Creative Loafing's Multi-Faceted Performing Arts Fest Returns to Tampa

Creative Loafing's fourth annual Gasp!, presented by Tampa International Airport, is a performing arts event like no other - a kaleidoscopic circus of theater, dance, music, spoken word, visual art, soundscapes, cabaret and more at the Tampa Museum of Art this Friday, March 31st, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets available at GaspTampa.com.

Gasp! - created in 2014 by Creative Loafing in collaboration with the Tampa Museum of Art - is the only festival during Gasparilla Arts Month (aka March) that focuses primarily on the performing arts, showcasing multiple genres that collide and surprise.

At any given moment during the evening, you could see a balloon-art recreation of a Magritte painting, try your luck with a human skill-crane machine, thrill to a steampunk pole dance, watch actors interpreting artworks, see dancers improvising to audio installations, as well as cheerleaders, belly dancers and maybe even a flash mob or two, at different places on and around the museum plaza and ground floor.

The visual riches of the museum's current shows - Alex Katz: Black and White and Who Shot Sports? - as well as its Permanent Collection will also be open to festival-goers, and food and drink will be available from Mise en Place and Sono Café.

Creative Loafing, in collaboration with Video Shampoo, has released series of promotional videos for Gasp! on March 31st. To view the official trailer and select individual performance pieces, click here. For additional videos, visit Creative Loafing's YouTube Channel.

NEW TO GASP! IN 2017

Infinite Third (Billy Mays III): The Ambient Installation Series. The experimental guitar virtuoso (son of the late TV personality) creates immersive soundscapes that envelop audiences and provide improvisatory inspiration to performers.

Brian Feldman: "The Skill Crane Kid." A truly original performer from Orlando, he'll be doing residencies at the Morean Arts Center and in St. Pete kitchens later this spring, and for Gasp! he'll be crawling inside a Skill Crane machine for a sideshow performance like nothing else.

Mark Byrne the Balloon Guy: "Magritte & Me." A mind-blowing homage to the surreal art of Rene Magritte using sleight of hand, levitation and, of course, balloons.

The Real Clash: The mega-talented seven-piece band out of St. Petersburg College's Music Industry/Recording Arts (MIRA) program brings "the soul of hip-hop without all the additives and fillers."

Sheryl Oring: "Greetings from Tampa Bay." In this collaboration with the museum and Tampa International Airport, artist Sheryl Oring, in the guise of a '50s stenographer, types the tales of Gasp! fest-goers, which will eventually become part of an installation at TIA.

Nicole Hays & A.J. Vaughan: "Tank & Tilly's Clockwork Cabaret." A steampunk-themed variety show by a St. Pete Circus performer/body artist/pole dancer and her violinist partner.

Helen Hansen French: "Fledgling No More." The exquisite dancer from The Palladium's BEACON series in a dance inspired by "The Pinnacle," a painting by fellow Creative Pinellas grantee Steven Kenny.

Dolce Couture. A collection of one-of-a-kind, fun Avant Garde designs.

Gil Perlroth's The Circus Has Not Died, It's Alive and Prospering in Washington, D.C. Perlroth, the prolific and popular musical comedy composer, showcases songs from his new musical inspired by The Donald, portrayed by the multi-talented A.J. Vaughan.

Studio@620's Voodoo Macbeth (expert). A preview of Bob Devin Jones's dynamic re-envisioning of Shakespeare's Macbeth, featuring Erica Sutherlin and Calvin M. Thompson

University of Tampa Dancers: "Four-Fifths"
A striking collaboration between choreographer Susannah LeMarquand and UT students Julia Call, Kalina DuBuc, and Cara Hazel

Moving Current Dance Collective: "You've Got This!"
Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" underscores a memorable duet by Brooke Bradley and Crystal DelGiudice.

Gasp!-Phrastic: Borrowing a page from Keep St. Pete Lit's wildly successful Fantastic Ekphrastic, area writers were invited to choose from among 23 evocative images in TMA's Alex Katz and sports photography shows and create stories, poems, essays, plays, even songs in response, to be performed either by themselves or actors (or, in one case, a dancer). Participating writers include Bonnie Agan, Patrick Brafford, Matt Cowley, Sheila Cowley, Erica Dawson, Roxanne Fay, Sheree L. Greer, Christen Hailey, Maureen McDole, Matthew McGee, Gloria Munoz, Tom Schmidt, Tom Sivak, Paul Wilborn, and the teen poets from Heard 'Em Say.

RETURNING FAVORITES

Roxanne Fay: "Paradise Whiskey." The award-winning actor and writer in her one-woman tour de force.

Audrey Richter/Collective Soles: "Magdalena." A tribute to the life, legacy, and artwork of Frida Kahlo. Choreographed and performed by Audrey Richter of Collective Soles Dance Company, this dance solo experiments with color, texture, and display as an ode to the feminist artist's iconic paintings.

The GASParet: Pop standards, witty patter, and a luxe lounge atmosphere starring Paul Wilborn & Eugenie Bondurant, Becca McCoy, and more stars TBA.

David Manson/Mobile Itinerant Funk Unit: A marching band that brings the funk, with brass, percussion, and other joyful noises.

Hip Expressions: Traditional belly dance and some surprising variations

Sultan Fuego, The Man Immune to Pain. Gasp! favorite Daniel Funk, aka The Human Blockhead, returns in all his fire-breathing, sword-swallowing, nail-driving glory.

Noel Rochford: The lead singer of UNRB returns for a solo gig this year, what he describes as "a psychedelic electric ukulele hybrid experience."

The Heard Em Say Youth Arts Collective Gasp! Poetry Slam: Young poets with something to say and the chops to make themselves heard.

AND LOTS, LOTS MORE

Tickets to Gasp! 2017 include free admission to the Tampa Museum of Art exhibitions, Alex Katz: Black and White and Who Shot Sports?. Food and beverages from Mise en Place and Sono Café will be available for purchase, or included with purchase of VIP tickets.

Event Details:
Friday, March 31st | 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Tampa Museum of Art | 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza in Downtown Tampa

Tickets:
GA: $25 Advance | $30 Door
VIP: $55 Advance | $60 Door
Students, Active Military, & TMA Members: $10 OFF at door with valid ID

Attendees needing a place to stay after Gasp! are encouraged to book a room at the Official Hotel, Aloft Downtown Tampa. Aloft is within walking distance and less than 1/2 a mile away from Tampa Museum of Art. For more information on book a room, click here.

Tickets on sale now at GaspTampa.com.