JAX Chamber: Untold Stories: Out Of The Swamp At The Florida Theatre On Saturday, February 12, 2022

Press release from the JAX Chamber:

January 20, 2022

Untold Stories features personal and transformative tales told by a diverse range of voices, both natives and residents, connected to Northeast Florida. From artists and entrepreneurs to educators and medical professionals, we all carry memories and stories shaped by our environment. The series honors the tradition of oral storytelling in a modern context, where stories are deeply wedded to the place we inhabit.

The President of the Florida Theatre, Numa Saisselin, said, “We all know the Florida Theatre is one of the great performance halls in the country, and a ‘must play’ stop for touring artists, but we are always looking for new opportunities to connect with our local community. We were inspired to create Untold Stories by Brian and Jake Wolfburg, who told us about a storytelling series in Anchorage, Alaska that they attended. Untold Stories is the Northeast Florida version. We envision four performances a year. Each edition will be themed, and will feature five or six Northeast Florida storytellers, plus a host and a local musical artist who will provide pre-show and in-between music.”

"We’re pleased to announce that Barbara Colaciello will be our Guest Artistic Director of the inaugural season. Each season we envision having a different Artistic Director to mix things up and bring a different perspective to the series” Saisselin said.

For over two decades, Barbara has written, directed, produced, and performed socially engaged theater that contributes to vital conversations in the Jacksonville community. She began her career as the Advertising Director of Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine in New York City, and for 9 years Barbara served as the Director of Education for Players by the Sea Theatre. She has collaborated extensively with poet, playwright and nationally known NPR Radio Host, Al Letson. A 2013 TEDxJacksonville Speaker, Colaciello received a 2018 PNC Arts Alive Grant in partnership with the Florida Theatre to direct Letson’s anti-bullying play, Chalk, for Title 1 schools. She was awarded a 2020 Art Ventures Individual Artist Grant from the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida to write a new solo piece Open Heart (ed) exploring women’s heart health and caregiving.

“There will be nothing more powerful than being in the iconic Florida Theatre, with minds and hearts open, actively listening to some of our cities most wonderful storytellers. My goal is to create magical, intimate evenings where audience members feel like a fly on the wall or rather a lizard on the wall when we’re talking Northeast Florida,” Colaciello said.

That’s a sly reference to the logo for the series, which features an Anole Lizard. “We were trying to find an image that was distinctly North Floridian, and what could be more evocative of North Florida than that? We haven’t given him, her or they a name yet, but I’m sure that’s coming,” Saisselin said.

The dates and themes for the next three editions are:

Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 8pm – Out of the Swamp

Friday, May 6, 2022 at 8pm – There and Back Again

Saturday, August 6, 2022 at 8pm – Fish Out of Water

The first season of Untold Stories is made possible by a generous contribution from the Wolfburg Family.

The performers for the February 12 performance are:

Brent Byrd

Ebony Payne-English

David Girard

Johnny Masiulewicz

True Poet

Erica Saffer

Naga Davi Wasserman

Performer photos and bios are live on the Untold Stories: Out of the Swamp event page at floridatheatre.com/event/untold-stories-out-of-the-swamp.

The historic, nonprofit Florida Theatre is sponsored by Community First Credit Union. For a complete list of upcoming events or to buy tickets visit the Theatre’s official website, floridatheatre.com.

SHOW: Untold Stories: Out of the Swamp

SHOW DATE: Saturday, February 12, 2022

TIME: 8:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICE: $25.00-$35.00

WEBSITES: floridatheatre.com

MEDIA CONTACT: Shannon Greene, Interim Director of Marketing Shannon@floridatheatre.com / (904) 562-5978

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This press release was produced by the JAX Chamber. The views expressed here are the author’s own.