Savannah Repertory Theatre breaks ground on new Broughton Street performing space

The old adage goes: "if you build it, they will come." For Savannah Repertory Theatre, the building is coming along but there is still some help from the community that is needed.

The theater company broke ground on their future home at 402 E. Broughton St., the former Southern Motors dealership, on Wednesday with plans to continue construction on the black-box theater and other amenities they plan to unveil later.

"I don't think we ever envisioned our home staying over there on the west side and industrial park," Savannah Rep chairman of the board Stephen Plunk said. "We always kind of knew that we needed to end up downtown, which is the centerpiece of Savannah's arts and culture scene. So, it was always the end goal was to end up here."

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Plunk added, "We're about halfway to the (overall) goal, which allows us to begin the process, but it doesn't allow us to finish it. So, people need to come and check out the space and see a performance in here, and hopefully think that what we're doing is valuable enough to the community that they want to get involved and contribute, and put back into it."

For most on the Savannah Rep team, the end goal is not only opening a community-run theater in downtown Savannah but also bringing a level of professional theater that isn't commonplace around the city.

"I think the biggest thing that we're trying to show is that professional theatre, as well as telling a story on a professional level, meaning having all of the actors be paid and being part of their job, is something truly important not only to these amazing actors who do this for a living, but for the community itself," said Savannah Rep board vice-chair Tyler Gray.

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"We want to affect people by telling amazing stories, getting our season out there. But also we want to help change the entertainment scene in Savannah for the better and make it a new age experience."

Savannah Rep Executive Director Ryan McCurdy echoed as much in his speech, saying the challenge is with the community to invest in what they're doing and help elevate the entertainment scene locally.

"I challenge this community to help this company flourish. I challenge this community to allow the professional theatre artists of this very creative coast to stay. I challenge there to be enough work here at a professional level to keep our artists here where they belong, where they deserve to be. And, I challenged this community to bring new artists to this town; to buy apartments, to buy houses (and) to become part of the conversation.

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"I think the theater is done well, and it's done correctly. It is immediate theater as an art form. It is immediate, it is collaborative, and it is massively inclusive, which are the tenants of Savannah Repertory Theatre."

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson echoed McCurdy saying that although Savannah has a number of great theaters in town, the community-run approach is something to wrap your arms around if you are a resident. "It creates opportunity for local involvement, local engagement and creates opportunity to attract artists from across the country to relocate here," he said.

"It creates an opportunity to really raise our own bench as it relates to creating artists locally, having them have a place to grow, perform, and it adds to our entertainment district. So it's a win win."

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Savannah Rep leased out the vacant dealership location in 2021 through a long-term lease agreement with the owners, the Kaminsky family. The new theater will seat up to 200 people — 140 in the back and 60 in the front — which is double the amount of its first location at The Playshop on 980 Industry Drive.

As of now, Savannah Repertory Theatre is halfway to its overall goal and continuing to look for community support. The company's show is "The Spitfire Grill," which will be performed at Jenkins Hall on the Georgia Southern Armstrong campus from July 1-10.

Learn more at savannahrep.org.

Zach Dennis is the editor of the arts and culture section and weekly Do Savannah alt-weekly publication at the Savannah Morning News and can be reached at zdennis@savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Repertory Theatre breaks ground on new performing space