Players arrive at center stage

After years of love's labor, Carrollwood Players may find themselves on a home stage.

By TIM GRANT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 22, 2002

CARROLLWOOD -- Miguel Rodriguez has put in a full day at a publishing company on Kennedy Boulevard.

At 9 p.m. he's still working -- but not as Miguel Rodriguez, customer service representative. Instead, he's a fictional Italian-American named Nick Cristano who upset his grandparents by taking a job out of town.

He and the other actors in Over the River and Through the Woods want to absorb themselves in their characters, right down to food on the family table. Cast and crew have brought pastries and cupcakes to this rehearsal to help the actors feel authentic in their roles.

"It's a blast getting in front of an audience and being able to make them laugh or cry," said Rodriguez, 30, who has a lead role in the play that runs from March 22 to April 13.

Rodriguez and the other 12 people staging the production of Joe DiPietro's drama are members of the Carrollwood Players performing group.

In a community of executive transfers and ever-growing housing developments, the army of about 200 volunteers that operates the not-for-profit group has made it a cultural staple.

After 21 years, the Carrollwood Players have built a reputation for staging quality comedies, musicals and drama. During that time, they have shared growing pains that mirror those of Carrollwood, always moving from place to place and seeking more room to grow.

Now they might finally get a suitable home as theater group in residence at the county-funded Carrollwood Cultural Center, scheduled to open in 2005 at Casey and Lowell roads.

The $2-million community center would be a far cry from the group's tiny storefront at 4331 Gunn Highway, just north of Plantation. It would provide more space for storage and dressing rooms, a bigger stage and new sound and lighting equipment.

Seating would grow from 80 to about 200, allowing even more people to enjoy quality drama close to home for about the price of a movie.

"It would put us in a real theater situation instead of a makeshift, make-do operation," said Nancy Stearns, a founding member of the Players. "Being in a theater with a real stage, sound and dressing rooms would enhance the whole theater image."

Details are being discussed

The Carrollwood Players will be a key ingredient in creating the Cultural Center's artsy ambience. Unlike other county-owned centers, this one is intended as a cultural hub, rather than an athletic or after-school center.

"They will set the tone for everything else that takes place in that building," said John Miley of Carrollwood Village, who led the campaign to build the community center.

Details, including the user fees that the Players would pay, are still being determined.

The county will provide a stage, but will have no influence on choosing which plays are performed, said Stearns, who chairs the committee that selects the nine plays produced each season.

"We try to present family-oriented productions," Stearns said. "We shy away from social issues and productions that contain explicit adult language and overt sexual situations."

Still, there have been some risque scenes.

In Lend Me A Tenor, a female actor came onstage wrapped in a bath towel. In Key For Two a female character wore a negligee. Several men stripped down to their boxers in Bedfull of Foreigners.

But mostly what you'll find on their stage are British pantomimes, sophisticated comedies, mysteries and suspense thrillers.

"We may not be as glitzy as the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, but we have some great actors and many of our performances are better," said Rae Schwartz, a longtime volunteer who often controls the lighting and sound.

"We might not land helicopters or drive cars across our stage, but it's a more intimate experience. You feel like you're in the front seat regardless of where you are."

Their loyal following includes Bob Conner of Keystone Manor, who says he has attended every production for the past five years.

"They do extremely well for volunteer amateurs," Conner said. "I certainly do enjoy going to the playhouse and I try to get as many people to come with me as I can."

With live theater, anything can happen and it does.

In one production, the actors knocked over a mannequin when the lights went out during a scene change. While scrambling to put it back together in the dark, they replaced its head and hands backward.

Sometimes an actor tries to make a dramatic entrance or exit and the door won't open. In one show, an actor was supposed to jump up from a wheelchair, but got his pants hung in the metal.

"The stage people are real good about keeping a straight face," Schwartz said. "But sometimes it's hard to go on while the audience is in stitches. So they'll pause and then keep going."

Meant to stay a few months

It all began in 1981 when Stearns got a phone call from a friend who suggested that they start a community theater.

Stearns had moved to Carrollwood about two years earlier from Chicago. She had no experience in theater, but figured she could devote about three or four months to the project.

Stearns, who until recently was president, has lasted 21 years. Her friend quit after 9 months.

"It gets in your blood," she said. "Looking back on my involvement, it's like giving birth to a child and watching it grow and succeed."

They advertised for volunteers and 150 people showed up for the first meeting. They selected 15 cast members to perform Neil Simon's Plaza Suite at Carrollwood Elementary School, and the theater company was born.

"It was the beginning of a dream to have our own theater in Carrollwood," Stearns said.

Over the years, they've leased space in Drew Park, the Village Shopping Center on N Dale Mabry Highway, and their present location in Plantation Plaza.

Ticket sales are the group's main source of income. Last year's nine plays generated $45,170 in income, most of which pays overhead.

The revenues also support a scholarship fund for young volunteers. Children as young as 5 can get involved through Carrollwood Players Theatre By Young People. CPT allows these children not only to act, but also to run the backstage, lights and sound, build sets and manage.

"It's a treasure for us," said Maryann Bardi, president of Carrollwood Players and CPT coordinator.

Bardi joined Carrollwood Players in 1993 after her daughter became involved with CPT. "I don't know what my life would be like or what I'd be doing if not for the Carrollwood Players," she said. "My husband has got his golf clubs. I have the theater."

'A genuine love for acting'

There's much more to the Carrollwood Players than just acting. Volunteers are required for a variety of jobs to pull off so many shows.

At any time, there is a play in production and two in rehearsal. Those who do not land roles in the auditions can still be part of the stage crew by painting or designing the set, or helping with lights and sound.

There's always another audition and everyone gets a chance to act or play a supporting role behind the scenes.

"I have a genuine love for acting," said Sapna Ankalikar, 16. The Hillsborough High School sophomore is an assistant to the director in Over the River and Through the Woods, but has acted on stage in three other performances.

"I don't know about doing this for a career simply because the odds are so slim," she said. "But I definitely want to be more involved in directing and acting in high school and college."

Some families, such as Toni Germinario's, have several members involved in Carrollwood Players.

"I'm amazed at how many do this simply for the love of the theater," said Germinario, whose husband and son are volunteers. "It's fun. When it stops being fun, I don't want to do this anymore."

It's also a family affair for husband and wife Keith and Carlyn Postal. Carlyn is the director of Over the River and Through the Woods. Keith, a retired engineer, built that set and many others.

"I get the same feeling actors do," he said. "Their applause comes from the audience. Mine comes from the actors, who appreciate what I've done for the set."

For the actors, who attend two months of rehearsals and learn their lines in weary hours after long days at work, it can be like a second job.

But they consider it a labor of love, and sometimes mourn the end of a production.

Henry Bardi, a lawyer, already anticipates the emotional end of his show although Over the River and Through the Woods is still in rehearsal.

"I think it's going to be difficult," said Bardi, who plays grandfather Nunzio Cristano. "It will be tough after the run of the play is over to just separate and go our separate ways.

"I think we're all feeling our characters. We are becoming that close-knit family that we portray in the play. I think there will be long lasting friendships that remain when this play is over."

- To reach Tim Grant call 269-5311, or at grant@sptimes.com.

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