 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Largo Cultural Center raises bar for the arts
By EILEEN SCHULTE LARGO -- Thirteen months ago, during his first days as Largo Cultural Center manager, Richard Haerther made the rounds of local radio stations to plug the facility and the lineup. Of the six he visited, only one station had ever heard of the place. "That's when I knew we had an identity problem," he said. To widen its visibility in the community, the center spent $6,000 producing glossy, four-color brochures trumpeting its new, more comprehensive, and most important, diverse lineup for the 2002-2003 season. On the cover are the words: "The Arts Take Flight." Inside, Haerther writes a message to the "performing arts enthusiast." It says, in part: "The coming year promises to be one filled with imagination, passion, laughter and talent ranging from traditional to eclectic." The center, said Haerther, a playwright whose production, Duet for Four, once played at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center OffCenter, is trying to raise the bar for entertainment. Flip through the brochure, and you'll see the usual acts that permeate the local community theater scene from the Tarpon Springs Cultural Center to the Pier 60 Pavilion, including the UnProfessionals comedy troupe; Shana Banana's children's shows; and Fritzi, the oom-pah-pah band. But mixed in this year are some national touring acts on the brink of discovery, such as performers from the Second City farm team, a world-renowned Chicago improvisation group considered the launching pad for many famous comedic writers and actors. See and hear them now before they hit it big, says the brochure. Performing in October is Harmonious Wail, a swing/retro bob/gypsy jazz group that may someday make a splash. In December, saxophonist and composer Paul Howards will play. Those acts have quite a following, Haerther said. People already are buying tickets for the shows. Operating on a more sophisticated level, officials at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Ruth Eckerd Hall view facilities such as the 6-year-old Largo Cultural Center as hard-working, well-meaning kid brothers with smaller allowances. They were not very familiar with Harmonious Wail or Paul Howards, but they applauded Largo's effort to bring in a fresh mix of offerings. "Our mission is to promote culture in the Tampa Bay area, to focus on the arts," said Shannon Conner, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's public relations associate. "So we are very encouraged by smaller organizations trying to boost culture in the community. We are all in the same business: trying to promote the arts." Lex Poppens, director of marketing and communications at Ruth Eckerd Hall, agreed. "It enriches the community," he said. "If they are willing to take the risk and bring in an artist unknown or not, that says a lot about the community. It's a wonderful thing to see a community (strive to) develop the arts. I don't think (Largo) would propose to bring in these artists if they didn't feel they had a market for it. They've done a great job." Would Poppens ever see the Largo Cultural Center as competition? "There is enough room in the sandbox for everybody," he said. Poppens said he is always thrilled to see up-and-comers perform at the local performing arts houses. Perhaps when they are more famous, they will be more apt to come back and perform at facilities like Ruth Eckerd Hall, he said. The eclectic lineup is not meant to overshadow the center's longtime community theater troupe, the Eight O'Clock Theatre. Rather, it is supposed to be the magnet that will draw people in who might buy tickets to those shows. "The purpose behind bringing in the larger acts is to broaden the audience base," said Haerther. "The national acts bring greater exposure to the community groups." He said the key is to "set your personal likes aside" and take care not to appeal to just one type of theatergoer. "There is not just one audience," he said. "There is Gen X, the baby boomers, the GI generation. It's a matter of looking for what the people want." Many people want children's shows," he said. That's why the center has expanded its children's series from 18 performances this year to 21 in 2003. "(The programming) is more interactive," Haerther said. "One of the goals is for the children to get something out of the shows without knowing it." The center's House of Jazz program has been revamped. "It (the House of Jazz) has been hit and miss," said Haerther. "The brand got hurt by mixing blues in it. It confused the audience. Now we'll focus on jazz." The center's budget for the coming fiscal year will exceed $1-million, and the city's contribution is expected to be less than last year's contribution of $467,370. The rest comes from ticket sales, donations, sponsorships, grants and rental of the banquet facilities. "The goal is to keep reducing the contribution from city funds," Haerther said. "It will make the taxpayers happy."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
