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Center Place Denied Grant

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2007

Updated: 10/22/2007 07:22 pm

BRANDON - More than half of the 4,000 underprivileged schoolchildren who usually see live theater at Center Place Fine Arts and Civic Association in Brandon most likely will miss out on the experience this year.

That's because, for the first time in six years, the Arts Council of Hillsborough County turned down Center Place's request for a Cultural Development Grant to subsidize the program.

The nonprofit cultural arts center has received grants ranging from $17,000 to last year's $25,671 to subsidize children's visits to plays produced by professional companies such as Stages Productions, Fantasy Theatre Factory and Play'n Around Theatre.

Former Center Place Executive Director Claudia Yake said the center began offering the performances 17 years ago when Center Place moved into its existing facility, which has a stage in the Sandy Rodriguez Center adjoining the Brandon Regional Library.

Schoolchildren were invited to attend at a reduced ticket price of $4, about half of what they would pay for the performance at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Center Place subsidized the remainder of the ticket prices through sales from its Pat's Corner gift shop, Wild Dame Night and annual patron party.

The plays proved such a hit that Center Place's board of directors decided to apply for the arts council grant so it could offer live theater free to Title I schools, Yake said. Title I schools are those with a high percentage of children from families who live below the poverty line.

'It was always known the money was to help Title I schools,' Yake said. 'That was our intention. There is nothing like seeing the delight on the face of a child from Dover Elementary School who has never seen live theater before. It just captures your heart.'

She recalls getting a call from the principal of Pinecrest Elementary School in 2005. The principal had a number of students who were refugees from hurricanes Katrina, Dennis and Rita and Hurricane Charley in Port Charlotte the year before.

'The kids just really needed something special to take their minds off everything they'd been through,' Yake said. 'So she asked if she could bring them out for a show. It did wonders for them.'

Other Title I schools in east Hillsborough that have sent students to plays at Center Place include Trapnell, Lopez, Kingswood, Clair-Mel, Yates, Palm River, Mango and Potter elementary schools. Last year, 4,164 students saw live theater, thanks to the arts council grant.

'A lot of these kids have never been exposed to live theater before in their lives,' said Darci D'Onofrio, who took over as executive director of Center Place when Yake retired in February. 'They're thrilled when they walk in here.'

'You just never know how this could influence a child's life,' Yake said. 'They might think: 'I could dance' or 'I could act.' This might give them an opportunity they never thought of.'

But Yake said obtaining arts council grants was never a walk in the park.

'It was always a tough process. The panel always asked a lot of questions. You have to be prepared,' she said. 'But in the end, they always saw the value of what we were doing.'

D'Onofrio wasn't taking chances. As Yake had done the past few years, D'Onofrio had a professional grant writer prepare Center Place's application.

So she said she was shocked when she walked away with no money this year.

Art Keeble, executive director of the arts council, said it came down to too many unanswered questions about Center Place's operating budget.

'It's a competitive process,' Keeble said.

Decisions are based on four criteria: overall quality, cultural excellence, public impact and outreach and financial/administrative management.

The panel that chooses grant recipients consists of three members of the arts council and four arts professionals from outside Hillsborough County. They use a score sheet to rate the applicants on the various criteria. Applicants must receive at least 85 points to qualify for a grant. Center Place received 84.

Keeble said 32 applicants vied for $200,000, a 15 percent reduction from last year due to county budget cuts. Twenty-eight received grants ranging from $8,600 to $40,000, including the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Stageworks, Bits 'n Pieces Puppet Theatre in Dover, the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus, the Arts Council of Plant City and the Plant City Children's Theater.

Center Place, the Ybor City Museum Society, Hat Trick Theatre Productions and WMNF-FM radio were turned down.

Yake said it was disheartening that the grant's purpose was lost in the financial detail.

'It's the kids who lose,' she said. 'They're the ones that it's for.'

Keeble said the grant's purpose was not specifically outlined.

After learning that Center Place would not receive a grant from the arts council this year, the Presidents' Roundtable of Greater Brandon, a group made up of various Brandon civic and nonprofit organizations, voted to donate $10,000 to Center Place to help fund the children's theater program. The group also plans to solicit other organizations and launch fundraisers to cover the remaining costs.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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