Georgios Tsambis makes his ThinkTank directing debut with this production. \u201cI was drawn to Tasters because after reading it, I wanted to be in it! haha! How many plays are about little girls trying to survive?\u201d he said. \u201cWitnessing these girls fight for their lives contrasted by the simple desire to just be girls- that is the drama.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tsambis leans into the script\u2019s blend of humor and dread. \u201cOftentimes at rehearsals I feel like I am watching the girls at a sleepover. They will giggle and I will giggle!\u201d he said. \u201cWe use Mean Girls vocabulary to tell what is so much more than a Mean Girls story.\u201d<\/p>\n
His direction centers on the idea that the characters are still teenagers despite the danger surrounding them. \u201cIf the action is \u2018to be a girl\u2019 or \u2018to have fun\u2019 then the obstacle is war,\u201d he said. \u201cWar is the obstacle here and as the director I am a zealous advocate for trying to get my girls what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n
The black box setting amplifies that tension.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have emphasized at almost every rehearsal that \u2018there is nowhere to hide,\u2019\u201d Tsambis said. \u201cWith the audience inches in front of them on three sides, everything the actors do can be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cast reflects that same emotional duality.<\/p>\n
Madalyn Macko, who plays Hilda, agreed. \u201cIt is nearly like they are there communing at the table with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
She spoke about the bond among the performers. \u201cRelying on shared experiences that transcend any age gap we have reminded us of how beautifully complex girlhood is.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She also confronted the challenge of portraying a girl shaped by ideology. \u201cHaving all the insights of a woman in the present day made it challenging to truthfully honor Hilda\u2019s willingness to not only accept, but preach nazi ideology,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has been a humbling experience and only caused me to look deeper at my own privileges this very moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Previews:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tasters.png\" "\\"Previews:")
YAE member Yara Perez (Margot) prepared by holding both sides of the character\u2019s world at once. \u201cEven in moments where we are just having normal girl talk we have to be careful of what we say and who we talk about because we never know who\u2019s listening to us,\u201d she said, and noted the challenge of tone. \u201cThe most challenging part was trusting that the humor would land in the way that we want without taking away the tension of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Ava Zientek (Liesel), the emotional shifts are constant. \u201cThe constant back and forth within every moment is the most challenging because we are constantly switching into different and extreme emotions,\u201d she said. \u201cThe small size makes it more realistic, like we’re actually living through these moments together versus performing them for an audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erin Gordon (Anna) found that the space reshaped her performance. \u201cThere is genuinely no place to hide in the background when you’re in such a small show in an intimate setting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As Gordon dug deeper into her character, she discovered more than she expected. \u201cDespite these \u2018ditzy\u2019 moments, she is really a curious and well-meaning person, who just happens to struggle with knowing when to stop talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the ensemble, the intergenerational collaboration has become a defining strength. As Zientek put it, \u201cWe were able to build a trust that made the process more fun and playful especially when we’re dancing on tables or taking selfies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tsambis believes the play\u2019s blend of eras invites audiences to consider the persistence of complacency. \u201cThe story isn\u2019t ancient history,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could happen in 2016, 2026 or 2036.\u201d<\/p>\n
H*tler\u2019s Tasters is April 11-13 at Tampa Fringe Blackbox Theatre, 1624 E 7th AVE <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udfad NEW! Tampa Theatre Newsletter Get all the top news & discounts for Tampa & beyond. On stage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-204090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTampa, FL 33605. Tickets are\u00a0$15 for Students\/Artists\/Seniors,\u00a0$22 for Adults, and\u00a0$25 for those who Love Theatre and want to give a little extra. Learn more and buy tickets at\u00a0https:\/\/www.thinktanktya.org\/htasters<\/a><\/p>\n