The Winter Garden Theater was shuttered in 2024, reportedly after insurmountable financial challenges. The problem was far deeper than finances, however.
The Winter Garden City Commission unanimously approved a partnership with DNA Event Creative to manage the Garden Theater on Plant. DNA Event Creative is a for profit organization that has had to hit the ground running to bring together a 2026-2027 season in just 3 months. It has not been an easy journey.
This listening session was held at the Foundation for a Healthier West Orange to get feedback from members of the Central Florida Theater Community. From what I had read on a Central Florida Theater Forum online, I went into this meeting thinking that Winter Garden fostered a theater that was not welcoming to performers and technicians who were not white. What happened in the past at the theater has caused a firestorm online that has fostered a lack of trust. Only one woman in the room was black. One person said that other creatives refused to come because they had been burned so many times in the past.
Discussions in this Listening Session hinted at what had happened in the past, but those responsible were never named and the specifics were not discussed. The topic was treated like walking on eggshells. One person described the situation like buying a home and the past homeowner was a horrible person who kicked his dog and annoyed the neighbors. As nice as the new homeowner might be, the home would always be known as a horrible place by all in the neighborhood.
The hope of DNA Event Creative was to focus on moving forward and not making the same mistakes of the past. History tends to repeat itself when history is ignored.The analogy was made that the events of the past were being swept under the rug. Those events were so horrible that it made the rug so bumpy that you would be sure to trip if you walked across it.
One speaker said that he knew what white privilege felt like because he had lived in a city where he was the minority. When the car with him and his high school buddies was pulled over by police, he felt safe but his friends were afraid for their life’s. This room suddenly felt like a circle of white privilege. The moderator who kept the listening session on track was in silhouette. I could never see his face because he was back lit.
The owners of DNA Event Creative were accused of not wanting to hear from the community because they turned off comments on their social media site. They explained that they needed to protect their actors who were getting angry comments for participating in the first theater production. The comments were so angry and vitriolic that they could destroy an actor. The owners felt like parents who needed to protect their kids. Online algorithms are designed to foster conflict and anger. Those emotions generate more clicks.
Live theater is a rare community experience where people gather in a dark room together for a shared experience. What happens on stage can influence how people think of the world. When the world is on fire any production that promotes empathy or compassion is important.
I don’t know the details of what transpired in the past at the Garden Theater. What I have heard is all second hand information. It is clear from things said at this meeting that the pain caused lingers, has spread, and had not been resolved. It was established that the guilty parties were fired and will have nothing to do with any production moving forward. There was discussion that the city itself which owns the theater might not approve of racially diverse productions in the future. The owners at DNA expressed that the city does not take a creative roll in productions.
I feel lucky to have worked with the Orlando Shakes on their posters because their productions always have open auditions and the best actor is picked regardless of race or ethnicity. When a black actress was cast as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, there was online racist comments but the theater protected the cast and refused to allow any further racist commentary.
We are living in a time where racists are emboldened by the actions of the present administration. In such a divisive time live theater is needed more than ever to encourage open thought and dialogue. Criticism is easy but creative thought and action is hard. The enthusiasm of the owners at DNA Event Creative was contagious. He leaned forward in his chair constantly on tip toe. She sat beside him confident and calm. DNA is a woman owned business and these two were pumping their own money into the theater in the hope that it might rise like a Phoenix from the ashes.