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So we got to thinking: There are music, film and visual art festivals during Gasparilla month (aka March), but no performing arts festivals. So here comes CL on the final weekend of March to fill that niche with Gasp! — the last gasp of Gasparilla, as it were, a one-night cornucopia of theater, dance, improv, music, sideshow, even peep show all taking place in and around the Tampa Museum of Art from 6-10 p.m. Mar. 28. (Plus, that amazing Graphicstudio show Julie writes about will be open exclusively to Gasp! attendees throughout the evening.)
Here’s a look at the stellar lineup of local talent:
THEATER
• One-woman shows by three of the area’s most charismatic actresses: Roxanne Fay as the muse of Salvador Dali in My Unspeakable Confessions: Gala Dali Declines to Explain Herself, by local playwright Heather Jones; the delightful return of Bridget Bean as the sassy Shirley Valentine, presented by Gorilla Theater; and Joanna Sycz as the haunted title character in Jones’s The Hoarder’s Child. (Gasp!Room, 7-10 p.m.)
• Ned Averill-Snell, consummate local actor, in excerpts from Seamus Heaney’s A Cure at Troy, presented by Improbable Athenaeum. (Plaza, various times)
CABARET
• Scott & Patti, Tampa Bay’s favorite mother-son cabaret act (played by Scott Daniel and Matthew McGee), kick off the evening with a demonstration of their hitherto unknown prowess at portraiture. (Lobby, 6:30)
IMPROV
• Post-Dinner Conversation is an inventive troupe with roots at USF and a flair for the une xpected led by the radiant
Hannah Prince (Conversation Hall, 7:00, Plaza and Lobby, various times)
DANCE/VIDEO
• University of Tampa Dancers, performing in tandem with a video work created with, for and about them by innovative artist Santiago Echeverry (Conversation Hall & Plaza, various times)
DANCE/IMPROV
• Moving Current Dance Collective performs “On the Spot,” dance improvisations driven by the audience, and works from their repertory (Lobby, various times)
POETRY/PRINTMAKING
• Award-winning poets (and CL columnists) Peter Meinke and Erica Dawson read from their works, including their Graphicstudio collaborations with visual artists Jeanne Meinke and Jono Vaughan. Miniature chapbooks of the Graphicstudio work will be for sale for $1 apiece during Gasp! Also on hand: Master Printer Tim Baker, who’ll demonstrate the basics of his craft on a small printing press. (Reading, 8:30, Conversation Hall; Printmaking, various times in lobby)
MUSIC/ART
• The Afro-Latino rhythms of Acho Brother led by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Hector Mayoral will greet visitors as they arrive on the museum plaza, where artist Gustavo Llenas will be painting an acrylic canvas in response to the music. (Plaza, 6 p.m. and various times)
• The Quixtan Brothers, talented siblings from Guatemala, play jazz on a multitude of nstruments. (Lobby, various times)
• Jon Shea, inspired bass player and 2014 Lust List honoree, jams throughout the evening. (Lobby, various times.)
SIDESHOW
• The King of the Sideshow, legendary 84-year-old showman Ward Hall, will introduce the evening’s events, including The Human Blockhead, who will do unusual things with sharp objects. Then Ward will sit down for a conversation about his colorful career with Lynn Waddell, author of the Best of the Bay-winning book Fringe Florida. (Sideshow with the Human Blockhead, Plaza, 6 p.m. and various times; Talk with Lynn Waddell, Conversation Hall, 7:45.)
PEEP SHOW
• Via the magic of mini-cams, lucky VIPs get to take a sneak peep at SexXx Dreams, Coco and Homo’s new erotic extravaganza taking place simultaneously with Gasp! in St. Pete. Plus: Share your own private fantasies via the SexXx Dreams Hotline. (VIP Lounge, ongoing.)
FOOD & DRINK
• Food and drink pairings and cooking demos by Mise en Place in the VIP Lounge; artisanal pizzas and more for sale at Sono
Clik here to view.
So we got to thinking: There are music, film and visual art festivals during Gasparilla month (aka March), but no performing arts festivals. So here comes CL on the final weekend of March to fill that niche with Gasp! — the last gasp of Gasparilla, as it were, a one-night cornucopia of theater, dance, improv, music, sideshow, even peep show all taking place in and around the Tampa Museum of Art from 6-10 p.m. Mar. 28. (Plus, that amazing Graphicstudio show Julie writes about will be open exclusively to Gasp! attendees throughout the evening.)
Here’s a look at the stellar lineup of local talent:
THEATER
• One-woman shows by three of the area’s most charismatic actresses: Roxanne Fay as the muse of Salvador Dali in My Unspeakable Confessions: Gala Dali Declines to Explain Herself, by local playwright Heather Jones; the delightful return of Bridget Bean as the sassy Shirley Valentine, presented by Gorilla Theater; and Joanna Sycz as the haunted title character in Jones’s The Hoarder’s Child. (Gasp!Room, 7-10 p.m.)
• Ned Averill-Snell, consummate local actor, in excerpts from Seamus Heaney’s A Cure at Troy, presented by Improbable Athenaeum. (Plaza, various times)
CABARET
• Scott & Patti, Tampa Bay’s favorite mother-son cabaret act (played by Scott Daniel and Matthew McGee), kick off the evening with a demonstration of their hitherto unknown prowess at portraiture. (Lobby, 6:30)
IMPROV
• Post-Dinner Conversation is an inventive troupe with roots at USF and a flair for the une xpected led by the radiant
Hannah Prince (Conversation Hall, 7:00, Plaza and Lobby, various times)
DANCE/VIDEO
• University of Tampa Dancers, performing in tandem with a video work created with, for and about them by innovative artist Santiago Echeverry (Conversation Hall & Plaza, various times)
DANCE/IMPROV
• Moving Current Dance Collective performs “On the Spot,” dance improvisations driven by the audience, and works from their repertory (Lobby, various times)
POETRY/PRINTMAKING
• Award-winning poets (and CL columnists) Peter Meinke and Erica Dawson read from their works, including their Graphicstudio collaborations with visual artists Jeanne Meinke and Jono Vaughan. Miniature chapbooks of the Graphicstudio work will be for sale for $1 apiece during Gasp! Also on hand: Master Printer Tim Baker, who’ll demonstrate the basics of his craft on a small printing press. (Reading, 8:30, Conversation Hall; Printmaking, various times in lobby)
MUSIC/ART
• The Afro-Latino rhythms of Acho Brother led by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Hector Mayoral will greet visitors as they arrive on the museum plaza, where artist Gustavo Llenas will be painting an acrylic canvas in response to the music. (Plaza, 6 p.m. and various times)
• The Quixtan Brothers, talented siblings from Guatemala, play jazz on a multitude of nstruments. (Lobby, various times)
• Jon Shea, inspired bass player and 2014 Lust List honoree, jams throughout the evening. (Lobby, various times.)
SIDESHOW
• The King of the Sideshow, legendary 84-year-old showman Ward Hall, will introduce the evening’s events, including The Human Blockhead, who will do unusual things with sharp objects. Then Ward will sit down for a conversation about his colorful career with Lynn Waddell, author of the Best of the Bay-winning book Fringe Florida. (Sideshow with the Human Blockhead, Plaza, 6 p.m. and various times; Talk with Lynn Waddell, Conversation Hall, 7:45.)
PEEP SHOW
• Via the magic of mini-cams, lucky VIPs get to take a sneak peep at SexXx Dreams, Coco and Homo’s new erotic extravaganza taking place simultaneously with Gasp! in St. Pete. Plus: Share your own private fantasies via the SexXx Dreams Hotline. (VIP Lounge, ongoing.)
FOOD & DRINK
• Food and drink pairings and cooking demos by Mise en Place in the VIP Lounge; artisanal pizzas and more for sale at Sono