The Stage at Payne Park LLC (The Stage), a wholly-owned subsidiary nonprofit organization of The Players, Inc. with a mission to remodel and operate the existing Payne Park auditorium for its new home, held its first consortium meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. The three-hour meeting, moderated by Ray Collins, allowed the group of 30 to voice opinions, as well as discuss ideas and requirements unique to each organization for the design and development of The Stage at Payne Park regarding facility design, scheduling, marketing, ticketing, box office, call center, offices and studios, among other items. During the gathering, The Stage at Payne Park also shared some of its preliminary development and marketing plans. While the organizations had widely varying requirements, many spoke of the need for a bigger performance space or a more permanent home for their organization, an outdoor venue option, an emphasis on acoustics with requirements ranging from solo performance artists to a 35-piece orchestra with a cast of 12, a reception area, and rehearsal space and studios, among other items. Representing The Stage was Brian McCarthy; Steven Butler, chair of the consortium and artistic director for The Players; Nancy Jenkins, project manager; Brian Hersch, chief executive officer of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County; William Skaggs, chief executive officer of The Players; members of the board of trustees; Olivier Corizzi, chief executive officer of Creative Strategy Lab; Kate De Michieli, director of public relations with One Eight Oh PR; Marcel Maslowski, president of FG+M Architecture; Colin Derek, architect with FG+M Architecture; and Alec Stoll, ASTC and acoustician with Stages Consultants. 10 members of the 19-member consortium also contributed to the audience, including Key Chorale, SaraSolo Productions, The Hermitage Artist Retreat, The Players, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Sarasota Jewish Theatre, Squeaky Wheel Theatre Group, Ring Sarasota, Artist Series Concerts and ensembleNEWSRQ. The nonprofit expects to hold additional meetings over the course of the next several months to gather community feedback. Construction on The Stage at Payne Park is expected to start in March 2024, with an estimated completion slated for summer 2025.

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