CFCArts has new theater leader; break for Breakthrough
Central Florida Community Arts has chosen a new leader for its theater program. The organization has announced that Roberta Emerson will serve as artistic producing consultant, effective immediately.
Emerson will partner with Terrance Hunter, the CFCA senior director of programs, to oversee theater productions. She is currently theater director at Montverde Academy and has directed for CFCArts before.
She is the director of “A Raisin in the Sun,” which just ended its run at the Garden Theatre, and a 2019 honoree in the Orlando Sentinel’s theatrical awards for her acting in the Ensemble Company production of “The Niceties.”
Emerson received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater and a master’s degree from New York University. She has taught in Europe, as well as the U.S., and also has experience in film and voice-over work.
The CFCArts theater program had been led by Donald Rupe, who stepped down in the fall. Rupe subsequently announced his own Renaissance Theatre Company, expected to debut at the Orlando Fringe Festival in May.
Emerson’s hire means she will help plan the 2021-22 season for CFCArts Theatre, which will be announced in June.
Breakthrough update: In other local theater news, the Breakthrough Theatre Company is going on hiatus, according to owner Wade Hair.
The theater formerly had a bricks-andmortar location in Winter Park, but gave up the space after COVID-19 shut down in-person entertainment. Although the company had success with online productions, Hair said ticket sales began to wane as theaters started reopening their doors.
Hair also has been spending more time teaching online classes for Outschool.
He wrote on social media that the down time would be used to explore options for the 12-year-old company.
“We are not going away forever,” he wrote. “I’m sure the time will come when the Breakthrough Theatre makes a grand re-entrance into the Central Florida theater scene.”
Amen, sister: Theater West End in Sanford will stage “Nunsense: A-men” March 26-April 11. It’s the cross-dressing version of Dan Goggin’s perennially popular comedy “Nunsense,” in which men play the silly singing nuns. Tickets start at $58 for a table for two at theaterwestend.com.
Speaking of Theater West End, the Corsets and Cuties burlesque troupe will hold a fundraiser for the theater at its First Street space on March 28. A silent auction and bar service begin at 7 p.m., with the show at 8. It’s burlesque, so patrons must be 18. Tickets are $18, also at theaterwestend.com.
The theater has taken a big financial hit after closing for months during the pandemic.
It makes the world go round: And speaking of money, how about some good news? Rollins College announced last week that the Florida Charities Foundation will donate $3 million toward a new theater and dance facility on its Winter Park campus.
Arts education also will get a boost from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s matching-grant program, which has awarded $9,000 to the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.
With the grant, the Philharmonic will be able to implement group instruction for orchestra and band students at Howard Middle School and Edgewater High School as part of its Virtual Music Education Program, which serves student musicians in Title I schools in Orange County.