Life at the Straz Center

On Tuesday, drama students from Wilson Middle School got a behind-the-scenes glimpse at life at the Straz Center and the Patel Conservatory in downtown Tampa. Through sample classes and a tour of the largest performing arts center in the southeast, the students got a real taste of what goes on here, from Broadway shows to classes that teach budding young artists, and everything in between.

They began their Day at the Center with a Field Trip Series show in Ferguson Hall, where they enjoyed a performance with a message about cyber bullying. Afterwards, they met the cast and then enjoyed a brown bag lunch in Maestro’s cafe.

The students proceeded to TECO Theater where they learned how to be “in the moment” when on stage. Theater instructors Gigi Jennewein and Audrey Siegler led the kids through exercises that got them out of their shells and thinking on their feet.

The exercises gave the young actors practice in focusing only on what’s happening on stage.

“When you’re on that stage, you’re not trying to please the audience, or your parents or your teachers, your only focus should be your character’s goal,” said Jennewein.

Following their theater workshops, the group received a tour of the Straz Center, where they were lucky to catch the load in for Billy Elliot in Carol Morsani Hall. The crew of Billy Elliot were building a stage on top of a stage. They’d only begun their construction that morning...one of the students remarked, “they’re going to be done and ready for a show tomorrow night?”

Seeing the sheer mass of lights, equipment and workers, gave the students an appreciation for technical theater and what happens behind the scenes. They got a real look at all the work that the audience doesn’t see or notice when they’re caught up in the magic of a live performance.

From the enormous 2,600 seat Morsani Hall to the intimate 130-seat Shimberg Playhouse, where the set for the Odd Couple was being built, the kids got a feel for the various types of shows that go on simultaneously at the Straz Center.

It’s all in a day at the Straz Center.