Solid Gold: Florida Studio Theatre Celebrates 50 Incredible Years

By Tom Reese | November 2023

Over the last 50 years, Florida Studio Theatre, widely known as simply FST, has become part of the heart and soul of downtown Sarasota.  As the largest subscription theater in Florida, FST welcomes over 220,000 attendees each year into its five unique theaters hosting a variety of productions such as Mainstage plays, cabaret, improv, and so much more.  FST operates at 98% capacity for its shows, which is truly remarkable.

A PROUD HISTORY

Founded in 1973 by Jon Spelman, FST began as an alternative touring theater, playing to estranged audiences such as prisons, migrant camps, and nursing homes. In 1980, Richard Hopkins, FST’s CEO and Producing Artistic Director, converted the former clubhouse of the Sarasota Woman’s Club into FST’s first home—Keating Theatre. In 1996, FST opened the doors to its Goldstein Cabaret Theatre, which became quite popular and played a major role in the exponential growth of the organization. 

“We started with the Mainstage, but things really shifted for the organization when we opened the Cabaret theater,” says Rebecca Hopkins, Managing Director of FST. “Going from a one-theater operation to a two-theater operation was big for the community and for us to diversify programming. The Cabaret became a gateway for any type of theater you were interested in.”

In the early years of FST, the founding members wanted to produce shows that their friends and family could easily afford to attend. Subscription plans were introduced in addition to single-use tickets enabling the community to attend all kinds of performances throughout each season. This principle of affordability remains one of the most important factors for FST, even in our vastly changing economy. 

“Art and theater in general were frequently perceived as something for the wealthy or the elite,” said Richard Hopkins. “We wanted to make sure that in the spirit of Shakespeare and the ancient Greeks, that our theater is available to everybody, and that everybody can afford it.”

Subscriptions were not only designed to make the theater affordable, but to expand the overall audience and push the boundaries of attendees and their interests. 

“Our goal was to build an audience that came on a regular basis and did not just come to one play a year. We wanted them to come to a season of plays because then we could challenge them,” said Richard Hopkins. “Our package of plays gets them out of their bubble and into something new and exciting. We started offering subscriptions so we can take the audience on a journey, listen to them, and see how they are responding, which helps us with our play selection in the future. The theater and the audience constantly challenge each other, and that creates the best possible theater,” Hopkins concluded. 

In 2014, FST’s fifth theater, Bowne’s Lab, which is part of FST’s Hegner Theatre Wing, opened its doors for experimental work and later became home to Stage III plays, which are dedicated to presenting edgy plays that are challenging in content and unique in form. Forming a cohesive five-theatre operation was vital for expanding different types of entertainment for different walks of life. 

Today, FST is one of America’s largest subscription-based theaters and it is continuing to grow at a very rapid pace. Their next endeavor is the current construction of Mulva Arts Plaza, an 8-10 story multi-use building nestled in between FST’s current theaters in downtown Sarasota. The massive project will include a new Mainstage theater to allow for expansion of the Mainstage and Stage III Series, two new Cabaret theaters, extended-stay studio apartments for FST’s visiting guest artists, much-needed parking, affordable housing for Sarasota’s year-round arts workers, and much more. 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

“Sarasota is a great place to raise children, and an even better place to raise adults,” said Richard Hopkins, which is why FST prides itself on being as active as it can possibly be in the greater Sarasota community. 

There are several different programs to get young children involved in the arts and allow them to experience the wonders of theater. Their most interactive program, WRITE A PLAY, is an award-winning year-round arts-in-education initiative, providing students with the example, the inspiration, and the skills to write their own original plays. These plays are then evaluated and about a dozen winning plays are put into a professional production and brought to life by FST actors. Since its inception in 1991, WRITE A PLAY has impacted over one million children throughout the state of Florida, and internationally as far as Scotland and Israel.

This program works in three distinct operations throughout the year. In the fall, over 4,000 kids around Sarasota County are bussed in to view a featured play, which this year’s production being The Velveteen Rabbit: A Toy Story. 

FST even has a playmaker’s tour that travels throughout Florida with an interactive workshop inspiring children to write plays. 

“We say inspire because we’re not teaching them, kids know how to play,” said Rebecca Hopkins. “We show them how to put it into an actual play. Every year we get thousands of plays written by children in sixth grade and under. We read them all twice, and we put together an anthology of the best ones that represent the current year.” 

The final aspect of this program is getting the children to come and watch the plays written by their peers, brought to life in a professional theater setting. Nearly 8,800 kids watch their winning plays across FST’s different theaters, but that is not where FST’s programming for children ends. 

After noticing the limitations of bus routes and scheduling field trips, FST started its Weekend Children’s Theatre Series in 2016. This initiative allows families from all over the state to bring their children to FST’s Keating Theatre and watch these plays on their own time.

Another significant aspect of FST’s community involvement are the educational programs they operate. They offer classes year-round for students of all ages and experience levels in acting, music, dance, theater writing, and improvisation. An annual summer camp at FST’s downtown campus welcomes young artists and children to discover, create, and connect through the art of live theater.

A BOLD & DIVERSE ANNIVERSARY SEASON 

“For our 50th Anniversary Season, we’ve put together a bold and ambitious lineup of shows filled with radical humanity,” said Richard Hopkins. “On the Mainstage, we’re producing a diverse selection of new plays, Broadway hits, original works, and familiar tales that illuminate the universal themes of our lives. In the Cabaret, we’re presenting three original music revues celebrating the brilliant lyric poets and top comedic songwriters of the 20th and 21st centuries.”

The Mainstage Series kicks off November 15 with Little Shop of Horrors, followed by Pictures from Home, The Lehman Trilogy, and Troubadour. The Cabaret Series began on September 27 with Up on the Roof. The next show at the Cabaret Theatre will be Take it to the Limit, starting on November 29, followed by The Flip Side in February 2024. 

FST is offering all four Mainstage shows for as little as $69, and all three Cabaret shows for as little as $49. For show information and subscriptions visit www.FloridaStudioTheatre.org or call 941.366.9000.