Asolo Theatre Company

Asolo Theatre Company (Sarasota, Florida). An 18th‐century theatre in Asolo, Italy (which once featured Eleanore Duse), was purchased by the estate of John Ringling and reassembled in Sarasota in the 1950s. A group of faculty and students from Florida State University (FSU) formed a company in 1960 to perform in the historic structure and the theatre became a fully professional company in 1966. Having outgrown its original home, the troupe moved in 1990 to the new Asolo Center for the Performing Arts, which houses the 500‐seat Mertz Theatre and, as of 1994, the 161‐seat Cook Theatre. In addition to a full season of classic and modern drama, the group is active in the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for theatre training.