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HELP THE BURT REYNOLDS INSTITUTE ON MAY 5 & 6 DURING THE GREAT GIVE FUNDRAISER
Thanks to generosity of both the United Way of Martin and Palm Beach Counties and the Community Foundation of Martin and Palm Beach Counties, you can become a philanthropist for a day through the Great Give 2015 24-hour fundraiser.
This is a virtual event that assists local non-profits to raise much needed funds. By visiting the page dedicated to the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre and making a donation, you will help to open the doors of a new Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum. Additionally, the money raised will help to build a new Burt Reynolds Institute and Theatre, where classes and shows will be offered for all to enjoy.
Listing Details:
When: From 5PM on May 5, 2015 until 5PM on May 6, 2015
Where: Online at https://www.greatgiveflorida.org/#npo/burt-reynolds-institute-for-film-and-theatre
THE BURT REYNOLDS INSTITUTE FOR FILM & THEATRE: WHERE ART AND LIFE BECOME ONE
By Donna M. Carbone
Flashback to 2010: I remember the surge of anticipation I felt each time I approached the intersection of
U.S. Highway One and Indiantown Road. Peeking up from under the Indiantown Road Bridge was a grey
roofed building barely visible to the thousands of commuters who passed by each day. Lucky drivers
glanced out their window and caught a glimpse of the red and white lettered sign announcing that this
building was home to the Burt Reynolds Museum and the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film & Theatre.
Smart drivers turned their car around and headed for the entrance just a few feet down the road.
For the many thousands of fans and friends who passed through its doors, the Burt Reynolds Museum
was a treasure trove of Hollywood memorabilia. On a backdrop of scarlet lit by crystal chandeliers, the
walls played host to hundreds of signed photographs and posters of celebrities from the golden age of film
to the present day. Display cases, filled with awards and souvenirs from Burt Reynolds’ fifty plus years in
the entertainment, industry presented a visual history of one man’s journey from local football hero to
mega box office star. For residents and visitors to Palm Beach County, the Museum offered hours of
enjoyment and an opportunity to get to know the stars who had influenced their lives over the last five
decades.
For those with a hankerin’ to do more than just look, the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre
offered a wide variety of classes for beginning actors and experienced thespians. It also offered classes for
those who preferred to remain behind the scenes. Selections ranging from Improvisation, Fundamentals of
Acting, Creative Writing, Filmmaking, Voiceover Technique, and Stage Fighting were available at
reasonable cost. Classes for children over the age of 12 were also offered. A Master Class taught by Burt
Reynolds was open to actors who passed the audition process. If perfecting a craft and gaining self-confidence was the goal or, if someone just wanted to live out a dream, the Institute was the place to be.
I remember a fan asking Burt Reynolds to comment on the success of Smokey and the Bandit and he said,
"It was one of those rare happenings when the moon and stars align and everything works." That’s exactly
how every visitor and student at the Museum and Institute felt… and will feel again… with your help!
For the last three years, the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre has continued to offer quality
education in the arts at affordable prices. Unfortunately, those classes are no longer offered in “a home of
their own.” Since we were displaced by urban development, the Mirror Ballroom in the Lake Park Town
Hall has served as “our place,” and we are grateful for the welcome we have received. The Museum, with
all its wonderful treasures, has been in storage. BUT…we have a dream in which we prove author
Thomas Wolfe wrong…we CAN go home again.
You can be a philanthropist for a day. Great Give 2015 makes it easy.
For a 24-hour period beginning at 5PM on May 5 and ending at 5PM on May 6. the Burt Reynolds
Institute for Film and Theatre will be participating in the Great Give 2015, an online giving event led by
the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties and the United Way of Palm Beach and
Martin Counties. Your donation will go a long way toward helping us secure the new Burt Reynolds
Institute, home of the Burt Reynolds Museum.
Donate at: https://www.greatgiveflorida.org/#npo/burt-reynolds-institute-for-film-and-theatre
THE BURT REYNOLDS INSTITUTE MOURNS THE LOSS OF JAMES BEST
On Monday evening, April 6, the entertainment world lost a much loved star. The actor, well known as the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, passed away at a hospice facility following a brief illness and complications from pneumonia. He was 88 years old. Mr. Best appeared on Gunsmoke, Mod Squad, and Bonanza, to name a few. He also formed an acting school in the '70s where he taught Hollywood greats like Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Lindsay Wagner, Farrah Fawcett, and Quentin Tarantino.
Burt Reynolds talks about his friend, James Best:
"It's such a shame to hear of the loss of James Best. Jimmie really was a great actor, but more than that he was a great teacher of acting. I was fortunate enough to call him my friend since the day he walked on the set of Gunsmoke back in the early 60s. Following that, we worked together on a number of projects both behind the scenes and on camera--two of which need to be mentioned here.
Without his insight behind the scenes of my directorial debut, Gator, I would've been lost. And on Hooper; he was right there beside me--in front of the camera playing a role that came easy to him: my good friend, comrade, and rabble-rouser 'Culley.' Onset or off, behind the scenes, in front of a class, or just as a friend, his name was so fitting because he was truly the ‘best’ at whatever he did.
My heart is heavy, and I miss him deeply."
MANAGING DIRECTOR DONNA CARBONE HONORED IN DALLAS
On Sunday evening, April 19, Managing Director Donna Carbone was honored at The Black
Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL) in Dallas, Texas with a presentation of her stage play,
Shell of a Man. Donna’s writing was one of only four pieces to be chosen for TBAAL’s 2014-
2015 season. The experience, to use her own words, was "humbling."
Under the direction of award winning actor/director/writer Akin Babatunde, actors brought the
true story of Robert Logan, a Vietnam veteran suffering with PTSD for 40 years, to life. The
response was overwhelming acceptance and concern for the real Robert whose identity Donna
has never revealed. Brought on stage after the performance, Donna spent another 90 minutes
conversing with the audience, some of whom were veterans.
Asked how it felt to be acknowledged so warmly, Donna said, “I was thrilled that Robert’s story
was able to evoke so much emotion but my greatest thrill was being asked how I managed to
capture their voices and their experiences with such accuracy. I gave credit where credit was due.
Robert set me on the path and I merely followed his lead. It is his voice the audience hears… not mine.”
Synopsis:
Robert L tasted the prejudice of a Southern upbringing. He was conceived without love to a 16
year-old-girl and given away to foster parents. He picked his first bag of cotton at the age of two.
When he turned 18, he joined the Army and was sent to Vietnam where he witnessed and took
part in actions no human being should have to experience. He became hard. He lost faith. He saw
death and wished to die.
After two tours of duty, Robert returned home; he was different and so was the country of his
birth. While he succeeded in his professional life, his personal life spiraled out of control until
the past and the present blended into a nightmare from which he could not escape. Then, a
woman and a child gave him back a reason to live. He became a husband, a father, a law
enforcement officer, a union president and a janitor. He gave his heart to a woman, his soul to his
child, dedication to his country and loyalty to his employers.
Robert is smart, funny, kind, loving and scared. He is alone in a roomful of people. He has
known some joy but the memory is lost to depression. He has tasted the cold steel barrel of a gun
and chosen not to swallow a bullet. Although he has been imprisoned in his own mind for years,
he has survived -- but at what cost. Robert is a real person. He is one man. He is many men.
BURT REYNOLDS INSTITUTE ACTORS NEEDED FOR STAGED READINGS
Creative Writing for the Author in All of Us students have been enjoying the talents of the Burt Reynolds Institute actors during the twice-a-month staged readings. Scripts under development are presented in staged reading format so that writers can hear how their words will sound when delivered on film. This allows for questions and feedback from the actors which benefit the writers during the editing process. Both actors and writers have been enjoying their time together and have gained a new respect for the effort it takes to bring a script from conception to completion. Actors wishing to participate in these readings should contact Donna at info@burtreynoldsinstitute.org or by calling 561-743-9955.
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