ISLAND PLAYERS

Island Players virtual “Christmas Carol” a hit

The Island Players are back, having presented a twonight engagement of “A Christmas Carol.”

BY KRISTIN SWAIN

SUN STAFF WRITER t| kswain@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The Island Players were a hit with their online, two-night limited engagement of an original version of “A Christmas Carol,” their holiday gift to the community.

The hour-long performances took place on Dec. 18 and 20 with both the audience and the actors on Zoom. The virtual performances kept everyone safely socially distant, but provided the community with a much-needed return to the theater even though the Island Players’ Theater stage technically remained dark during the limited engagement.

Updated to reflect some of the issues of current times by director and writer Jeffrey Steiger, the play told the age-old story of Ebenezer Scrooge rediscovering his love of Christmas and humanity as he’s visited by the ghosts

SUBMITTED Jay Poppe as the Ghost of Jacob Marley demonstrates the kind of special effects used during the two-night presentation of “A Christmas Carol,” performed virtually over Zoom.

of Christmas past, present and future through a Zoom feed. The longer the night goes on, the more Scrooge, played by Heiko Knipfelberg, realizes the error of his ways and rushes to make the Christmas wishes of those near and dear to him come true before time runs out.

Despite the challenges of not having a cast in the same location and performing on a virtual platform, the cast and crew behind “A Christmas Carol” put their all into the two performances and it was reflected in the joyous reception by virtual audience members.

SUBMITTED Heiko Knipfelberg stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.”

As Scrooge, Knipfelberg was magnetizing, even through a computer screen. Joining him were James Thaggard as the Narrator, Dane Oldham as Fred, Mary Selke as Mrs. Lamb, Mikey Lynch as Bob Cratchit, Jay Poppe as the Ghost of Jacob Marley, Dianne Brin as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Judy Glynn as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Joanie Anton as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Pamela Hopkins as Belle, Alice Cotman as Mrs. Cratchit and Joshua Hanley-White as the Boy.

Every member of the cast turned in a marvelous performance. Selke turned in a particularly loveable performance as Mrs. Lamb while Thaggard was a picture-perfect narrator sitting in his virtual library.

The special effects used by the cast were especially engaging, helping to bring the world of the theater into viewers’ homes. And while some of the effects were computer-generated, others, such as some of the backgrounds used, were the work of local artists engaged to help illustrate Dickens’ world. Visual effects for the limited engagement were managed by Steiger with stage management and sound board services provided by Denise Handley. In addition to starring in the play, Thaggard also designed and edited the playbill delivered virtually to audience members.

While the play was provided as the theater’s free gift to the community, donations to the Island Players are always welcomed to help keep local theater alive during the pandemic. To donate to the Island Players, contact Peg Faarup at 941-778-7374. For more information on the theater, visit https:// www.theislandplayers.org/.

LAWSUIT: Baugh and Van Ostenbridge added

FROM PAGE 1 public that gives the county commission the ability to amend meeting procedures with no advance notice.

On Dec. 7, Barfield filed in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court a legal complaint against Satcher seeking emergency mandamus relief for violation of the Public Records Act.

The Notice of Production filed Saturday names Satcher, Baugh and Van Ostenbridge as defendants, with Barfield named as the plaintiff.

When contacted Monday and asked to summarize the purpose of these latest legal filings, Barfield said, “It amends the lawsuit (originally filed against Satcher) to bring two additional parties in; and to require them to produce records responsive to my requests.”

To date, Barfield has received the personal call log and text messages he requested from Commissioner George Kruse, who is not named in any ongoing legal action initiated by Barfield.

Barfield has received copies of Van Ostenbridge’s text message records between Nov. 3 and Nov. 20 but has not yet received a copy of his personal call log. Barfield said he’s received limited responses from Baugh and has not yet seen her personal call log for that same time period.

Last week, Barfield received Satcher’s personal call log.

The Florida Sunshine Law prohibits elected or appointed city and county officials who sit on a city or county board from discussing official board business with each other in any setting other than a properly noticed public meeting.

It is not a violation of the Sunshine Law to discuss matters unrelated to their official governmental duties.

The call logs Barfield has received to date indicate when the various commissioners communicated with each other, but the call logs do not reveal the nature and substance of those phone conversations.

SATCHER’S CALL LOG

According to Satcher’s call log, he called Van Ostenbridge once during that Nov. 3-Nov.20 period and Van Ostenbridge called him once. Satcher’s call log indicates he initiated a one-minute phone communication with Van Ostenbridge on Nov. 3, which was election day; and Van Ostenbridge initiated a 21-minute phone call on Nov. 7.

According to Barfield, the newly-elected commissioners – Kruse, Satcher and Van Ostenbridge – became subject to the Florida Sunshine Law on election night. They were then officially sworn into office on Nov. 17.

Satcher’s call log indicated he had two phone communications with Baugh, three with Kruse and two with developer Carlos Beruff between Nov. 3 and Nov. 20. The nature of those calls is currently unknown.

VAN OSTENBRIDGE TEXTS

On Friday, Nov. 11, Barfield received copies of Van Ostenbridge’s text message exchanges from Nov. 3 to Nov. 20.

Barfield confirmed that Carlos Beruff is the “Carlos” and “CB” that appears in some of the text message exchanges Van Ostenbridge produced.

According to those records, Beruff sent Van Ostenbridge a text message at 6:51 a.m., less than an hour before his Nov. 19 private meeting with Coryea.

“Good morning you all set,” Beruff wrote.

“All set. Meeting with Cheri at 7:30,” Van Ostenbridge replied.

On Sunday, Nov. 15, Beruff sent Van Ostenbridge a link to a Bradenton Times story that included the headline: “Are special interests gunning for County Administrator?”

That story notes Beruff and other members of the development community pushed for Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance President Dom Dimaio to succeed retiring County Administrator Ed Hunzeker in 2019, rather than Coryea.

“We have a leaker,” Van Ostenbridge wrote in response to Beruff’s text about that story.

On Tuesday, Nov. 17, as part of the same text message exchange with Beruff, Van Ostenbridge wrote, “We have a special meeting on Thursday, after the port meeting. Carol took the bait.”

That message reportedly refers to acting Commission Chair Carol Whitmore supporting Van Ostenbridge’s request for a special meeting discussion about a potential federal shutdown.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, Beruff initiated a text message exchange with Van Ostenbridge that began with a link to an East County Observer story about the county’s plans to build a solid waste transfer station on the recently purchase Lena Road property.

“You may have missed this last week, but it basically says that they bought something they don’t need for 17-20 years,” Beruff wrote.

“They did all they could to saddle use us with this (expletive) we don’t want. At least they’re done. Nothing left for them to do,” Van Ostenbridge replied.

On Thursday, Nov. 5, Beruff sent Van Ostenbridge a text message that said, “Good morning, take a look at this and see what you think. Call me when you get a chance.”

Attached to Beruff’s message was a Microsoft Word document titled “ManCo BOCC (Board of County Commissioners). docx.” The contents of that document are not known and Barfield has not received a copy of that requested document.

“That looks good. I only want to drop the mention of masks. That is too much of a 50/50 issue. Call you in a few,” Van Ostenbridge wrote in his response to Beruff.

Van Ostenbridge’s text records also include an exchange he had with Bob Spencer, from West Coast Tomato, whom, according to Barfield, contributed to the political action committee that supported Van Ostenbridge’s election campaign. That exchange pertains to Van Ostenbridge’s request for a special commission meeting on Nov. 19 – the meeting at which he proposed Coryea’s potential termination.

The exchange referenced then-acting commission chairperson Carol Whitmore.

“We have a special meeting on Thursday after the port meeting. Carol took the bait,” Van Ostenbridge wrote in that text exchange.

“I watched you. Smooth baby,” Bob replied.

“Acted like I was stumbling through it, ha-ha,” Van Ostenbridge wrote.

At 9:33 p.m. on Nov. 19, Van Ostenbridge received a group text message from Chad Choate, a financial advisor at the Edward

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Commissioner James Satcher was the first county commissioner to be named in the lawsuit filed by Michael Barfield.

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Commissioner Vanessa Baugh had not yet produced her personal call log as of Monday.

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge had produced his text messages, but not his personal call log as of Monday.

Jones office in Bradenton. Choate is Facebook friends with Van Ostenbridge and has posted comments at Van Ostenbridge’s Facebook page.

“How long has she been county admin,” Choate wrote in his text message to Van Ostenbridge.

“2 years. She’s been a county employee for over 30 years. A 30-year bureaucrat. It’s time to put a private sector person in charge,” Van Ostenbridge replied.

“Yeah, who replaces her,” Choate wrote.

“Put your name in when the spot opens up,” Van Ostenbridge replied.