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Three picks: Playwriting festival, one-woman play and whales set to music

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published Nov. 6, 2014

Ocean Voyagers

By now you've heard about the Blue Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit continuing through this weekend in St. Petersburg. Count the Florida Orchestra among the collaborators. Audiences can see a screening of the 2007 humpback whale documentary Ocean Voyagers at the Mahaffey Theater, with live accompaniment from the orchestra's musicians. The concert includes the orchestra's premiere of Mason Bates' Alternative Energy, a symphony in four movements featuring everything from fiddle to techno. The show is at 8 p.m. Saturday at 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. $20-$50. (727) 892-3337. floridaorchestra.org.

Emerging Playwrights Festival

It's always refreshing to see regional theaters hold the door for new artists. Count American Stage as the latest to add such a venture with its inaugural Emerging Playwrights Festival this weekend. The event features a workshop on the art and craft of playwriting, a panel discussion, plus talk backs and staged readings of new works by St. Petersburg's Bob Clyman and Gabe Neustadt. Student playwrights from programs at Shorecrest Preparatory, the University of South Florida and the American Stage Write On! program round out the list of contributors. Readings Friday through Sunday are $10. The playwriting workshop from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday is $15. A panel discussion with the playwrights from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday is free. A festival pass for $50 gets you into all readings and the workshop, and includes a T-shirt and an offer to see an upcoming show at American Stage, 163 Third St. N, St. Petersburg. For a full schedule and tickets for the events at the theater, call (727) 823-7529 or visit americanstage.org.

One Drop of Love

Remember that little project Ben Affleck and Matt Damon put their stamp on? Good Will Hunting? Yeah, that did pretty well. Bet you didn't know they also teamed up to support a play. One Drop of Love is a one-woman multimedia play by Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni, produced by Affleck and Damon, that uses film, photography and animation to dissect race in America from the 1600s to today. In doing so, Cox DiGiovanni explores her own relationship with her father and ushers in a frank discussion on identity. See the show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Jaeb Theater at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa. $37.50. Recommended for ages 13 and older. (813) 229-7827. strazcenter.org.

Contact Stephanie Hayes at shayes@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8716. Follow @stephhayes.