‘Acting Olympics’

In a summertime of coronavirus restrictions, when there are few opportunities for teens, two productions feature them in a very different approach to theater.  On the first day of rehearsal for “The Addams Family” musical, administrators at the Gulfshore Playhouse Star Academy were doing what one would expect in the era of coronavirus restrictions: keeping teens ... Naples teens take the stage in very different ways this month

A Naples couple has given $1 million toward a planned downtown Naples theater. Mary and Stephen Byron Smith bestowed the gift to Gulfshore Playhouse to support the creation of the new Gulfshore Playhouse Theatre and Education Center.  “We are extremely grateful, not only for this generous gift from the Smiths, but for their belief in our vision,” said Kristen ... Naples couple gives $1M gift to Gulfshore Playhouse for new theater

Kristen Coury, founder and artistic director of Gulfshore Playhouse, said its weekly free workshops are pulling in registrations from around the country. It didn’t hurt to open the series with a Zoom talk by the former director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Gail Kern Paster, who is on the playhouse’s board of directors. Two actors traded frames ... The University of Us: Naples area organizations forge a virtual arts school

Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples recently had to lay off 21 employees, send its nine education interns home, and cancel the last two productions of its current season. Now a group of eight core staff members representing various departments at the theater are working from home at reduced pay to keep things afloat.  “It’s generally devastating ... Gulfshore Playhouse cuts season short