Home Resource: Sarasota’s own fringe theatre

You've probably heard of the traditional theatrical venues in Sarasota---the Asolo Rep, Florida Studio Theatre, The Players Theatre---but chances are, you have not heard about Theatre at Home Resource. Well, if you are into high-end contemporary furniture, you're surely halfway there. For one such as myself who's interested in theater, I have just met you in the middle.

Performing among some very fine actors and under director Louise Stinespring, I'm taking part in the production of A Taste of Shakespeare at Home Resource, where a truly unconventional backdrop is transformed for the evening into an intimate theatrical setting.

Home Resource is best known as a leading contemporary furniture showroom. Stroll through the store and you’ll see exquisite pieces by Herman Miller, Fritz Hansen, BonTempi and more. But what you may not see among the posh furniture and modern living room vignettes is that Michael and Kathy Bush, owners of the store, are avid theater fans.

Having lived in London for four years, both Michael and Kathy were moved by many performances in the "fringe" theatres, which is somewhat akin to New York’s "off" or "off-off Broadway" theater (essentially meaning smaller seating capacities). Michael explained that while the venues may have been small or unconventional, the quality of the acting and material was of the highest caliber. Often actors who would normally be seen on Broadway stages or in the West End used the smaller, more intimate fringe theatres to really hone their craft and connect with their audiences.

After the couple moved to Sarasota to start their furniture store on Central Ave., a chance encounter in the showroom between Michael Busch and Louise Stinespring quickly led to conversations of theatrical possibilities.

Louise (who also has a passion for contemporary furniture) was sitting on a bed, deciding if she wanted to buy it. She was lost in her thoughts when Michael arrived offering to help.

“The way you have it set up in here,” Louise recalls saying, “it’s almost like you are in my bedroom and not the other way around!”

Louise had just moved to Sarasota from Texas. Once a student of Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, she followed that with a career as an experienced theater educator. She received her Ph.D. in theater from Texas Tech University with a focus on directing and acting, and taught on the university level for 19 years. She was intrigued by the idea that, in such an intimate space as Home Resource, an audience would feel as though they were truly a part of the action.

Together, Michael and Louise embarked on an experiment. They brought together several talented actors and a desire to fill seats---where the seats were worth many times the price of admission.

“After seeing exceptional actors in London,” Michael explains, “it was important to me that we attract great talent. Compensating the actors is an important component to ensuring that end.”

They began in July 2007 with two one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. The showroom sat about 50 people. The production itself was kept simple, only using furniture within the store as set pieces. To their surprise and satisfaction, the seats were filled and the audience reaction was very encouraging.

A string of other shows followed the first production, including A Taste of Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg and numerous others. In a town like this, it wasn’t long before other performers started to catch on. Some of the other participants have included Theatre Odyssey, play readings of Jack Gilhooley, Fuzión Dance Artists, Annie Morrison’s one-woman show and Asolo/FSU Conservatory students' production of Antigone Now. What’s more, an ongoing collaboration between performers from St. Petersburg, including actress Roxanne Fay, has even led to ventures between Home Resource and the Dali Museum.

I asked Michael, why does he do this? What’s in it for him?

“Just to be clear,” he said, “I don’t make any furniture sales from this and that’s certainly not why I do it.”

He explained that as an active member of the community, he is on four arts boards and this venue is just another way to contribute. The relationships he’s made with actors, directors, and theatergoers who he would never meet otherwise has been very meaningful to him. He’s thrilled to be able to provide an environment to actors where they can work on their craft, and to audiences where they can let their guard down and really experience the moments of live theater.

“'Magic' isn’t the right word,” he says, “but when you are participating in one of these performances, magic spills into magic.”

And as a performer, I know exactly what he’s trying to say: Essentially, he’s providing artists and audiences with their own ecosystem, enabling them to interact and be linked closely together through action, thought, voice, energy, and ... magic.

A Taste of Shakespeare will run March 12 - 14. For more information and to buy tickets, email [email protected].