Gulf Coast Life Arts Edition

Players Circle Theater is collaborating with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation to present an evening of short plays centered in the climate crisis. The Dec. 12 performances are part of a global initiative called Climate Change Theatre Action, which highlights the role arts and culture play in addressing the climate crisis.

The Alliance for the Arts hosts the 5th annual Arts on Tap fundraising celebration, Friday, Dec. 1, including live music, craft brewers and food trucks. Alliance Executive Director Molly Rowan-Deckart previews the event and talks about the nonprofit’s latest gallery exhibition, the new digital arts laboratory, the Alliance’s ongoing Art House Cinema series, and the upcoming release of the newest Arts and Economic Prosperity study.

Opera Naples Artistic and Music Director Ramón Tebar joins us live in studio to highlight the opera company’s upcoming performance offerings including the Winter Dreams Gala in December, performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, and Opera Naples’ fourth annual Festival Under the Stars in March 2024.

Co-founder and original band member of the new wave band DEVO, Bob Lewis, is in Fort Myers to deliver a lecture, reading and Q&A event, Nov. 9, in conjunction with an exhibition now at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic band. Lewis joins us in studio ahead of the event along with Rauschenberg Gallery Director Jade Dellinger. Dellinger is co-author of “The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio,” which serves as a definitive account of DEVO’s early history.

The Southwest Florida Symphony’s first Masterworks Series program features well-known works by iconic American composers Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and John Williams. The Marcus Roberts Trio joins the symphony to perform Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” ahead of next year’s 100th anniversary of the composition. Ahead of the Nov. 4 concert, we get a preview from Maestro Radu Paponiu and the Symphony’s Community Outreach Ambassador Robert Van Winkle.

A new exhibition of works by Southwest Florida based artist, illustrator, cartoonist, artist and musician Doug McGregor titled “Whimsy & Wonder,” opens Nov. 3 at the Alliance for the Arts. Ahead of next week’s opening reception we get a preview in a conversation with the artist.

This month marks 25 years since the death of Matthew Shepard, whose brutal murder served as a turning point for gay rights in the U.S. In recognition, Choral Artistry performs Craig Hella Johnson’s powerful three-part oratorio “Considering Matthew Shepard,” Oct. 22 at Naples United Church of Christ. We explore the composition in a conversation with Choral Artistry Artistic Director Trent Brown.

Players Circle Theater kicks off the performance season with playwright Tom Dulack’s mafioso-style comedy “Breaking Legs.” The show will mark the company’s first production in its newly renovated theater space in the heart Fort Myers’ McGregor corridor. We preview the show and learn about the new theater space in a conversation with Players Circle Theater co-founders Bob Cacioppo and Carrie Lund.

The Southwest Florida-based rock band Rosaline celebrates the release of its newest single, “Heartbreakin” with a performance, Oct. 6 at Nice Guys in Cape Coral. The show will also feature performances from other notable musicians in the region. We’ll speak with Rosaline front man Caleb Neff and hear him perform acoustic versions of the band’s new music live in studio.

The use of intimacy choreographers and intimacy coordinators in the performing arts has been growing across the industry in recent years. These experts provide direction in the process of actors performing sensitive scenes that may involve content of a sexual nature, nudity, violence and more. We talk with Laboratory Theater of Florida Artistic Director Annette Trossbach about a new report titled, “A Case for Intimacy Choreographers in SW Florida.”