Whether performing, creating, designing, or bringing words to life, theatre has a way of connecting us. Come dive into the techniques and experiences that bring theatre to life.  

Get a sneak peek at the people, resources, and processes that add to the creation of magical moments onstage.

In Real Life Series invites you to transfer the skills learned through theatrical performance, production, and creation to elements of your life. Whether public speaking, creative problem-solving, playing for purpose, or thinking on your feet, IRL classes challenge you to create and connect. 

*Part of the ONSTAGE series* 

Scene study is an interactive technique used to teach acting skills and text analysis. One or more actors breakdown, rehearse, and perform a scene and are then offered feedback. In this weekly class, participants work with Asolo Rep Teaching Artists to dive deeply into a piece of a script, developing characters, environments, and performance skills one scene at a time. 

Taught by: Scott Keys! (see Artist info below)

Dates: Mondays, February 13-April 3

Time: 6pm-8pm

Location: Asolo Rep Annex, 5333 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL, 34243

Cost: $175 for 8-sessions

*Part of the IRL Series*

Public speaking can be hard---but theatre makes it fun! In this fun and interactive class, participants use technical acting and storytelling methods to build confidence, improve clarity, and make connections with others while practicing public speaking. 

Taught by Sara Brunow and Elizabeth Guilbert

Dates: Thursdays, Fabruary 16-March 23

Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm

Location: Asolo Rep Annex, 5333 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL, 34243

Cost: $125 for 5-sessions

Scene Study

SCOTT KEYS is a freelance director writer and theatre educator,and recently served as Interim Artistic Director for The Players Centre, Sarasota’s oldest community theatre now in it’s 93rd season.

He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre Performance from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he was awarded the Oscar Hammerstein Fellowship for Distinguished Writing as well as outstanding recognition by the Edward Kleban and Jonathan Larson Foundations for his writing. Scott holds a degree in Secondary Education from Eckerd College and certification as a teacher of The Meisner Technique under the renown Larry Silverberg. He retired a year ago after 22 years in public education as a theatre teacher, director, and Chairman of the renowned Booker Visual & Performing Arts High school Theatre dept. In 2008-2009 he was named Teacher of the Year at Booker. Recently he was nominated by Broadway World as Arts Educator of the Decade in Sarasota.

Scott is on the Board of the Florida Theatre Conference and served as a member of the Scholarship committee as well as the Chairman of the High School One Act Festival in 2020. He has directed over 150 plays and musicals in professional, civic and educational theatres throughout the country, and locally has directed for FST, Sarasota Players, Manatee Players and Venice Theatre including award winning productions of Kiss of The Spider Woman, Into The Woods and Assassins. In 2005 he was awarded Best Director at The South Eastern Theatre Conference for BHS production of Seussical. Other awards and recognition include Passionella (FTC Best Production 2014), and original devised theatre works such as The Anatomy of Steampunk, Alchemy: Tales of Transformation and the 2020 virtual work The Bone Orchard. With colleague and composer Johnnie Mnich he has written book and lyrics for Sleepy Hollow, and the political allegory, The Kingdom of Solitaire. He has also served as an adjudicator for the FTC, Thespians, Theatre Odyssey as well as many area theatre competitions. He was the Artistic Director of Weathervane Playhouse in Newark Ohio for 8 seasons. Also a published composer, playwright and lyricist, Scott served as an Artistic Associate at Playwright’s Horizons in New York and has had his work produced professionally nationally and internationally, including New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, L.A., Seattle, Madrid, and Dayton, OH, his home town which includes the musicals VANISHING POINT, HEREAFTER, WILD BLUE, and MACABARET.

He is proud to have devoted so much time to arts education and nurturing young talent, many who have gone on to successful careers in all aspects of the entertainment industry and in Nov. 2022, he was awarded the Distinguished Career Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to High School Theatre Education. Currently he is part of the theatre faculty at Venice Theatre, where he is also creating a world premiere musical revue, UP ON THE ROOF-The Songs of Carole King and James Taylor with collaborator Michelle Kazanofsky. Other recent directing credits include FALSETTOS and SOME ENCHANTED EVENING and recently performed in SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM at TPC. He is enjoying his new freelance artistic life and continued devotion to his partner of 38 years, David Covach, who is the Director of Costuming at the Asolo Theatre.

IRL: Public Speaking

Sara Brunow (she/her) is the Muriel O’Neil Education & Engagement Director at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Sara completed her BFA in Music Theatre from Shenandoah Conservatory in 2005 and her MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences from the University of Central Florida in 2015, where she studied applied theatre with specific audiences and communities. Other certifications include Certificate in Theatre for Audiences with Complex Disabilities from Rose Bruford College, Certificate of Study in Arts Integration from the Kennedy Center's Engaged Learning Through the Arts program, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the USF MUMA School of Business, 2022 Gulfcoast Leadership Instiutre. Prior to her time in Sarasota, Sara was the Director of Community Engagement at Theatre Under The Stars in Houston, building programming for young people and adults that specialized in using theatre to develop career skills, creative thinking, and social emotional learning. Select experiential programming she has facilitated in this vein include Dress for Success Houston, Alief Independent School District, Houston Independent School District, YMCA of Greater Houston, New Hope Housing, 2018 AIGA Houston Conference, Florida Theatre Conference, and Easterseals of Southwest Florida. Sara has a passion for using creativity to enhance human connection and utilizing the arts as a tool to develop a more innovative future.  

IRL: Public Speaking

Elizabeth Guilbert (she/her) is thrilled to be joining the Asolo Rep team as the Education & Engagement Coordinator, where she previously worked as an Education & Outreach Apprentice! She is a Teaching Artist and Arts Administrator who has had the opportunity to work with students of all ages and backgrounds, from elementary school to senior citizens, and specializes in scene study, creative drama, playwriting, and devised work. Prior to returning to Asolo Rep, Elizabeth spent several years as the Education Assistant at Goodspeed Musicals, where she managed and taught classes for the Goodspeed Kids Company in addition to creating and facilitating new educational programs for students and professionals alike. Previous work includes a postgraduate Education Apprenticeship at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey and an Education Associate position with the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education. Elizabeth is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago.