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SRQ DAILY Jan 13, 2015

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"At the Asolo we've got three diverse plays coming in, but of all them this is the most contemporary. This is about right now."

- Tim Grimm, Good People
 

[Film]  Film Festival Hires Dunaway at Programming Director
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

Beyond all the red carpets and fancy parties, the reputation of a film festival depends on the quality of cinema getting projected onto local screens. The decisions on what movies get programmed for the Sarasota Film Festival now are in the hands of Michael Dunaway, a journalist and documentary film producer based out of Atlanta.

Dunaway, who has served as a juror and moderated “In Conversation…” events at SFF in the past, was announced Monday by SFF President Mark Famiglio as the new programming director, succeeding close friend Tom Hall, who left his post as SFF Director in the Fall to take over the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey. Dunaway will remain a consulting editor for Paste Magazine, but will now devote much of the year to planning the Sarasota event, which has become one of the most prestigious regional film festivals in the United States. “It was all just so fantastic,” Dunaway said, “and this was an exciting opportunity to continue what Tom and Mark have incredibly been doing for years.”

His connections with lead festival organizers at Sundance, SlamDance and South by Southwest should give Sarasota an inside track to important films, Dunaway said. But he also wants to make sure the experience of attending an SFF screening is more than just moving pictures on the wall. “We have to provide memorable experiences to make it worth it for audiences to leave the comfort of homes and come to the theater and see a movie. We do that by appearances by directors and actors, with education programs and panels after movies and by talkback sessions.” It could also mean the incorporation of more music, particularly when performers are tied to films.

In the immediate future, Dunaway will be joining Famiglio and other SFF programmers in Sundance to scout films and speak with filmmakers. This year’s SFF event is scheduled from April 10-19.

Pictured: Michael Dunaway speaks with actress Penelope Ann Miller at the Sarasota Film Festival in 2012. 

Read a complete Q&A with Dunaway at SRQ Backlot

[Stage]  On The Goodness Of People
Philip Lederer, Phil.Lederer@srqme.com

Asolo Repertory Theatre tomorrow night lifts the curtain on a show set to spark debate with Good People. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire and nominated for a Tony, Good People follows single mother Margie Walsh, fresh out of work and looking to escape south Boston. Seeing an ex-boyfriend who made good as a doctor, Margie sets out to get hers in a humorous yet biting take on the American Dream.

“From the first time I saw it, I loved the characters, the journey and what it says about class in America,” said Denise Cormier, a Boston-born actress playing Margie in her first show with Asolo. “There’s nothing black and white about the characters. They’re all good people, but they handle their circumstances quite differently.”

Raising questions about class, success and the role of hard work versus luck in determining one’s future, Good People is not an exercise in blame or martyrdom, but a show of understanding – a closer examination of what makes people from both sides of the tracks, and the aisle, good people. Or not. “The more I worked on it, the more exciting and startling and richer it became,” said Tim Grimm, returning to the Asolo as Margie’s ex, Dr. Mike Dillon. “The author is so good that there are very clear viewpoints based on characters in the play, but he makes it difficult for people to come down.”

Cormier and Grimm agree that as well as being entertaining, Good People has the power to get people thinking. “Our best hope is to have people talking and sharing their points of view,” said Cormier.

“There’s no doubt the audience will leave discussing,” adds Grimm. “At the Asolo we’ve got three diverse plays coming in, but of all them this is the most contemporary. This is about right now.”

Good People opens at the Asolo Repertory Theatre Jan. 14 and runs until Mar. 1. 

[Exec Moves]  Manatee Schools Suspends OPS Investigator

Superintendent Rick W. Mills announced Office of Professional Standards Investigator Troy Pumphrey has been temporarily placed on paid administrative leave, effective Monday.  This was based upon information received on by the District and an additional inquiry performed by Staff Attorney Mitchell Teitelbaum. Mills also announced there will be a formal investigation by an independent investigator into all aspects of Pumphrey’s initial 2013 employment application and subsequent 2014 employment application with the school district. 

Manatee County School District

[New Program]  Entrepreneur Academy Launching at SCF

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy, an innovative program intended to transform local middle and high school students into entrepreneurial successes, announce its new site, the State College of Florida, to pilot the program in the fall of 2015, according to the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.YEA takes students between the ages of 11 and 18 through the process of starting and launching a real business or social movement over the course of an academic year. By the end of the class, students own and operate fully-formed and functioning businesses, which may be carried on after their graduation from the program. It is the only pre-college program developed by an entrepreneur at a university with support from a major entrepreneurial foundation, the Kauffman Foundation and the United States Chamber of Commerce. 

Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce

[Real Estate]  Neal Opens Sales for River Wind

Neal Signature Homes, a Lakewood Ranch-based luxury homebuilder, is offering buyers the opportunity to buy early at River Wind, a coastal-themed community coming soon in Parrish.The gated private enclave will include 62 estate homes on larger homesites. The neighborhood sits on 39.7 acres near the intersection of Rye and Upper Manatee River roads, on River Wind Circle. Neal Signature Homes will feature six new floorplans of single- and two-story homes, with layouts from three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a den to four-bedroom homes with a bonus room. The decorated model will showcase the Carmel floor plan, with 2,698 square feet, three bedrooms and three bathrooms plus a den and an upstairs bonus room. 

Neal Signature Homes



[Nominations Open: Women In Business] 

Nominations are OPEN for the 2nd Annual Women In Business Competition! Recognizing women who have made meaningful contributions to the Sarasota and Bradenton communities through their business, non-profit and philanthropic endeavors the second year of this competition promises to showcase impressive local talent. Each nominee will submit a formal application to share her story of success. SRQ is proud to announce the 2015 panel of judges that will review and identify the winners: Sam Bond, president and owner, Sam Bond Benefit Group; Wanda Lipscomb-Vasquez, director, Florida Institute of Technology Women’s Business Center; Jo Watson Hackl, attorney, Wyche, P.A.; Nancy Whitworth, deputy city manager, director of economic development, City of Greenville, SC; Jill Langford Dame, executive director, Leadership Jacksonville, Inc.; Donna Orender, CEO, Orender Unlimited; and Linda Simmons, president and CEO, R.R. Simmons Construction Corporation. Nominations for the 2015 Women in Business Competition open on Monday, January 12 and close on Friday, February 6, 2015. For information on the 2015 SRQ Women in Business competition, visit the Inside the Brand blog. Nominees, finalists and winners will be recognized in the May 2015 edition of SRQ. To nominate someone you know, visit SRQMagazine.com/HearMeRoar 

SRQ Media Group

SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

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