Florida State University

James Frazier, Dean, College of Fine Arts, Florida State University On behalf of the Asolo Repertory Theatre Board of Trustees, welcome to the celebration of the conclusion of the 62nd season of triumphant theater at Asolo Rep. There hasn’t been anything typical about this, my first year as your board president; but then, there is nothing typical about the community or the work of our theater.

We may have temporarily closed our doors beginning in March, 2020, but we have been anything but idle since then. We have produced over 30 weeks of Monday Musical Moments, taking a fresh look at the work of our past. We created a series of new musical presentations as part of our “Ground Floor: Making Musicals Series.” We have maintained and even increased community access to the artists on our stage through our podcast: “Engage on Air.” And, in spite of the uncharted waters we found ourselves swimming in, we have created online learning opportunities that have reached young artists and adults alike through classes and the digital adaptation of our Shakespeare tour, BardWired: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

And we didn’t stop there. We opened a new avenue of performance that is simultaneously unprecedented as well as deeply connected to the earliest days of Asolo Rep. Recalling the very first Florida State University sponsored performance on the steps of The Ringling Museum, we returned to a tradition of outdoor performance on the newly constructed Terrace Stage. This stage, perfectly placed on the steps of our artistic home, promises to provide yet another tool to tell great stories at Asolo Rep. Just one example of what can result when a strong community of supporters comes together to declare that art and theatre are essential to who we are in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

This year, we embraced calls from our community to go deeper in our commitment to equity, diversity, access, and inclusion. This call has invigorated our thinking, had meaningful impact on all aspects of our institution, and most importantly, will inform us on an on-going basis.

We have broken ground on the expansion of the Robert and Beverly Koski Center so that the future of Asolo Rep grows ever brighter, attracting the best theatre artists the nation has to offer to our Sarasota gem. This expansion will also provide much needed space for our community to get together after so long to learn and laugh once more.

The future continues to morph and evolve; but the constant through it all has been your support fueling the creative innovation at Asolo Rep. And for that, I want to congratulate you for your dedication, your foresight, and your perseverance. I am honored to be serving as your board president through these momentous days.

Carole Crosby President, Asolo Rep Board of Directors