From the Van Wezel to the The Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota offers a multitude of things to do, in relation to the arts,
First, we start with theater, at the Asolo Repertory Theater, located on the Ringling Campus. The Asolo Repertory Theatre (or Asolo Rep) is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo Rep is a resident regional theatre company which also invites in guest artists. For more information, visit their website at: https://www.asolorep.org
The Van Wezel is the Crown Jewel of Sarasota Bay, offering over 100 shows per year including Broadway, dance, music, comedy and more. They offer subscription packages for both their Broadway and Dance series. For more invormation or to check out their full schedule, visit: https://www.vanwezel.org
The Florida Studio Theater Florida Studio Theatre is a professional, non-profit theater company located in Sarasota, Florida and represents one of the major cultural institutions in the Gulf Coast region. Founded in 1973 as a touring troupe, FST is currently a regional theatre specializing in contemporary work. Check out their current offerings at: https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org
The Players Center for Performing Arts is a community theater mainstay & launching pad for many actors, with shows, classes & workshops. They have been in production for over 90 years! For the full schedule of performances, classes and more visit https://www.theplayers.org
Lastly, for theater, Sarasota is home to the Westcoast Black Theater Troupe which hosts numerous musical productions, live shows, young artist showcases, and community forums for the area. Check out their full schedule at: https://westcoastblacktheatre.org
Next, dance! Sarasota Ballet was founded in 1987 and is the home to over 30 dancers. They Sarasota Ballet has performed nationally in New York City and Washington DC. They offer classes for children, adults and a special movement class for those with Parkinsons. For their full schedule visit: https://www.sarasotaballet.org
Sarasota Cuban Ballet is one of very few specialty Cuban Ballet companies in the country and has been in Sarasota since 2011. Visit their website at http://srqcubanballet.org
Now, for art! The Ringling College of Art and Design is a prestige Arts college. Campus galleries feature work of professional artists from around the world and are free and open to the public. Learn more by visiting their website: https://www.ringling.eduTowles Court Artist Colony is a studio driven neighborhood that has evolved into a collection of artists studios and galleries. They host monthly art walks every third Friday of the month. For more info visit: https://www.towlescourt.com
Historic Downtown Village in Gillepsie Park is a community of bungalows turned into art boutiques shops and eateries. They feature a monthly art walk on the fourth Friday of each month
Lastly for art, The Center includes four rotating exhibition galleries and a sculpture garden. It is member-funded and offers adult and youth classes, workshops, and programs. You can learn more about the Art Center of Sarasota here: https://www.artsarasota.org
Sarasota has vast music options as well, including: Sarasota Opera offers the unique opportunity for opera lovers to see all four operas of the Winter Opera Festival over just 3 or 4 days, Available March 15–26, 2023. They are also home to the Sarasota Youth Opera program, currently the most comprehensive youth opera program in the nation. For more information visit: https://www.sarasotaopera.org
Sarasota Orchestra: https://www.sarasotaorchestra.org The Jazz Club of Sarasota was founded by Hal Davis and his wife Evelyn, when they moved to SRQ and realized there was opera, theater, orchestra, but no jazz. So they invited people to their Pelican Cove apartment. It is now one of the largest and most active jazz organizations in the United States. The Club offers Jazz Thursdays at Sarasota Art Museum, annual jazz festival. To learn more visit: https://jazzclubsarasota.org
