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Hat trick has a bit of a twist

By SUSAN THURSTON
Published May 26, 2006

Imagine preparing weeks in advance for a theater performance. You learn the lines. Put together the costumes. Practice to perfection.

You've still got butterflies moments before the scheduled curtain rise, then you get the news. Show canceled. Audience, zero.

It has happened more than once for the fledging independent group, Hat Trick Theatre Productions. But members aren't deterred. The show, well, must go on.

Hat Trick started about two years ago when five friends from the University of South Florida's theater department decided to venture out on their own. They wanted to make theater accessible and enjoyable to the masses, not just the cultured elite. The goal: build a fan base from the many people in Tampa who haven't been exposed to theater.

Four of the original five are still around: Joe Winskye, Kevin Whalin, Jack Holloway and April Bender. Adam Belvo has moved.

Winskye, 28, sits at the helm as the artistic director. He grew up watching movies and wanting to be an actor but moved into directing, largely because the group needed a director. It suits him just fine. He's a much better director than he is an actor, he says with a laugh.

He could have left Tampa but instead preferred being a small fish in a small pond.

"I hate Los Angeles. I also hate New York, and you can quote me on that,'' he said over coffee at the Seminole Heights Starbucks. "Everyone moves there to work and they end up waiting in line for nonspeaking parts.''

The group operates on a shoestring budget and a tattered one at that. No one gets paid, but any proceeds are divided among members. Everyone has real jobs. Winskye is a Web designer for a company out of Brooksville.

"The quick dollar isn't there and the long dollar is hard to find,'' he said.

Hat Trick does five or six shows a year, mostly comedies, from dark to slapstick. Organizers picked the name because it sounds magical and alludes to the hats worn by vaudevillians. Members also didn't mind the hockey reference (a hat trick is when one player scores three goals in one game). Maybe it would lure sports fans to the shows.

The company held its first performance at Viva La Frida Cafe y Galeria in Old Seminole Heights. Turnout was low, maybe because outdoor shows are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

Weary from the weather, the company contacted Michael Murphy, owner of the Silver Meteor Gallery at 2213 E Sixth Ave. in Ybor City. The small theater had been closed for a while and used mostly for storage when Hat Trick asked about leasing it for performances.

At last, the theater had a home.

The theater seats 40 to 50 people. It's narrow and deep, and people up front can feel the heat and emotion of the actors, literally.

Shows attract an average of 10 to 30 people, with attendance building toward closing night. Strangely enough, opening night usually draws the least.

Having to cancel a performance stings but goes with the territory.

"I don't regret a minute,'' Winskye said. "I'm working with some very talented people and doing some good work. Hopefully other people agree.''

Hat Trick has spent the past two seasons focusing on performance, sometimes to the neglect of marketing. Winskye hopes that changes for the 2006-2007 season, which opens Sept. 1 with Waiting for Godot.

"We can put on a good show,'' he said. "Our goal is to grow out of (Silver) Meteor by the end of the year.''

Passes are available for $60 for all six performances or $34.50 for any three. Call 833-6368 or go to www.hattricktheatre.org.

THE LAST DROP: The summer music series resumes at Old Hyde Park Village on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The party runs the last Wednesday of every month through October.

Susan Thurston can be reached at thurston@sptimes.com or 226-3394.

[Last modified May 25, 2006, 15:38:15]