ARTS ALIVE! St. Pete Catalyst's Bill DeYoung: Karla Hartley, Stageworks Theater Artistic Director

Bill DeYoung chatted with Karla Hartley for this episode of  Arts Alive! The producing artistic director of Tampa’s venerable Stageworks Theatre has a lot on her mind, including the show that debuts tonight: The musical comedy I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Our conversation leads into uncharted waters, namely the struggles facing nonprofit, professional theater companies in the bay area. The shrinking audience phenomenon, which began with the Covid-19 pandemic, continues to be an issue. And in today’s rocky economy, an evening at the theater is less important than, say, a tankful of ultra-expensive gasoline.
 
Then there’s the annual disappointment over the lack of financial support from the State of Florida, which has always been a key element in keeping theaters and other arts organizations in the black.  Stageworks received nothing from the Florida legislature for the past two years. Hartley hasn’t seen the 2026-27 numbers yet, but she’s not expecting a surprise this time around.

All of which adds up to a lot of hard choices. In order to keep the bills paid, and keep the quality up to standard, the upcoming season includes a slightly reduced number of scheduled shows.  There are, however, plans for other theatrical events and happenings inside the space at 1120 East Kennedy Blvd., Suite 151. Lots of things.
This interview is not all doom and gloom, not by a long shot. The always warm and funny Hartley remains optimistic about the future, and has plenty of good things to say about the bay area’s other theaters, her upcoming season, and about I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Tickets here.
 
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