Polk State Music Spring Masterworks Concerts are May 3, 4
Polk State Music will present its Spring Masterworks concert at 7 p.m. on May 3 and 2:30 p.m. on May 4. Both concerts will take place at the Polk State Winter Haven Fine Arts Theatre,…
Class Reunion: Long-Serving Professor, Theatre Director Recalls Landmark Shows, Trends in Polk’s First 40 Years
Thinking back on his 39-year career at Polk State College, Norm Small sorts through a hodgepodge of memories. There are plenty of big, history-making moments, like Antigone, his first production as director of the College’s…
Polk State to Host Black Violin for Two Free Performances
Polk State College will host the classically trained and critically acclaimed duo Black Violin for two performances on April 17. The forces behind Black Violin are Wil B and Kev Marcus, who wield their instruments…
Internationally Acclaimed Musicians to Descend on Lake Wales During Polk State’s First Jazz Festival
During its first-ever Jewel of the Ridge Jazz Festival, the Polk State Lake Wales Arts Center will host musicians whose performance schedules typically send them to New York or Los Angeles. But for three days,…
A Spectacle of a Show: Polk State Theatre to Perform Original, Challenging Version of “Romeo & Juliet”
Just two years ago, Polk State Theatre staged its first-ever production of Shakespeare — by far the most advanced, challenging material it had ever attempted. That first show was a success, the program has performed…
Polk State Music Overcomes “Changing Roster” Challenge With High Expectations
Every semester begins with the same pit-in-the-stomach feeling for Music Professor John Anderson. Between spring and summer, summer and fall, fall and spring, students graduate and new students enroll. At an institution where most students…
Polk State College Lake Wales Arts Center to Host Encore Visit by Photographer Saddi Khali
The Polk State College Lake Wales Arts Center will host artist Saddi Khali for an encore exhibit of original photographs inspired by the city and people of Lake Wales. Khali, a poet, author and photographer,…
Polk Receives Statewide Innovation Award for The Fantasticks
Polk State Theatre’s recent production of The Fantasticks has received two awards from the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA). Polk State Theatre staged The Fantasticks in November, as the second show of its love-themed 2013-14…
Polk State Actors Gain Cultural Awareness, Empathy Through “Brighton Beach Memoirs”
Weeks ago, what Alainna Whatley knew of Jewish culture and tradition had mostly come from the The Nanny, the 1990s sitcom starring Fran Drescher, who rattled one-liners in a thick, nasally New York accent. Then…
Polk State Mourning Loss of Longtime Art Professor Gary Baker; Celebration of Life Planned
Just weeks after honoring him for nearly four decades of service, Polk State College is mourning the loss of Art Professor Gary Baker, who died earlier this week at age 66. Baker worked at Polk…