The Players theater to turn Payne Park Auditorium into shared performing arts venue

The Players, the area’s oldest performing arts organization, is planning to move its performances to Payne Park Auditorium, which will undergo a major renovation and expansion to become a home for the community theater, other local arts organizations and individual artists.

It will be called The Stage at Payne Park. The theater company’s board has created a wholly-owned subsidiary under that name to oversee redevelopment and operations of the project. The Stage also will manage scheduling and technical needs for other groups and artists that want to rent space.

“Calling it The Stage at Payne Park, we want people to know that this is by and for the community and it’s not solely about The Players,” said William Skaggs, CEO of the community theater. “We want it to be by and with other groups as well.”

Brian McCarthy, a real estate developer and Players board member who has been named CEO of The Stage, said it was “important to bifurcate the two organizations because they have two distinct purposes. The Players will continue with two primary missions, theater performances and educational programs.”

The Stage will have a staff to run the facility, coordinate schedules and set-ups for what is planned as a flexible seating auditorium that will be able to seat up to 300 people. The company expects the project will be ready to open by the fall of 2025.

McCarthy said the interior of the 10,000-square-foot building will be gutted and then expanded with an addition by as much 5,000 square feet to allow for theatrical, musical and dance productions. It also will get new restrooms, dressing areas for performers, offices and an expanded lobby space. There will be room for dinner functions, and possibly a soundstage for artists to rent.

He said the facility will not intrude on the tennis courts or playground, trails and other amenities at Payne Park, and there is ample parking for patrons of the theater venue.

The city of Sarasota has agreed to a 30-year lease for the rarely used 60-year-old auditorium . The company will pay the city $100 per year and $1 from each ticket sold. The building has been most recently used as office space for the city’s parks and recreation department.

McCarthy estimated the project will cost about $8 million. The Players board of directors has committed to match all community donations up to $4 million for the renovation, with a capital campaign expected to begin in Sarasota.

A long history in Sarasota

The auditorium will keep The Players in the city of Sarasota, where it has operated for 94 years. In 2016, under different leadership, the company announced plans to sell its old home on U.S. 41 and raise money to create a three-theater complex in the Waterside development in Lakewood Ranch. That plan ended last year.

The old building sold for about $9.5 million and it has since been demolished. The Players will use proceeds from the sale to pay for its share of the renovation. Since 2020, the company has been performing in a converted Banana Republic store in the Crossings at Siesta Key shopping mall. Skaggs said he expects The Players will be able to remain there until the auditorium project is completed.

Skaggs said there will be challenges to raising $4 million or more, “but we have a compelling project to speak about that will add a lot of benefit for small to medium-sized organizations, and all that activity will add a lot of value to the city of Sarasota. I think people will see that this is an enticing project, and we’re talking about a few million dollars as opposed to the tens of millions we would have needed for Lakewood Ranch.”

The company also has quietly reverted to its former name of The Players, though it still uses the Players Centre for Performing Arts, the name it was given when the Lakewood Ranch project was announced. It is legally known as The Players, Inc.

Building partnerships in the arts

Artistic Director Steven Butler will oversee the effort to create a consortium of small to medium-sized arts organizations, as well as individuals, who need a venue for rehearsals and performances.

“We know that one of the things that most arts organizations need is space and we’re aiming to make that possible at The Stage,” Butler said. The Players community theater will have a leading presence in the venue and Butler said accommodating other events and performances “is going to change the way we’re producing our shows and how many we produce in one season.”

The Players is working with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County and will meet with potential partners on Aug. 29 to discuss the project and gather ideas and a sense of needs as the design process begins. In September, the Players also will host a community-wide program to introduce the project and help launch the fundraising efforts, Skaggs said.

Butler said the flexible seating will help smaller groups who don’t need 300 seats.

“If we had fixed seating, the house would look very sparse. This way, we're about to put in the number of seats they are going to utilize.”

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: The Players to create performing arts venue at Payne Park Auditorium