This Friday, Dingbat Theatre Project will premiere Wendy and Peter Pan, the company’s original adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic 1911 novel Peter Pan. The production, the company’s fifth since its inception in 2020 and its first at Reflex Arts Dance Studios, whom the company partnered with in 2022 to provide education theater programming and bolster Dingbat’s productions.

“It’s our first production at Reflex and the collaboration has been great. Studio One is the biggest indoor space we’ve ever been in and feels really immersive when we have all of our production stuff in place,” says Luke McFatrich,founder and managing Artistic Director of Dingbat.

Wendy and Peter Pan is the result of about a year and a half long adaptation process by McFatrich. “What we did was take a highlighter and red pen to the novel and decided to perform the novel as is. The only thing that we’ve added is music - songs from the story and popular music all the way back from Beethoven to 80s bubble gum girl group pop to uplift the storytelling. With only seven cast members and a small indoor space, we’ve had to do some creative problem solving,” attests McFatrich, who plays Tinkerbell in the production.

“The biggest issue with the limited cast is that four actors are needed to play Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell, and Captain Hook - however, there’s six Lost Boys in the story and they all have to be on stage at the same time,” says McFatrich. To counteract this, the three remaining cast members will use sock puppets to portray the Lost Boys - one on each hand.

Even more trickery is used to convey the magical elements of the Peter Pan story. “The show is created as if it's children in their bedroom playing pretend - they only have materials that they’d have in their bedroom: pillows are clouds that they fly over, a big bed sheet is used to mimic the shape of a pirate ship, and Captain Hook’s hook is a candy cane,” says McFatrich.

Performances: Fri, Jun 24, 2022, 8:00 p.m. - Sun, Jul 10 2022, 3:00 p.m. Studio One @ Reflex, 6260 N Lockwood Ridge Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243 

Pictured: Zoe Smith, cast member with Dingbat's production of Wendy and Peter Pan. Photo courtesy of Dingbat Theatre Project.

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A sins of the father type memoir by the New Yorker staff writer is a stunning portrayal of fatherhood and the difficult process of seeing our parents age. I started writing out quotes I found miraculous upon first starting the book and then gave up because every page is prosaically jaw dropping.

Suffice to say, Tad details his family history, woven with his own marriage and child regarding, and his desire to be close to his parents as they aged. Poignant is too dull a word to describe the emotional vibrancy of Friend’s writing, so I’ll quote one of his prime pieces of wisdom.

“When Day (Friend’s father) began to fail, it felt like he was tugging me with him. My sense that we’re tethered on a conveyor belt had given rise to two absurd and contradictory beliefs. One is that when he goes over the edge, I’ll be pulled over, too. The other is that if I can dig my heels in, somehow, I can stop the belt.”

The memoir is a firming up of Friend’s own culpability in life which is far fairer and evolutionary than the cliche ‘blame it on my parents’ routine.

In the Early Times is available now at BookStore1 Sarasota 117 S. Pineapple Ave. Sarasota, FL. or at their online store www.sarasotabooks.com. Publication Date: May 10, 2022 ISBN: ‎ 978-0593137352. 

Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation announced today that Stacey Corley will join the organization as President on September 6, 2022. Corley succeeds Mason Ayres who announced in May he will be retiring this fall. Corley is currently serving as Vice President for Advancement at Ringling College of Art and Design where she has led multiple capital campaigns and worked closely with the College’s President to achieve the most successful fundraising year in the College’s history. She originally joined the organization in 2012 as a Senior Development Officer, becoming Assistant Vice President for Strategic Philanthropy in 2014 before moving into her current role. Corley holds a Bachelor of Professional Accountancy and Master of Business Administration in Management from Mississippi State University. Prior to joining Ringling College, Corley served as Associate Director for Development for Florida State University Foundation/The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. She also worked 10 years for Bristol-Myers Squibb in various roles including Senior Hospital Business Manager. In the community, she has held leadership positions with multiple local and national organizations including Ringling College Library Association, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Junior League of Sarasota and is a member of Sarasota Women’s Alliance.

At the Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers (FCCC) summer conference, the FCCC Best Practices Committee awarded the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller with a Recognition of Excellence in each category of the FCCC's Best Practices in Excellence Program. According to FCCC, the Program was established last year as an opportunity for Clerks to receive Recognition of Excellence certificates for completing assessments that evaluate the acceptance of specific best practices. Additionally, the purpose of each Best Practice category is to provide guidance to Clerks and Comptrollers statewide and assist in achieving consistency in interpretation of the law and in practice. This year, the categories expanded from seven to 12. As a result, the Clerk & Comptroller’s office received recognition in all 12 categories: Bail Bonds, Compliance Services, Confidential Judicial Records, Eviction, Evidence Storage and Destruction, Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult Injunction, Guardianship Audits, Marriage License, Public Records Requests, Recording Fundamentals, Requests to Redact Exempt Personal Information and Service of Documents by Clerks for Pro Se Litigants. This recognition demonstrates the Clerk & Comptroller’s high standards in the areas of courts, public records, and recording. In addition to this recognition, earlier this year, the Clerk & Comptroller’s Finance department received the Triple Crown medallion from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the second year in a row for its excellence in the areas of governmental accounting and financial reporting. 

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The Bishop Parker Foundation recently awarded $159,000 to the New College Foundation to launch a scholarship program that offers academically qualified
high school students from Manatee County and transfer students from State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota the opportunity to attend New College of Florida, the State of Florida’s designated Honors College. MaryAnne Young, vice president of advancement and executive director of New College Foundation, says this grant can have life-changing results for the Manatee County students it empowers. According to Declan Sheehy, director of philanthropy at New College, the grant will provide direct scholarship support for qualified Manatee County students to attend New College. A portion of the funds will also be used for student activities and engagement, internships, and support to assist student retention and success, in addition to helping further build a network of working partners. 

Pictured: New College Foundation with Bishop Parker Foundation.

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Dr. Stephanie Peabody, founder and executive director of the Brain Health Initiative (BHI), announced today that the Suncoast region, beginning with the School District of Manatee County and Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy, has been selected by the BHI to execute a pilot Schools for Brain Health program. Said Manatee County Superintendent Cynthia Saunders, “This innovative collaboration will initially include six schools in Manatee County, which cover two separate communities, Lakewood Ranch and Bayshore. We’ve been very excited to join forces with the Brain Health Initiative to provide our students, parents/caregivers, and staff with the very latest technology, programming, and data to improve performance while addressing the overall brain health and wellness of our school family.” Working toward the larger goal of creating Brain Healthy Communities of Excellence, the BHI will lead engagement, research, and innovation efforts regarding ways educating with brain health in mind can have a significant benefit to all life outcomes (e.g., development, maturating, aging, learning, health, well-being, etc.) for the entire school community (e.g., students, parent/caregivers, personnel), as well as the ripple effect to the larger community. Understanding the needs and current state of brain health and illness and innovating brain healthy interventions in partnership with this sector of the community that can be measured, documented, and replicated has the opportunity to impact the greater good, and the results will be published. Through the Schools for Brain Health initiative, schools in the Suncoast region, beginning with Manatee County, will work toward certification as a Brain Health School Center of Excellence. These schools will serve as prototypes that can be replicated, enhancing brain health, optimizing brain performance, and decreasing risk of brain illness for all ages and across the region and beyond. BHI has had multiple national and global interests from public, private, parochial, and charter schools to participate in and benefit from Schools for Brain Health. 

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The results are in for the 2022 Pets We Love Fan Favorite competition - can I get a drumroll please? In first place, we have Shaker of the Florida Fab Five. In second, we have Momo (the skinny pop loving cat), and in third place, we have sweet Reo.

Congratulations to all of the pets featured in this year’s completion. It was our cutest feature yet!