Podcast: Telling the Truth, Together, Clareann Despain

As Powerstories closes its 25th anniversary year, Artistic Director Clareann Despain returns to the Tampa Bay Arts Passport podcast for a conversation that feels both reflective and urgent.

In this final episode of 2025, Avery Anderson and Clareann talk about what it means to keep telling women’s stories in a moment when truth—and who gets to tell it—feels increasingly fragile. Clareann reflects on Powerstories’ founding by Fran Powers, her own nonlinear journey through theatre, and why storytelling has never just been a profession for her, but a lifeline.

The conversation also looks forward. Clareann offers a preview of Powerstories’ 2026 work, including the relaunch of programs for girls, the return of the Voices of Women Theatre Festival, and a season shaped by a guiding idea: for the greater good. They talk candidly about gaps in representation, why women buy most theater tickets yet remain underproduced, and how meaningful change requires intentional pipelines—not passive hope.

Along the way, the episode grapples with larger realities facing the arts right now: post-pandemic audiences, shrinking funding, burnout, and the temptation to retreat inward. Clareann makes the case for something simpler—and harder—than escapism: showing up. For a show. For a conversation. For each other.

This episode isn’t a recap or a press announcement. It’s a meditation on connection, collaboration, and why live theatre still matters—not just onstage, but in the lobby, in shared laughter, and in the quiet decision to be in the room together.

🎧 Listen to the full episode below.

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