ARTS & CULTURE
37 March/April 2020 StPeteLifeMag.com
know they have a chance at a great career
potential retirement in the next few years,
Renken is returning to writing. His recently
available on Amazon.com
Some of the many comments from
students: “ Mr. Renken did so much to help
to produce shows that could appear on any
Karen Bail, a Gibbs alum herself, retired
last year from her role as a music and vocal
instructor after decades of service. She
continues, though, to be a mentor, friend
and fan to a generation of students. In fact,
she revels in it. “I have made traveling to
see my former students perform around
Bail. “Nothing gives me more joy and I’m so
proud of every one of them. Knowing I was a
part of their journey is so meaningful to me.
in the lives of her former students is made
evident by the outpouring of love and
frequent pics with her in their social media
means so much to me that she still comes to
“She loved the music, and made us love it,
The Local Stars
These are but a few of the many great
stories of successful PCCA grads who have
remained or returned to this area to practice
or teach their craft.
Poet Gloria Munoz and her musician/
composer husband Mark Fineman of jazz
ensemble La Lucha (new album released
soon). Both are PCCA grads and met as
students. Munoz also co-founded Pitch
Her Productions with fellow PCCA grad and
actress Chanel Waterhouse. The company
NYC where Waterhouse lives.
Visual artists Laura Spencer and partner,
sculptor George Retkes are recent recipients
of Creative Pinellas Emerging Artists grants -
both PCCA grads. Spencer relates that PCCA
education experience I ever had. It set me
Eva Avenue is an
artist (Eva Avenue Studio) and writer (News
Service editor for the New York Times)
whose time at PCCA “meant so much, I
Dameron and step-father, iconic jazz and
civil rights photographer, Herb Snitzer, it
seems natural for her to be so talented.
Helen Hansen French is our dancing muse.
A PCCA and Julliard grad, Helen came home
from NYC and has helped bring dance here
in St. Pete to its highest level of excellence.
She co-founded Beacon, an annual dance
showcase performed at the Palladium. It is
scheduled this year on April 3. Carrie Jadus
of Carrie Jadus Fine Art & Portraiture in
the Warehouse Arts District, is one of St.
Pete’s best known artists. Her paintings
have been selected to represent the City
of St. Pete, the Tampa Bay Rays and her
murals are some of the most familiar in the
area. Siobhan Monique is the niece of Duke
Ellington ensemble great Buster Cooper
(also a St. Pete native). She came home
from a successful run as an actress on and
as a jazz vocalist.
The ExPETEriots
Of course, the career of Ephraim Sykes,
received a Tony nomination this past year
is slated to star in the new musical about
Michael Jackson...as the LEAD! Sykes has
sister, Martina Sykes, also a PCCA grad,
Together, the siblings have created a
PCCA students.
Dylan Glatthorn
in NYC and is a musician, composer and
lyricist. The two-time recipient of the Alan
Menken Award is working on his third full-
including collaborations with award-winning
William
Joseph Stribling
went all the way to Cannes.
Michelle Dowdy, musical theater grad,
was recruited to Broadway as a Gibbs
senior to be standby for the lead of Tracy in
and on the high seas. Most recently, Dowdy
Alana Clapp was a musical theater student
who switched to tech and rose to become
longest running Cirque du Soliel production
in Las Vegas. Clapp has worked on a number
Cirque, Jamieson Lindenberg traveled the
world with two Cirque productions as lead
vocalist, and currently is assistant director
albums, and is the creator/director of “Girlie
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