Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 9-1-17

Local
Library Board’s Vote Is Unanimous To Name Library After Arthenia Joyner
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Library board members voted unanimously at a meet- ing last Thursday to name the building on N. 22nd Street the Arthenia Joyner University Area Library.
The naming recommenda- tion submitted by Hillsborough County Commissioner Vic- tor Crist in conjunction with the University Area Commu- nity Development Corporation received overwhelming support from the community, said exec- utive director Andrew Brei- denbaugh.
Current and former elected officials and business leaders were among those offering their approval.
“We have never had this support for a naming,” Brei- denbaugh said.
The recommendation next will go to the Hillsborough County Commission which will vote on the matter and make it
official.
That could happen in the
next few months. The new branch is scheduled to open in January.
“It won’t be long at all,” Breidenbaugh said.
Joyner, an attorney, be- comes the 11th citizen to have a branch named in her honor. An alumna of both Middleton High School and Florida A&M Uni- versity, Joyner was the first Black woman attorney in Hills- borough County.
She entered electoral poli- tics in 2000 after winning a seat in the Florida House of Representatives. In 2006, she ran for and won a seat in the Florida Senate where she re- mained until term limits forced her to step down in 2016.
After the meeting, library board member, Howard Har- ris said his childhood friend deserves the recognition.
“I’m happy it’s being named after her,” he said. “She’s been an asset to this community.”
Tampa Theater Festival Set This Weekend
At first, Rory Lawrence couldn’t understand why plan- ning this year’s Tampa Bay The- atre Festival was more difficult than in past years.
He and his team were fol- lowing the same blueprint de- veloped five years ago, with some tweaking here and there.
Lawrence, himself a play- wright, actor, and producer, was perplexed. Then, he had an “a- ha” moment: demand for the festival is much higher than be- fore.
“Finally, we realized we were getting more inquiries... not only from participants, but the community, the theaters, the actors,” he said. “I’m getting lots of emails and calls.”
The festival – one of few in the southeast and perhaps the only one of its kind in Florida – is growing by leaps and bounds with attendees coming from all over the country, Lawrence said.
“I’m telling people to be proactive because (workshops and plays) are filling up,” he said.
The three-day event – hosted by Lawrence’s non- profit organization, RL Stage,
RORY LAWRENCE
Inc. – features a variety of shows, entertainment, and net- working events.
The festival offers six plays for theater aficionados and a number of workshops for aspir- ing actors and playwrights.
The classes offer performers the opportunity to perfect their craft, Lawrence said.
“We initially started this to create a platform for actors,” he said. “What I’ve learned is a lot of people want to get involved, but they don’t know how.’
One of the highlights is the play “Zora! Let The People Sing,” written by playwright Nykieria Chaney that follows the famous writer’s life from
small-town Florida girl to an icon of the Harlem Renaissance. Regular festival attendees may notice that workshops fea- turing top stars like Harry Lennix or Tasha Smith are missing from this year’s line-up. Following tradition, Lawrence said a celebrity was scheduled to lead a class, but canceled because of schedule
conflicts.
While celebrities are “a nice
draw” for the festival, it’s the people attending the shows and participating in the workshops who make it successful, Lawrence said.
“We try to make people un- derstand this is a community,” he said. “It is so powerful. When all these people come together, things happen.”
If You Go
The Tampa Bay Theatre Festival will take place from Sept. 1 - Sept. 3. Sign up for workshops and see the full schedule of festival events at tampabaytheatrefestival.com.
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B