FSU/Asolo Conservatory For Actor Training Reveals 2024-25 Season Lineup

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training has announced its 2024-2025 season, featuring a hilarious and bitter-sweet mid-century modern American comedy, a thought-provoking play from one of the freshest new female voices in American drama, a journey through time and history by a preeminent Asian American playwright and a rich Shakespearean masterpiece, written by the mature Bard.

In the Fall, the Conservatory will bring you The Curious Savage (October 29 – November 24), a hilarious and bitter-sweet mid-century modern American comedy. The Winter Repertory will feature John Proctor is the Villain (February 4 – March 2), a thought-provoking play from one of the freshest new voices in American drama. Its companion piece, The Chinese Lady (February 11 – March 2), to be presented at the Ringling Museum, will take you on a journey through time and history, seen through the eyes of the first Chinese woman in America.

The season will conclude in the Spring with The Winter's Tale (April 1– 27), a rich Shakespearean masterpiece, written by the mature Bard, as Time drew the curtain on his career, and on the entire Renaissance era. This production will allow the audience to experience the production on the Elizabethan Stage, immersing them in the timeless story of beauty and torment.

"Our 51st season is a celebration of our past achievements and a testament to our dedication to the art of acting," said Andrei Malaev-Babel, FSU Director and Head of Acting. "Numerous factors play into our season choices. The collective individuality of our graduate second-year ensemble is considered, as well as its individual members' distinct talents. Our season selections cater to their strengths, but also challenge them to achieve new artistic heights. We are thrilled to continue providing top-tier theatrical experiences for our audiences while nurturing the talents of our graduate students."

New subscriptions for the four-play season are $120 and on sale May 13, 2024. Renew your subscription now for $100 at Asolo Rep's Box Office at 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, or by phone at 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388.

THE CURIOUS SAVAGE

By John Patrick

October 29-November 24, 2024

Presented in the Cook Theatre

Delight in the hilarious and bittersweet story of Mrs. Savage, an eccentric millionairess, whose love of theatre and desire to help others cause her stepchildren to commit her to “The Cloisters,” a mental asylum for recovering patients, and of the unlikely new friends she makes there. At the end of this brilliant comedy, you won't help but share in Mrs. Savage's discovery that the cut-throat world of hypocrisy and greed outside of “The Cloisters” is more insane than the gentle commune inside its walls!

John Proctor IS THE VILLAIN

By Kimberly Belflower

February 4- March 2, 2025

Presented in the Cook Theatre

In this witty and brutally honest play set in rural Georgia of 2019, a group of high-school students struggle to separate reality from illusion, truth from lie and right from wrong, as they study Arthur Miller's The Crucible, while navigating their own complex and imperfect world. On that dizzying journey, full of heartbreak, betrayal and scandal, they find their true identities and beliefs, forge deeper friendships and challenge social stereotypes. Kimberly Belflower's fresh new voice is not to be missed!

THE CHINESE LADY

By Lloyd Suh

February 11 - March 2, 2025

Presented in The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Join us in the enchanted Wagon Room of the Ringling's Old Circus Museum to meet Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to immigrate to America. Follow her on a journey through the US from 1834 to this very day. Experience history through the eyes of this exquisite cultural ambassador, whose youthful optimism clashes with the cynicism of history. Witness Afong Moy's beautiful spirit transcend time and space and defy the world's ugliness to celebrate the inner beauty of human connection.

THE WINTER'S TALE

By William Shakespeare

April 1 - 27, 2025

Presented on the Elizabethan Stage in the Cook Theatre

No other play offers us so direct a pathway into the beauty, torment and delight at the deepest core of Shakespeare's soul. A king mad with jealousy, a faithful wife and friend, an adoring daughter, an angry witch, a couple of homespun clowns and a very hungry bear combine to offer us a story of redemption, a love-letter to country life and an indictment of repressive authority gone mad. “It is a heretic that makes the fire, not she which burns in it.”

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is a celebrated three-year graduate program culminating in a Master of Fine Arts degree. For more than 45 years, tens of thousands of actors from across the continent have auditioned for admission. A maximum of 12 students are admitted each year. In their second year, the students perform in the Cook Theatre, a 161-seat space designed to create an intimate experience for the audience and actors. Third-year students are seen on the Mertz Stage working with Asolo Repertory Theatre's professional actors in exciting and significant roles. For more information, visit asolorep.org/conservatory.

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