MAY 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE 49
500 more than the current auditorium–an
education center, enhanced acoustics and
performance technology, and event spaces
to support rentals. The need for a more
modern facility to meet contemporary
production needs was brought home
recently with The Lion King, which ran in
March. Mounting that production required
costumes, scenery and equipment.
This goal is personally meaningful for
Mendelson because performing arts were
piano and her dad was active in community
theater. Saturday nights were often spent
with friends singing show tunes around
the piano. Mendelson and her sister tap
crafted for the occasion. “My childhood
gave me the sense that music, theater and
the arts help bring people together,” she
says. “It was a strong moral direction for my
family and helped shape who I am today.”
The second goal is to continue to grow
the Van Wezel’s art education and
community engagement programs, which
provide performances for more than
30,000 students annually and bring the
arts to families who may not be able to
enjoy them otherwise. The programming
includes classroom support and arts integrated professional
development for teachers. An experience with her now
importance of classroom support for teachers.
The Nutcracker,
and when I asked him how the ballet was, he said ‘Mom,
you’re not going to believe it. They didn’t say a word for two
hours’,” she says. “Teachers need to be equipped to translate
performances into meaningful ways that kids are learning and
to be taught how to use it in math, STEAM and language arts.”
Building on her background in human services, Mendelson
also plans outreach to the area’s human services agencies to
address psychosocial issues. “When you work with community
partners and people attend performances as a family,” she
says, “then it really starts to embed. But these programs only
happen through philanthropic support.”
Mendelson describes her third goal as a civic-minded mission
to ensure Sarasota continues to grow as a mecca for arts
and culture along the Gulf Coast. “I’m not sure the broad
community is aware of how impactful having an iconic new
essence of Sarasota for generations to come,” she says. “It’s a
legacy project that I hope everyone will embrace and want to
get involved with.”
“When you work with
community partners
and people attend
performances as a
family, then it really
starts to embed. But these
programs only happen
through philanthropic
support.”