The Tampa Repertory Theatre has served as an inclusive home for the arts in Tampa Bay since 2011. After a nearly two-year hiatus from indoor, in-person programming, however, its mission to connect artists and audiences through its unique brand of drama feels more pressing than ever.
“TampaRep creates transformative, relevant, and compelling professional theatre … through meaningful and inspiring shared experiences,” the company advises. “We create an experience – one that the audience completes.”
That’s why TampaRep’s staff is eager to return to the stage this month. They announced their 2021-22 season Aug. 2, a return to form featuring at least six eclectic productions.
“Our focus this year at TampaRep is to Come Back Together,” Producing Artistic Director and CEO Emilia Sargent said at the time. “After being separated for so long from both our audiences and creatives, we are now collaborating with more people and organizations than ever before.”
The season will open Sept. 16 with two separate shows presented in traditional repertory theatre fashion, or “in rep” through Oct. 3. They will utilize the same space in the same evening, alternating which is presented first.
Sharing the stage are “Every Brilliant Thing,” which TampaRep presented outdoors in June, and the LGBTQ-focused “Open.” Each production is a one-person show.
In “Open” from playwright Crystal Skillman, its sole character uses magic to cope with the loss of her partner after a hate crime – or more simply, it’s “a queer love story told by an amateur magician.”
“Open is a magic act that reveals itself to be a resurrection,” it’s officially billed. “A woman called the Magician presents a myriad of tricks for our entertainment, yet her performance seems to be attempting the impossible – to save the life of her partner, Jenny.
“Is our faith in her illusions enough to rewrite the past?” it continues. “The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and, as impossible as it may seem, this Magician’s act may be our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate.”
To provide support for the themes addressed in each show, TampaRep has partnered with The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. The organization assists individuals who are dealing with sexual assault, domestic violence, suicidal thoughts and other matters.
Skillman, whose parents live in St. Petersburg, says she’s proud of TampaRep for both the partnership and for producing her work.
“When the character of the Magician first spoke to me and I wrote ‘Open,’ I quickly realized that the story Kristen tells of her lover Jenny was becoming an act of defying hate,” she says. “The piece was creating a healing catharsis through humor, theatrical surprises, but most importantly through the power of the imagination.
“This is a play that trusts its audience,” Skillman continues. “As we return to the theater and start to heal during a time still fraught with difficulty in this country, and world, I hope this is a piece can bring joy to an audience and allow them to move on to find the magic again in the theater and life. Love is a kind of magic more powerful than hate. Love is love.”
K. Sotakoun will bring the Magician to life, a St. Petersburg-based actor who’s worked locally with American Stage, freeFall and Jobsite Theater. The production marks a number of firsts for the nonbinary performer, among them leading a one-person show, working with TampaRep and playing a character who was written as LGBTQ.
“I bring that identity to every character that I play, just because it’s part of who I am, but I have never had the chance to perform material in this deep way,” Sotakoun says. “I feel like I can bring more of myself to the role than I’ve ever been able to before.”
It’s in that vulnerability that Sotakoun shines, “Open” director Fanni Green says. While the play marks her TampaRep directorial debut, she’s a veteran of the stage – an artist and activist whose work has been celebrated throughout Tampa Bay as well as on and Off-Broadway.
“This piece is very connected to the person who’s telling the story and the actor opens the door for the audience,” Green explains. “In K., I’ve witnessed what they bring to the stage in terms of presence, in terms of the ability to tell a story, and it is fabulous to behold.”
Green adds that partnering with TampaRep is also a way to honor her late colleague C. David Frankel, to whom she dedicates “Open.” Frankel co-founded the company and served as its artistic director and president for nine years until his death last year.
When Sargent approached Green about “Open,” she says, “I read the script and was so moved by it that I wanted to be able to work with TampaRep and honor my colleague. I always love to dive into scripts that deal with identity and loss, so I was drawn to it from there.”
Green says “Open” is about identity and hope, universal themes audiences of all backgrounds can invest in that become even more powerful when seen through the eyes of Sotakoun’s Magician.
“The lens of this couple, this violence, loss and love, we get to see hope through magic,” she explains. “There is an expectation in magic – is the Magician going to pull it off? Hope can be elusive and something that we go in search of when we experience violence, grief and loss.”
Beyond that, both Green and Sotakoun are reluctant to discuss too many details about “Open.” Why ruin the magic?
“I would love for people to allow themselves to be surprised,” Sotakoun says. “In this COVID world, most of us have not had a choice other than to feel like we do not have control over what happens to our lives. I would love for people to allow themselves to feel vulnerable with us and let themselves go on this emotional journey.”
“Open” plays in rep with “Every Brilliant Thing” Sept. 16-Oct. 3 at the HCC Performing Arts Center, located at 1411 E. 11th Ave. in Tampa. Shows alternate between 7:30 or 9 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 3 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. on Sun. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors and $20 for students, with $10 off for both shows. Buy tickets, read about COVID-19 safety measures and learn more at TampaRep.org.
