Florida Studio Theatre Welcomes New Staff Members

October 7, 2022 – Sarasota

 Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is pleased to announce that two new staff members have joined the theatre’s expanding team. Alex Price is FST’s new Production Manager, taking over responsibilities from the theatre’s previous Director of Production, Bruce Price, who worked at FST for 20 years. Jay Lockaby has joined FST’s Development department as Major Gifts Officer. These new additions come at an exciting time in FST’s history, with a full 2022-2023 Winter Season opening this week, and the theatre’s largest expansion project—The Mulva Arts Plaza, a twelve-story building that will enable FST to meet its growing needs. 

Alex Price joined the FST team in 2021 as Associate Production Manager under the tutelage of the theatre’s previous Director of Production, Bruce Price. 

“Serving under Bruce for ten months set the stage for me to take on the responsibility of leading the Production department at FST, executing a level of excellence on every show and program seen by the Sarasota community,” said Alex Price. “Each and every day brings exciting new challenges, and I couldn’t think of a better place to live out my dream than Florida Studio Theatre.”

Before moving to Sarasota, Price served as the Managing Artistic Director of The Round Barn Theatre in Indiana, where he directed, set-designed, and oversaw the technical aspects of multiple productions, including the World Premiere of When Calls The Heart The Musical. He is also the Founding Artistic Director of The 574 Theatre Company, where he directed and produced Into the Woods – A Deaf Theatre Project, which was performed simultaneously in American Sign Language (ASL) and English. This was the first production of Into the Woods to be performed in ASL.

Jay Lockaby, who started working as Major Gifts Officer at Sarasota’s Contemporary Theatre in mid-September, has lived in the Sarasota-Manatee area since 2003.

“I really love the soul of Florida Studio Theatre. I always have,” said Lockaby. “It is truly a special organization. Richard Hopkins, Rebecca Hopkins, and the rest of the dynamic team at FST have been dedicated to making entertaining and stimulating theatre accessible and affordable to this community for decades.”

Before joining FST’s staff, he worked as a fundraising consultant with Ghiorsi & Sorrenti, Inc., guiding health care organizations and other non-profit organizations in implementing successful capital campaigns. For fourteen years, Lockaby worked with the Cancer Support Community (CSC), spending seven years as President & CEO of a successful local chapter and seven years as Senior Vice President for Affiliate Relations and Strategic Growth at the organization’s international headquarters in Washington, D.C.