Gulf Coast Life: Arts Edition
John Davis has been a full-time Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2009. He is the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition and producer and host for WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life! John came to WGCU as an intern in 2007, and is now reporting on a broad spectrum of topics of interest to Southwest Florida. Prior to joining WGCU, he worked at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA covering local government and general assignments.John studied journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University. His work has garnered awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and a first place award and “Best in Show” from the Florida Associated Press for his investigative work in 2011. Send news pitches to wgcunews at wgcu.org
Latest Episodes
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Players Circle Theater closes its seventh season with a production of Bernard Slade’s multi award-winning romantic comedy “Same Time, Next Year.” The play is about a man and woman who carry on a decades-long clandestine affair, meeting just once a year. It is less about the affair itself, and more about exploring how people change over time. We explore the play in a conversation with the director Ted Wioncek III, and actors Kimberly Suskind and AJ Mendini. -
The 16th annual Fort Myers Film Festival will deliver five days of film screenings, filmmaker panels, and celebration. The festival, which runs May 20-24, 2026, will include 81 selected feature, documentary, and short films from all over the world. We’ll get a preview of the festival in a conversation with Fort Myers Film Festival founder and Executive Director Eric Raddatz. We’ll also talk with multi-award winning filmmaker Jordan Axelrod, whose short film “Szypliski” will be featured at the opening night red carpet gala at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. -
The fourth annual Fort Myers Fringe will bring a roster of top nationally and internationally touring independent, experimental, and alternative artists to Southwest Florida for a wide variety of performances including deeply personal storytelling, boundary-pushing comedy, live music, and shows specifically for kids and teens. We will get a preview of the festival with founder and organizer Bill Taylor, who is also the founding Producing Artistic Director for Theatre Conspiracy. We will also highlight Theatre Conspiracy’s upcoming summer offerings, which include a blend of intimate theater and live music events. -
A solo exhibition of works by Southwest Florida-based painter, illustrator, writer, and designer Kathleen Kinkopf opens May 1 at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.Ahead of the opening, we’ll talk with Kinkopf about her striking works, often described as “magical realism” with highly detailed realistic imagery infused with dreamlike symbolism and fantasy elements. -
The Naples-based nonprofit House of Gaia hosts the “Bee Gaia Bloom Art Show” April 25, 2026, featuring works created by artists within the neurodivergent community. House of Gaia Founder and Director Lulu Carter joins us to explore the sensory, multimedia exhibit and the organization’s broader focus on arts education, social inclusion, community building and kindness. -
The Bridging the Gap Center for the Arts will host a murder mystery dinner theater event, April 25th featuring the first public performance of the comedic play “Devil Ain’t Got No Tail in Grandma’s House,” written by Veronica Barber, who is the mother of Bridging the Gap founder and Executive Director Sonya McCarter. -
Players Circle Theater is putting on a production of the one-woman play “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti,” based on the bestselling book of the same title by Giulia Melucci. In the show, Giulia regales audiences with tales of her dating life all while actually cooking a three-course meal on stage. We’ll explore the play in conversation with actor Amanda Ladd and director Bob Cacioppo. -
Laboratory Theater of Florida is performing a provocative reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Julius Ceasar,” set not in ancient Rome, but in the dark parking lot of a derelict apartment building. The show maintains the original Elizabethan language but condenses the play to about 90 minutes. It maintains the iconic monologues and soliloquies in a way that places heavy emphasis on the timeless themes of power, ambition, and betrayal. We’ll take a deeper dive into the production in a conversation with co-directors Alex Dragg and Nykkie Rizley. -
The featured artists chosen to create four new large-scale public murals in downtown Fort Myers through the fourth annual Southwest Florida Mural Festival were announced this week. We’ll talk with artists, festival organizers, and co-founders of Artsemble Underground Cesar Aguilera and Brian Weaver to learn more about the festival and their broader mission of making art more accessible and transforming Fort Myers into a vibrant arts district. -
Players Circle Theater is mounting a production of playwright Amy Herzog’s Pulitzer-nominated family drama “4,000 Miles,” about a grieving young man and the bond he develops with his 91-year-old grandmother during an extended stay in her West Village apartment. We’ll delve into the show in a conversation with Players Circle Theater Artistic Director Bob Cacioppo and the stars of the show, actors Carrie Lund Cacioppo and Jameson Stobbe.
