Stageworks Theatre's Presents TALKING WITH... Honoring Company Founder, Anna Brennen

Stageworks Theatre, Tampa's first and longest-running professional theatre company, will present "Talking With..." an empowering work of 11 female-focused monologues, on April 28 through May 14, 2023.

This heartwarming and quirky play was a favorite of Stageworks' founder, Anna Brennen, who directed several productions during her tenure. Brennen died in February, 2021 at age 82.

"Talking With..." shares the unique and revealing stories of eleven diverse women from a baton twirler, a fundamentalist snake handler, an ex-rodeo rider, and an actress willing to go to any length to get a job. Their personal survival is almost always linked in some way to a dream, a desire. It is this unbridled dream world that holds them steady and though not ever speaking together, very much attached and connected.

The cast includes several actors who performed in the show under Brennen's direction, including Dawn Truax and Rosemary Orlando, who will reprise the monologue, "Clear Glass Marbles" and direct the production. Stageworks' Producing Artistic Director, Karla Hartley will serve as co-director.

"Anna had such an affinity for this play," said Hartley. "As we celebrate our 40th anniversary and honor the impact she had as Stageworks' founder, it just felt right to perform a play that was so close to her heart."

Added Rosemary Orlando, "In one of the monologues, the character shares, 'It's just a dream. Just a beacon in the storm. But you got to have a dream. It's our dreams that make us what we are.' It is that dream world I envision, with voices and emotions that struggle and wrap around our hearts. It is where the listener identifies and finds a fragment of themself in each story."

Performances of Talking With... take place on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Stageworks will hold a special Remembrance of Anna Brennen's life in May, 2023. Details will be released soon. Theatre-goers can also pay tribute by making a donation to the Anna Brennen Memorial Fund which supports Stageworks' work with artists of color. Donations are being accepted online or by check made payable to Stageworks Theatre and mailed to the theatre company at 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 151, Tampa, FL 33602.

Tickets to Talking With... are available for purchase online by visiting www.StageworksTheatre.org. Season passeswith three separate options, as well as several monthly memberships are also available.

Stageworks is grateful to Norma T. Caltagirone, Judy Grenshaft, Ami and Santosh Govindaraju, Andrea Graham and Geoff Simon, Elizabeth Harris, Peter and Nancy Hughes, Scarritt Law Group, Alex Sink, and Enrique Woodroffe for their sponsorship of "Talking With..."

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" wraps up Stageworks' milestone season. This show about Armadillo Acres newest tenant will have audience members laughing out loud. At Florida's most exclusive trailer park, Pippi, the stripper on the run, comes between the Dr. Phil-loving Jeannie and her toll booth collector husband. That's when the storms begin to brew. This toe-tapping musical starts June 9th and runs through June 25.

Stageworks is Tampa's longest-running professional theatre company. Its mission is to ignite the human spirit and be a catalyst in eradicating intolerance through performing arts and education. In addition to a full season of performances, Stageworks provides acting and improvisation classes and workshops. Its partnership with Academy Prep brings drumming classes to students at three campuses to support their overall learning, and the theatre company has also provided its drumming and arts education curriculum to students in the juvenile justice system. Over the years, Stageworks has been honored with numerous local and regional awards for best theatre company, best actor, and best director. To learn more, visit www.stageworkstheatre.org or get social with us on Facebook and Instagram.

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