Tag: On The Town

TAMPA, Fla. — Actor Seth Henley-Beasley is playing a character who loves mountain climbing but is afraid of heights.

“If you are not super experienced with like theatre and you think ‘I’m going to sit around in a stuffy room and watch some people walk around on a set,’ No. That’s not what you are coming to see actually,” said Henley-Beasley.

Touching the Void is opening at Stageworks Theatre, and it takes place on a mountainside. Two mountaineers survive a climbing accident in the Peruvian Andes. But not before one climber cuts a safety rope and lifeline–thinking the other is dead.

It underscores the dangers of mountain climbing and the sometimes impossible choices one must face to survive. This is based on a true story of incredible survival.

“Also, this show kind of has an added bonus, where we do a lot of stunts,” said Henley-Beasley.

That’s thanks in part to the set. Backstage, builders spent eight hours assembling the pieces of their mountain set.

Stunt actor Brianna McVaugh portrays a frightened novice climber learning the ropes.

“It’s fun to sing. It’s fun to dance. My niche and my love in theatre will always be physical. Any kind of physical movement, if it’s rolling on the floor, hanging from the rafters,” said McVaugh.

McVaugh and Henley-Beasley are joined on set by Luis Rivera and Robert Logan Mays, who portray real life climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates.

“And there’s always this little risk of danger when it’s live. If you are recording and someone- something happens, you can stop and do another take. We don’t get another take. So I think it’s well worth the jump in heart rate,” said Henley-Beasley.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After more than four centuries, the art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio continues to take people’s breath away.

Some experts say the work of Caravaggio heavily influenced the Baroque period of art, and visitors can see his works at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg at its latest exhibition: “In Caravaggio’s Light: Baroque Masterpieces from the Fondazione Roberto Longhi.”

In addition to two Caravaggio works, patrons can see his influences in dozens of others.

Two of Caravaggio’s early works — “Boy Bitten by a Lizard” and “Boy Peeling Fruit” — are on display.

The Italian artist was active starting at the end of the 16th century. For context, that’s close to 100 years after Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.

Some of his works and the other Baroque art are part of the collection of Roberto Longhi, an Italian art historian and collector. Longhi died in 1970, and representatives of his foundation came to the MFA St. Pete to see the work hung.

Many Baroque paintings depict religious themes, and the exhibition’s large hanging canvasses are filled with dramatic scenery of Jesus’ life and death.

These solemn scenes are a marked departure from the details of Caravaggio’s personal life, which historians say was filled with brawling, murder and banishment.

Ironically, the Roman Catholic Church used dramatic interpretations of biblical teachings by artists influenced by Caravaggio to inspire religious devotion.

“I think it’s important to imagine that during this time period, there was no color print. There were no TVs, no computer screens,” explained Stanton Thomas, the chief curator of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg.

The exhibit’s paintings also show an element Caravaggio used to “up” the drama — “chiaroscuro,” or the sharp and dramatic contrast of light and dark.

The museum is also hosting an accompanying exhibition “Baroque Continuum,” which shows Caravaggio’s impact on art both is his time and long after.