My Favorite Time of Year
By Dr. Dee Stephenson of Stephenson Eye Associates, A Christmas Carol Sponsor
“We are pleased to have the support once again this year of Dr. Dee Stephenson. Dr. Dee began sponsoring A Christmas Carol during my first year directing it—2002—and has continued to support it every year since. Not only is A Christmas Carol our longest-running show, but Dr. Dee is our longest-running show sponsor. Thanks, Dee! It’s been a true pleasure.” ~ A Christmas Carol‘s former director, Murray Chase
I’ve been sponsoring A Christmas Carol for 22 years now. It’s become one of my favorite traditions during my favorite time of year. I can trace my reasons for being a sponsor back to my childhood in Clearwater where I grew up loving the arts. My dad loved plays and musicals. Even the worst musical, he loved. My family supported Ruth Eckerd Hall, and I participated at Clearwater Little Theatre. Years later I started my ophthalmology practice on the east coast of Florida in Port St. Lucie, but I knew I eventually wanted to get back to the west coast. So, in 1989, I made the permanent move to Venice and have loved raising my daughter, Tess, growing my practice, and connecting with the community here. At first, I was not aware of all the cultural opportunities in Venice, but my patients and friends recommended the theatre and told me to see for myself all it had to offer. One of those friends was Lori Chase, wife of the wonderful former Executive Director Murray Chase. She and I worked together at the Surgical Center at St. Andrews. (I will never forget how she could belt out “Stormy Weather” at the St. Andrews’ Christmas parties!) Lori suggested that people would get to know me, and I would connect with the community if I supported the theatre. As a longtime Lions Club member, I also knew I wanted to help children experience the sights and sounds of live theatre. It turned out that my profession, my love for children, my love for the arts, and my love of the Christmas Season all came together perfectly in the opportunity to sponsor A Christmas Carol. It’s a privilege to support a theatrical production that families with young children can enjoy around the holidays. In my own family, my niece Alex and my nephew Robby would join me for shows for many years and, after Tess was born, she accompanied me to Venice Theatre productions. Tess went on to participate in Venice Theatre’s Summer Education Programs.
Like Lori suggested, the theatre is definitely a great place to get to know people and connect with the community. Kathy Lang and Maggie Riggle were great friends of Venice Theatre with me in the early days. We shared a love of its SummerStock and Loveland Players programs. And I’ll never forget heading over to the old Smitty’s Tavern or Norma Jean’s for parties after performances of A Christmas Carol to celebrate the season. Maria Santagada, Bill Cosentino and Joseph Giglia, Carolyn and Ed Boudreaux, who were also connected via the Lions Club, and many other great friends would join us. When I couldn’t attend a show, I gave tickets to friends and offered seats to my staff for their families.
After more than three decades in Venice, the two places I continue to donate to are the Lions Club and Venice Theatre. Venice Theatre stays on my list because of Lori and Murray’s urging and because of people like Brad Wages, who is great with the kids and a wonderful artist. People like the late Yvonne “Pinky” Pinkerton who became a patient of mine, as well as former costumer Joan Dillon and my current patient Francine Smetts, who uses her artistic talent to work on costumes and set painting.
But I mostly sponsor A Christmas Carol year after year because the community is so involved. So many Venetians go to Venice Theatre and always have. I’ve seen so many of them in the audience or on stage in A Christmas Carol over the years! I hope that Venice Theatre gets back up and running to full capacity in the Jervey Theatre so that we can build new programs for the future. Arts programs are never funded well enough, yet the community needs Venice Theatre, and our children gain so much by participating here. Not many small towns like ours get to watch young people grow up on the stage and then go on to great careers on or off Broadway or in many other fields, building on the skills they developed at the second largest community theatre in the United States. We should “count our blessings.”
“Dr. Dee gets it. She has seen more than a full generation of Carol performers grow up and then involve their own children in this annual treasure. She has faithfully supported that growth through her attendance and, of course, through her sponsorship,” shared Murray. He adds: “A great many people nowadays don’t realize that VT’s version of A Christmas Carol was once a fledgling venture, running only four to five performances each year to small audiences. The theatre stuck with this project, believing in its worth and watching it develop into the theatre’s greatest long-term success. Venice Theatre continues to support new ventures, artistic events of all kinds such as cabarets and concerts, a full education curriculum, and America’s only international community theatre festival. This year we’ve added another venture – Venice Laughs! which is bringing new audiences and new joy to the VT stage.” Thank you to sponsors Ulla & Kent Crickard for supporting this new stand-up comedy fest.
As 2025 takes shape, the restored Jervey Theatre will take shape too, in the form of new steel beams rising. As you recover from one season and begin to celebrate the next, please consider Venice Theatre in your year-end plans. As a reminder, here are some ways you can join Dr. Dee to help us rise:
• Show sponsorship
• Recurring monthly gift
• Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your retirement account(s)
• Gift of appreciated stock
• A check dropped in the mail to Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave W, 34285
Open your eyes to the possibilities and join Dr. Dee and in making Venice Theatre whole again. Questions? Contact camille@venicetheatre.net.