Jobsite Theater, resident theater company at the Straz Center, is thrilled to kick off our 24th season with this hilarious comedy from the original “wild and crazy guy,” Steve Martin.
Jobsite first produced Picasso at the Lapin Agile in 2009. This production is once again helmed by Kari Goetz but features an all-new cast with the exception of one member returning from that record-setting production — Michael C. McGreevy as Sagot. More trivia: Jonelle M. Meyer earns a Steve Martin “hat trick” here after also starring in our productions of his Meteor Shower (2019) and The Underpants (2016).
In his first comedy for the stage, Martin plays fast and loose with fact, fame and fortune as two of the 20th Century’s legendary geniuses — Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein — muse on humanity’s achievements and prospects as well as other fanciful topics with infectious dizziness. It’s a 1904 meeting in a bohemian Paris neighborhood that never really took place, but we all wish had. Picasso at the Lapin Agile is on stage Sep. 14 – Oct. 9 in the Straz Center’s Jaeb Theater. Tickets are on sale now as part of Jobsite’s 2022-23 pass, with single tickets going on sale to the public on Aug. 1.
The Cast:
NED AVERILL-SNELL [he/him] (Gaston) Previously appeared at Jobsite in Henry V, HIR, Gloucester Blue and other plays. He has also appeared at Orlando Shakes (Henry IV, Part 2), Stageworks (Twelve Angry Men, The Lifespan of a Fact), TampaREP (Every Brilliant Thing, A View from the Bridge, The Iceman Cometh), American Stage Company (Tartuffe, A Moon for the Misbegotten), the Asolo State Theatre’s Dog Days series (What the Butler Saw), at various theatres in the solo play The Apocrypha of Theodore Roosevelt, and regionally at Indiana Repertory Theatre and the United Solo festival in New York. He is the author of the Florida-set mystery novel Small Professional Murder, available on Amazon.
JADA CANTY [she/her] (Germaine) grew up in the small town of Zephyrhills, FL and currently resides in the Tampa Bay area where her passion began on the stage and hopefully will land behind the camera. She completed her Associates Degree at Pasco-Hernando State College and transferred to the University of South Florida to earn her Bachelors in Theatre with a concentration in Performance. She graduated in Spring 2020, having been in three shows during her time at USF which include The Crucible (Tituba), Caresses (Middle Age Woman/Woman), and Measure For Measure (Isabella). She also directed and presented a staged reading of Zora Neale Hurston’s Color Struck as her final project under the mentorship of Dr. Stephen Huff which discussed the theme of colorism within the black community. Her other credits include Trafficked as Beth/Secretary with Just Write! Lakeland which dealt with the harsh realities of human trafficking and made her debut with Jobsite in Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange as Old Lady/Governor/Dr. Branom/et al. Jada views theatre as an exploration of the human condition and diving into the emotions that make us human, using acting as a medium to tell stories and make people think. In her downtime, she loves to read and write poetry. She is excited to return to Jobsite in Steve Martin’s Picasso At The Lapin Agile as Germaine. Jada would like to thank her friends and family for supporting her on her journey as an artist as she continues to grow. “If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.”- Toni Morrison
ROBERT SPENCE GABRIEL [he/him] (Pablo Picasso) is a Latino actor from Tampa, Florida. He attended the Theatre Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing arts. He recently returned home from Roanoke, Virginia where he played the (Piraguero) in Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights. Robert has been seen in past Jobsite productions such as The Threepenny Opera (Jake), Hir (Isaac), and Romeo and Juliet (Paris). Other Local Credits: The Lion In Winter (Prince John; Freefall Theatre), War of the Worlds (Featured Singer; Freefall Theatre). Chicago credits: Next Thing You Know (Luke); Elegies For Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens (Brian/Featured Singer).
JONELLE M. MEYER [she/her] (Charles Dabernow Schmendiman) is incredibly excited to be performing in her third Steve Martin production with Jobsite! Previous Steve credits are Corky in Meteor Shower and Gertrude in The Underpants. Aside from her Steve Martin appearances, Jonelle has been a part of many other local productions including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Sylvia, Morningside, Dancing at Lughnasa, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and the one woman run of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe as the charmingly homeless Trudy and 12 other characters. Jonelle is the creator and star of the Jobsite Digital Short; Too Far with Mort LaCourt. Her Mort LaCourt character won her a Creative Loafing Best of the Bay Award for “Best Fake Newsperson” in 2017. She also received the Jeff Norton Award for best actress in a Comedy for Shipwrecked! (Gorilla Theatre), was nominated by Broadway World as best actress for Almost an Evening (Jobsite) and was nominated as best featured actress by Theatre Tampa Bay for her roles in Gnit (Tampa Rep) and 7 Homeless Mammoths Wander New England (American Stage). Jonelle is a proud graduate of Florida School of the Arts with an AS in Acting, a long time cast member of the sketch comedy troupe Some Sort of Show. She would like to thank Kari for this badass role, her momma for the love, her FLAQ family for their support and Pickles for being amazing.
A veteran SAG actor out of Los Angeles and Chicago, DANNY MORA [he/him] (Sagot) thanks the director and cast for the opportunity to perform in his hometown of Tampa. This UF grad would like to shout out TSF, POE, MPZ, and 3033. Much love to his friends and his ever-supportive family.
SYDNEY REDDISH [she/her] (Suzanne, et al) is an actor, creator, and teaching artist recently graduated with a B.A. in Theatre from the University of South Florida. Sydney has trained in Viewpoints and devising, most recently completing an intensive training with Anne Bogart and SITI Company. She was last seen in the Job-site Project, Ship. Some of her favorite credits include Measure for Measure (Lucio), and Virginia Woolf’s Orlando (Orlando).
BRIAN MATTHEW SHEA‘s [he/him](Freddy) Jobsite performing credits include Romeo and Juliet, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry V, Hand To God, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Tempest, A Skull In Connemara, Vanya, Sonya, Masha, and Spike; Time Stands Still, The 39 Steps, Mindgame, and Dracula. He has performed with most of the professional theaters in the Tampa Bay area including American Stage, freeFall Theater, Stageworks, and Hat Trick Theater. This includes productions such as Murder On The Orient Express, Deathtrap, Lend Me A Tenor, Waiting For Godot, The Santaland Diaries, God Of Carnage, Art, Around The World In 80 Days, August: Osage County, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Harvey, The Buffalo Kings, and Twelfth Night. His award-winning independent feature film Waiting On Mary can be streamed on Amazon Prime. With all his works, he strives to honor his late parents, Peter and Pat Shea.
BLAKE SMALLEN [they/them] (Albert Einstein) is a student studying mass communication and theater at the University of South Florida. They were last seen on stage as several characters in Jobsite’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. They also were seen recently as Edward Hyde, Dr. H.K Lanyon, and several others in Jobsite’s 2021 production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Other previous work includes Cabaret (USF), The Hundred Dresses (Innovocative Theatre) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (USF). Blake is an avid videographer and photographer in and out of school and enjoys writing, audio design/ engineering, and making music in their free time.
DONOVAN WHITNEY [he/him] (A Visitor) is ecstatic to be working with Jobsite again after previously appearing with them last season as Alex in A Clockwork Orange! He loves to volunteer and he has served as a teaching artist for Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and American Stage. Film credits include: Paperline (WatsTower Films); Nothing Else Matters (DreamMakerz Productions). Florida theater credits: Joyful! Joyful!; Pipeline (Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe); Evil Dead: The Musical (Stageworks Theatre); Between Riverside and Crazy (American Stage). Other credits include: Prowess (Storefront Theatre of Indianapolis); Paper Swords: A Musical (Indianapolis Fringe). He is represented by Level Talent Group.
The Production Team:
KARI GOETZ [she/her] (Director) happily lives two lives as a non-profit community leader and as a creative artist. Some would say that, by necessity, it’s the same job. She is thrilled to be back at Jobsite where she has been an artistic associate since 2002, when she moved to Tampa from Los Angeles, where she was a founding member of The Second City Hollywood. Goetz has directed and performed in numerous Jobsite productions, as well as Stageworks Theatre. She holds a BFA in Theater Performance from the University of Florida, and an MA in Communication from the University of South Florida. Goetz is (almost) Florida native (by six months), and a proud member of the Athena Society, board member for Stageworks Theatre, board member of the Tampa Bay Chamber, the advisory board of Visit Tampa Bay, and a long-time resident and enthusiast of Seminole Heights. She lives in a funky bungalow with her groovy husband, her righteous son, and a mess of pets. She shares her thoughts on the podcast, www.thecrabbygals.com.
ANNE ACOSTA [she/her] (Costumes) loves Belle Époque and is thrilled to design Picasso at the Lapin Agile. She is a proud graduate of the University of South Florida’s School of Theatre and Dance, having earned her B.A. in Theatre Design (Costume Concentration) in 2021. While there, she designed her first show Magnetic North, a livestream event penned by director Helen Tennison. The following fall she served as adjunct at her alma mater and designed the Fall 2021 explosive double-bill of Dutchman/ The Owl Answers by LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka and Adrienne Kennedy (respectively) and directed by Clareann Despain. She has since gone on to serve as costume designer for Little Shop of Horrors and Nunsense, both Straz Produced shows directed by David M. Jenkins and Alison Burns-Jackson (respectively) and Patel Conservatory’s Cinderella. She thanks her husband and mother (you guessed it, respectively) for their support. Portfolio: RosatoDesign.com
JO AVERILL-SNELL [she/her] (Lights) is delighted to light Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Audience members may have previously seen her lighting designs here at the Straz in Animals Out of Paper, Nunesense: A-Men, Little Shop of Horrors, A Clockwork Orange, Romeo & Juliet, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Dr. Ride’s American Beach House, Shockheaded Peter, Henry V, Hand to God, Always … Patsy Cline, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, SHOUT! The Mod Musical, A Tuna Christmas, or at StageWorks, Tampa Rep, freeFall, or Urbanite Theatre.
TEAH BANKS [she/her] (Stage Management and Props) has been a happy member of the Jobsite family since Spring 2017, when she joined as an intern. She has since worked several Jobsite shows, including: Animals Out of Paper, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Constellations, Dancing at Lughnasa, as well as running the matinee’s for Othello and The Tempest. She would like to thank David, Newt, Ned, her mother Kelly, and step-father Tom for being so supportive and awesome.
JEREMY DOUGLASS [he/him] (Sound) is a pianist, professional live mannequin, and leader of acclaimed megasuperband the Florida Björkestra. He’s been hailed as “punctual” and “inevitable”. His recent past sees him as music director for Jobsite Theater’s productions of LIZZIE: A Killer Rock Musical, The Threepenny Opera, Hedwig And The Angry Inch, and Shockheaded Peter. He’s composed original music for Jobsite’s productions of The Thanksgiving Play, Hedda, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised], Othello, The Tempest, Meteor Shower, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shockheaded Peter, Romeo & Juliet, and with Björkestra cellist Tom Kersey co-wrote an original score for Jobsite’s Edgar & Emily. As founder of the Florida Bjorkestra, he’s brought to the stage the music of pop pioneers like Bjork and David Bowie (and also a musical from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) with his 24-piece ensemble of Tampa Bay area musical geniuses.
TEA ROBERTS [she/her] (Scenic Artist) is excited to be working with Jobsite, and has worked in various theatres as a scenic artist for the last two years. She would like to send a big thanks to Scott Cooper for starting her on the right path in the theatre world, to Rebekah Lazaridis for all of her wonderful mentorship and painting prowess, and her endlessly supportive partner Hannah Langevin.
BRIAN SMALLHEER [he/him] (Scenic Design and Technical Direction) received his education from Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, Polk Community College (Visual Arts), and University of South Florida (Theatre Design). He has been an Artistic Associate and designer for Jobsite since 1999. As a designer for Jobsite, his work has received two Best of the Bay awards; Best Lighting Design for Einstein’s Dreams (2011) and Best Local Set Designer (2014). He also received Broadway World’s Best Set Design for Time Stands Still and Return to the Forbidden Planet. Other select design credits include SHOCKHEADED PETER, Henry V, Hand to God, DOUBT: A Parable, A Skull in Connemara, LIZZIE, Lebensraum, Annapurna, Orlando, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Mindgame, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, boom!, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The March of the Kitefliers, Gorey Stories, subUrbia and Dracula. In what little spare time he has, Smallheer pursues his passion for visual arts by doing photography and painting. More info at his website bms-designs.com.
JENA RASHID [she/her] (Producing and Engagement Apprentice) graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Theater Studies and a minor in music. Her career, so far, has consisted of working as a stage manager, director, playwright, actor and other roles through her schooling. Her favorite performance credits include Jessica Jewels in in The Butler Did It! for the Orlando Fringe and Understudying Rani in America in One Room at Florida Studio Theater. In her final semester of college she was an intern at the Orlando Shakes as a New Play Development intern and most recently she completed a year-long internship at Florida Studio Theater as a Literary intern. In addition, Jena still writes plays when she can and her works can be found on the NewPlayExchange.org.
DAVID M. JENKINS [he/him] (Producing Artistic Director) is a co-founder of Jobsite. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication (Performance Studies) from the University of South Florida, an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Florida, and a B.A. in Theater Performance, also from USF. He has additionally studied with Moscow State University, the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) and the San Francisco Mime Troupe. In addition to his full-time work for Jobsite, David teaches interdisciplinary coursework in the Judy Genshaft Honors College at USF. Recent directing credits: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Romeo & Juliet, Shockheaded Peter, Henry V, Hand to God, and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 for Jobsite; Little Shop of Horrors, Always … Patsy Cline, and A Tuna Christmas for the Straz Center; The Aliens for Stageworks Theatre. He has been on stage in recent years in DOUBT: A Parable (Father Flynn), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] (himself), 1984 (O’Brien), Cloud Nine (Betty/Edward), A Skull in Connemara (Tom Hanlon), and Time Stands Still (James). Creative Loafing Best of the Bay Awards: Best Stage Director (2020, 2019, 2014), Best Artistic Director (2013, 2008, 2006). Theatre Tampa Bay Awards: Outstanding Director (2017), Outstanding Featured Actor (2017), Outstanding Sound Design (2011), BroadwayWorld Regional Awards: Best Actor (2015), Best Director of a Musical (2014). David has published articles in the scholarly journals Text & Performance Quarterly, Liminalities, and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research. He lives in Tampa Heights in a neat old house with his rad wife and a mess of critters.
STEVE MARTIN [he/him] (Playwright) began his career on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” (1967-1969), for which he earned his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music in 1969. In the mid-1970s, Mr. Martin shone as a stand-up on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Martin’s films are widely popular successes and are the kind of movies that are viewed again and again: The Jerk (1979), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Roxanne (1987), Parenthood(1989), L.A. Story (1991), Father of the Bride (1991), and Bowfinger (1999). As an author, Martin’s work includes the novel An Object of Beauty; the play Picasso at the Lapin Agile; a collection of comic pieces, Pure Drivel; a bestselling novella, Shopgirl; and his memoir, Born Standing Up. His writing has also appeared in The New Yorker. Mr. Martin is an accomplished, Grammy Award-winning, boundary-pushing bluegrass banjoist and composer who has won three Grammys for performing and composing. He has earned numerous honors including an Academy Award, five Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, the Mark Twain Prize, and the Kennedy Center Honor. Mr. Martin and Edie Brickell’s musical Bright Star premiered at The Old Globe in summer 2015, played a limited engagement at The Kennedy Center, and received acclaim in its Broadway run at the Cort Theatre. In addition to five Tony Award nominations, Bright Star received Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score at the Outer Critics Circle Awards.
