SEIDMAN SAYS: The Players and Payne Park - a perfect match?

After the brouhaha that erupted in 2019 when the Sarasota Orchestra proposed building a new music hall on seven acres in Payne Park, it was surprising to hear an idea floated recently to make the Payne Park Auditorium, located in that same bucolic greenspace,  the new home of The Players Centre community theater organization.

It was even more surprising to learn the proponents are a developer who aligned with the orchestra and the activist who lead the neighborhood opposition that ultimately resulted in the orchestra choosing to build a new venue outside the city limits instead.

Yet Mark Kauffman, an M.D. turned influential developer, and Kelly Franklin, leader of Preserve Payne Park, are now unified in believing the auditorium that was once a community center for “circus folk” and is currently the temporary home of the city’s Parks and Recreation department, is an ideal fit for Sarasota’s oldest performing arts organization.

“I think it’s a very natural thing,” says Kauffman, a longtime arts supporter who is involved with a new Sarasota arts festival expected to debut in 2024. “Everyone wants The Players to stay in Sarasota.  I feel a theater in the park is a very compatible use and this is the perfect size and type for them and won’t affect the park or the city.  It’s a win-win solution.”

Echoes Franklin: “To me, this is the perfect fit for Payne Park. The audience size can be accommodated without disrupting the park or creating huge traffic tangles, the building is already there, and the most sustainable and best thing to do would be to use it for its intended community auditorium purposes. It’s a natural . . . a win-win.”

Kauffman came up with the idea after plans to lease the city-owned Municipal Auditorium to The Players ran into a potential stumbling block. The auditorium lies within The Bay redevelopment project and the city had already agreed to partner with The Bay Conservancy to manage the venue.

Since The Bay itself, as well as other community organizations (notably the Sarasota Film Festival) are also interested in using the auditorium for programming, The Players could make a major investment in building upgrades to meet their needs and yet not have control over scheduling and use of the facility.

At its May 16 meeting, the Sarasota City Commission tasked The Players, the conservancy and city staff to jointly come up with a scheduling plan that could accommodate all interested parties’ needs. That’s a collaboration that won’t serve The Players well, Kauffman believes.

“I’m sure [The Bay] would be happy to have The Players put in $6 million and fix it up and be a tenant, “ he says. “But The Players needs its own home, a place to rehearse. They can’t be beholden to other organizations, and they would not have control over when they would have it.”

Franklin was the first person Kauffman contacted after coming up with the alternative idea; despite their previous adversarial status, the two developed a mutual respect during the orchestra negotiations. Because this proposal doesn’t involve new construction, loss of green space or disruption to current park activities, Franklin embraced the concept enthusiastically – as have others responding to her Facebook post about the idea.

“Dr. Kauffman understood our prior opposition was not to the music or the orchestra, but to our duck pond, tennis courts and green space being given over to a cultural pursuit most people can’t afford,” Franklin says. “But I love the idea of home-grown community theater in the community park and in a structure that was always intended to bring community members together.”

Both Kauffman and Franklin say the auditorium’s size and surrounding parking can meet The Players’ requirements. A 4,000-square-foot former dance floor could accommodate the 300-400 seats and there is unused space behind the building – currently a homeless encampment – that could allow for backstage expansion. There is plenty of surface parking, as well as the city’s parking garage nearby on Ringling Blvd.

But Williams Skaggs, CEO of The Players Centre, says it’s premature to assume Payne Park is the better fit for his organization. “Obviously the general location would seem to be convenient and easily accessible and the parking is a positive,” Skaggs says. “But there’s just too much unknown for us regarding the building itself to have any further opinion at this point on whether or not it could make sense.”

Furthermore, Skaggs adds, discussions about the Municipal Auditorium are ongoing, and at this point he still believes “it could work extremely well and would allow further collaboration with other community arts organizations that are without a specific performance home.”

Stevie Freeman-Montes, the city’s governmental relations manager and the point person coordinating those discussions, says she only heard of the Payne Park proposal on May 26 and would have no official comment until more information on the feasibility of its use was available.

“The Players have not yet approached us about being interested in Payne Park, it was a citizen idea,” she adds. “We would need to know for sure that they are (interested) and really look at what it would take.”

Still, Kauffman is already picturing a marquee on nearby 301 to announce upcoming shows and a new moniker that rolls easily off the tongue – the Payne Park Players. “It’s an idea just waiting to happen,” he says. “And with the community’s support, I think it can happen, and happen quickly.”

That it might happen as the result of an unlikely union between a member of Sarasota’s vilified developer ranks and one of the city’s most ardent environmental preservationists makes the prospect just that much more enticing.

Contact columnist Carrie Seidman at carrie.seidman@gmail.com or (505) 238-0392.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Carrie Seidman: The Players and Payne Park could be a great ensemble