All it takes is one Magic Theatre Experience to change a life. We strive to bring this magic to our community (and even those only visiting the area!) with everything we do. Your continued support helps us keep this magic alive and growing.
Every show is only possible through the generous support of our patrons, community and sponsors!
So, Thank you!
There is a lot going on at The Players Centre For Performing Arts lately. Amidst a full season of shows and events, there is an excited bustle behind the scenes in preparation of our upcoming 3-5 year timeline of the expansion and move to Lakewood Ranch. Again for the month of August, The Players has been given a challenge by an anonymous donor to raise $50K for operation expenses in order to receive an additional $50K in matching funds.
This is a wonderful opportunity for us! Please consider helping us reach this goal! Remember…Your donation must be received in the month of AUGUST.
The Building Better Grownups Scholarship Program creates opportunities for disadvantaged youth to experience the personal and creative development that come from theatre arts education. Funds are used to award scholarships to low-income families during the fall and spring studio sessions and the 4 Stage Door Workshop Summer Camp Program. The Studio holds classes throughout the year, teaching 29 classes per week during fall and spring sessions. Enrollment includes over three hundred students, age three and older, who choose from an array of basic to advanced level classes. Coursework ranges from acting, singing, and choreography, to ballet, lyrical, tap, jazz, and hip-hop dance. Specialty workshops are also available, such as Make-Up for the Stage and Screen, On Camera Acting, How to Audition, and Playwriting, taught by area professionals. Students perform at over twelve nursing homes and retirement centers each year, as part of the studio’s outreach programs. This intergenerational exchange is positive both for the students and the elderly audience members. Complimentary performances are also given at many community events such as the Children’s Garden Reading Day and Ovation – A Day for Arts at Lakewood Ranch. Stage Door Workshop Summer Camp provides an adventure in musical theatre that includes acting, dancing, singing, technical theatre, and make-up technique as campers rehearse and perform a musical showcase performance which is the camp finale’. Attendees build character and life skills, form lasting friendships, and develop a lifelong appreciation of live theatre. The Players aggressively seeks scholarship funds in order to provide opportunities for young people in Sarasota County who would not otherwise be able to participate. In the current economy, the need for scholarships has increased at the same time funding has decreased. Approximately 29% of the students receive a scholarship, with an average award of $300 per child, per semester. All donations to this program are greatly appreciated.
The Arnold Simonsen Players Studio is the educational arm of The Players Theatre. The program provides vital training to over 300+ students from ages three years old and up. The program currently offers 29 performing arts classes weekly, an 8-week summer camp program, and three community outreach groups: The Players Kids, The Players Follies, and The Players Flash Tappers. The Arnold Simonsen Players Studio has the opportunity to expand to a new state-of-arts facility located within walking distance of the existing theatre, on the Boulevard of the Arts in the new Rosemary Square development. Such an opportunity will allow the current programming to increase to over 50 classes being offered; provide daytime mommy, baby and senior classes, and develop a performing arts after school care program. We can’t do it without your help. It will take $375,000 to reach our goal. Please consider supporting the new Arnold Simonsen Players Studio which is slated to open September 2016.
Do you remember the first time you stepped into a theatre? You walked down the aisle to your seat, the lights went out, the music started, the curtain went up, and the magic of the performing arts began your THEATRE EXPERIENCE! Your contribution to The Players Cultural Endowment Fund will ensure that the next generation will have the same experience. Help us change the future for The Players Theatre by providing financial stability for continued growth of programs and productions for the entire community to enjoy.
The Players Theatre has received the designation as a CULTURAL SPONSORING ORGANIZATION by the Florida Department of State. Such a designation provides the opportunity for the theatre to be eligible to qualify for and potentially receive a State Matching Share in the amount of $240,000 from the Cultural Endowment Program administered by the Department of State. The theatre must raise $360,000 in local match to qualify. We need your help to take ACTION!
The 2016 Giving Challenge was a 24-hour online day of giving. On September 20 – September 21, 2016 from noon to noon, more than 400 nonprofits with profiles in The Giving Partner will engage our community.
The Giving Challenge is made possible through the generosity of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and The Patterson Foundation with the support from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Manatee Community Foundation, andthe Herald-Tribune Media Group.