Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Donnelly.
Florida native and world-educated Hope Chanel Donnelly founded 8-Count Productions in 2011 as the umbrella brand to create and consult, at the end of a decade working in professional sports entertainment while teaching art and coaching collegiate dance. Hope purchased and re-envisioned the Rialto Theatre in 2013 as a mixed-purpose arts and events space. The Rialto is now filled with wedding celebrations as featured on Southern Living, Pop Sugar, and Carats and Cake, along with an assortment of photo and video productions, dance showcases and cyphers, gallery receptions, community gatherings, and corporate events. Outside of venue management, Hope also curates gallery spaces featuring local artists, volunteers for community and arts planning committees, coordinates public art installations, and consults for historical projects and creatives. She believes in taking risks, historic preservation, making events and spaces green, and community over competition.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life happens. And I would rather risk the fall than worry about the “what ifs” later in life. That is not to say that I don’t calculate these risks and plan them out to the tenth degree, but if I am passionate about it if I am losing sleep over it if I can’t think of anything else…. I am going to take the risk. Sometimes the results are devastating, but sometimes they are amazing, which is why I call this life a roller coaster. I have been fortunate enough to travel many parts of the world, living on a sailboat in the Caribbean at a young age, through France and Spain as a teen, studying in Prague, “the Golden City of the Arts.” Medicine men in Peru in college, performing for a military entertainment tour through Bosnia and Kosovo in my 20’s, and just taking off to Dublin on a whim in my early 30’s. Still, I dream of spending months exploring SE Asia, driving the autobahn, traveling the countryside of Ireland, searching my heritage, and see if I can cure this homesickness to lands I’ve never been to. Tampa is my “home base,” but I am my happiest on the road or on the water exploring new places. I studied art and psychology in college and then sports psychology in grad school, although I have learned much more in the school of life than I ever have from any textbook. For approximately ten years, I worked in professional sports entertainment, another four at the collegiate level, and have been blessed to be on the ice for championship NHL games and on the field for championship NFL and AFL games with a chunky Super Bowl ring tucked in my jewelry box, but the memories and stories to tell made all the training and challenges worth it. Teaching high school art was a daily adventure, and I loved working with teenagers as they prepared for their next stage of life.
However, my biggest risk and adventure to date is entrepreneurship. Purchasing, renovating and running a historic theater as a mixed-purposed arts, entertainment, and event space has tested my limits, and often my sanity, but it is also liberating. I was working on contracts in entertainment management, choreography, and other projects when I was applying for financing, but with a strong business plan and projections, I was able to obtain 100% SBA funding for a creative business. Without that, I would never have had the opportunity to own the Rialto, or any other building, and follow the trajectory of my business. After six years, I was able to refinance better options with a local bank, that has given me the support services and personal touch to survive a pandemic when many small businesses, especially venues and event focused ones, have shuttered. Through hard work, determination, believing that there is no box and a touch of luck, 8-Count Productions and the Rialto Theatre are surviving, prepared to thrive again, and brainstorming what the next entrepreneurial adventure will be.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I have always had a hard time fitting into just one box for myself and my business. As a kid, I was a cheerleader and on the math and debate teams. While I was an art teacher, I also coached various teams and was doing contract work under 8-Count Productions. When I first opened the Rialto Theatre, I hosted dance classes, photoshoots, private events and ran an art gallery on-site and in other locations, as well as public art installations and historic preservation projects. Over the years, I have realized that the breadth of my experience and the variations of what I do, make me adaptable and resilient, but also keeps my day to day interesting. I finally updated my title as a Creative Coordinator and Facilitator of Getting Sh*t Done because that is the most honest interpretation of what I do. On any given day, I step in to bustle a bride’s gown, paint a wall, guest speak about community development or entrepreneurship, hang artwork, and all the normal behind-the-scenes work of running a small business. Seven years ago, the Historic North Franklin Street Business District, nicknamed the Yellow Brick Row where the Rialto Theatre resides, was mostly vacant and I took a chance on a neglected gem waiting to inspire again. Two years ago, every storefront was occupied, other historic spaces renovated and repurposed, and the neighborhood’s biggest challenge was parking! Now, neighbors and I are working with City planners to re-envision the Yellow Brick Row as a walkable, bikeable, protected historic district. I am proud of how I have built my business, but more so about being part of rebuilding a community of quirky, creative, and health-focused small businesses.
Any big plans?
Overcoming a pandemic and having a young business closed for an extended period of time has pushed me to evaluate my resume, goals, and plans A, B……Z for a brick and mortar based service. Tampa is my home base and the Rialto is my business epicenter and I do not anticipate any significant changes immediately, but I would love to travel significantly more or live part of each year abroad even now, while my two daughters are young. With a passion for art, historic preservation, and restoration, I truly can live anywhere and find new projects and new communities to tap into with the right amount of planning and resources. Luckily, I don’t scare away from tough projects and run-down spaces, so the world is my oyster.
Pricing:
- Event venue rentals $100-300 per hour
- Hourly photo studio $50-75
Contact Info:
- Email: rialtotampa@gmail.com
- Website: rialtotampa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rialtotheatretampa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RialtoTheatreTampa
- Other: pinterest.com/8CountTampa
Image Credits|
Susan Nelson-Crowly
Hope Donnelly
Hope Donnelly
Carrie Wildes Photography
Ana Massard Photo
Foto Bohemia “Behind the screen”
Ashley Hammond Photography
Hope Donnelly (last 3)
