Curated 'Spooky' Art Show Ties In With St. Pete Theater Production

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg theater is embracing the visual arts through a new showcase of curated works that tie in with its latest stage production.

As The Off-Central, a nonprofit theater company at 2260 1st Ave. S., stages “Ghost Stories from Yellowstone,” written and directed by local playwright Bill Leavengood, through Sunday, those attending the play can enjoy a corresponding curated art show, “Ghost Stories & Spooky Vibes,” in the lobby.

The theater will also be open to anyone who wishes to check out the art at least an hour before each show — sometimes longer. If the open sign is out front, anyone is welcome in, Ward Smith, the theater’s producing artistic director told Patch.

An art reception, where the show’s curator, Nela Lamb, and many of the featured artists will be on hand, is also planned for Saturday, 5 to 8 p.m.

Smith and his sister, Karen Riffe, business manager, purchased the black box theater space, which formerly housed the Andi Matheny Acting Studios drama school, and launched Off-Central during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The siblings knew from the beginning that they wanted to add an element of the visual arts to their theater space.

“Since our first show, we’ve tried to have some sort of visual art alignment,” Smith said. “My sister is an artist, who takes lessons, and has a connection to the art side, to the painting side, and we thought from the beginning that it would be good to have some gallery space, so when you come in, it’s more inviting and we have this wall space displaying art.”

Initially, they brought in artists whose work they appreciated, frequently those connected to the Morean Arts Center. By working with Lamb, the gallery space is now being curated in connection with the theater’s productions.

Up next is “Ceci N’est Pas Surreal,” a surrealist show that will accompany Off-Central’s stage production of “No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre. Submissions are being accepted for the show through Oct. 27.

The upcoming show is “just sort of asking artists to reimagine France, French, Frenchiness and surrealism, and what do those things mean to them and how do they fit together and what does that make them think of,” she told Patch. “That’s what we want to see. I don’t have the answers to any of those questions. I’m waiting to see what the artists’ answers are.”

Lamb first visited the theater in September for its production of “Every Brilliant Thing” by Duncan Macmillan.

“(That’s) a play that deals with suicide, but promises to be uplifting. I was excited to support a theater company that wants to tackle such a difficult subject and during September, which is suicide awareness month,” she said. “I just really enjoyed the authenticity that came across.”

The arts and theater have always been an important part of her life, though she stepped away from it a bit in adulthood. Currently, she’s a ceramicist and member of The Hive, a community-based pottery and art studio.

After watching “Every Brilliant Thing,” Lamb and members of the cast and theater staff discussed various artforms. When staff mentioned they were looking for an art installation for the reception area, she leapt at the opportunity.

Within weeks, she curated “Ghost Stories & Spooky Vibes,” which features 20 works by artists including Coralette Damme, Perry deVick, Gisette Gomez, Cort Hartle, Lauren Kavanagh, Dylan Marvin, Rhys Meatyard, Jenna Michael and Jessica Young. The art ranges from ceramics to oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings. The show opened Oct. 5 to coincide with the play.

“Since the first play is ‘Ghost Stories from Yellowstone’ and it's happening in October, and it’s spooky season, it’s just a theme that seems quite evident and then the second play being ‘No Exit’ and my link to France and that just sort of made me not want to miss that opportunity to do something particular for that play as well,” said Lamb, who lived in France for more than a decade.

She’s excited to bring the visual arts and artists who she admires to atypical venues such as The Off-Central reception area.

“I think it allows for all of us to step outside of what we habitually do. And so it gives us an opportunity to be exposed to things that we wouldn't, that sometimes we can be intimidated to go seek out,” Lamb said.

She added, "This allows everyone who's going to the theater to see all of this art and perhaps discover that they're intrigued by it, or they're confused by it, or they're excited by it or they fall in love with it or they want to do better than it or they want to take it home. And it will also allow people who come to see the art to say, ‘Oh look, here's the theater. And so maybe I always felt intimidated to try and go to the theater, but here it is right next to where this art is that I wanted to come see. And so it just helps us to break down those barriers that some of us have self imposed.”