Laboratory Theater

On Tuesday, the director of grants, Jessica McElwee, told the Fort Myers Public Art Committee that the city is preparing to open the application window for this year’s arts & culture grants. If all goes well, that window will open April 1 and close on May 16, 2025.

This week, four shows open, there’s a preview of another, seven shows close and 10 others continue their runs.

March promises to be just as busy for Southwest Florida theaters as February was. This week, four shows open, three shows enjoy one-night performances and 11 others continue their runs.

Laboratory Theater of Florida in Fort Myers announced this month that founding producing artistic director Annette Trossbach is retiring from the theater company. Trossbach reflects back on the triumphs and challenges that have come during her tenure, the theater’s impact on the Southwest Florida community, and highlights some of Lab Theater’s stand-out productions over the years.

Stephon Clark was standing in his grandmother’s backyard with a cell phone in his hand. Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun in a park. In the play “Good Bad People,” Amiri Johnson was taking out the garbage at the homeless shelter where he lived. Rather than focus on the institutional racism that frequently gives rise to cases like these, “Good Bad People” shines a light on the grief experienced by the family members left behind.

Four shows open, seven productions close and 11 others continue their runs this week in Southwest Florida theaters.

On Saturday, the Laboratory Theater of Florida announced that Annette Trossbach is retiring as its producing artistic director. Trossbach founded the lab in 2009. During her 16 years at the helm, she established the lab as a bastion for innovative, groundbreaking theater productions. Along the way, she transformed local theater into a safe and acceptable environment in which artists and audiences can explore, discover and expand personal horizons and raise their social consciousness.

Six shows open, one closes and 13 others continue their runs this week at Southwest Florida equity and community theaters.

Two shows open and two others close this week in Southwest Florida theaters while 10 others continue their runs.

On November 21, the Fort Myers Historic Preservation Commission denied The Laboratory Theater of Florida’s retroactive application for permission to place a mural on the Second Street side of their building at 1634 Woodford Ave. In compliance with their decision, Lab Theater has begun the process of removing the mural.