Liza MitchellThe new season doesn’t begin until September, but at Players by the Sea a season of change is underway. Suzanne Hudson-Smith officially stepped into her new role as Executive Director June 1 and the public is invited to an open house at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 19 to welcome her into the theatre community.
Hudson-Smith says she is excited to part of the Players by the Sea family and is looking forward to “extending that hand out to the community to say ‘hey, here’s who we are, and this is what we’re doing, and we want you to come in’ which is why we’re setting up the open house,” she says. “We want folks to come in and just meet me and get a sense and a feel of the place. Come in and say hey. Talk to us. Tell us what you think and what you want to see. I really want to encourage everyone to just drop in. This is a chance to meet and kick it off right.”
Community engagement, strong fiscal management and educational outreach are among her top priorities. “We’re at that time in the fiscal year in which there are grants due. There are budgets to be worked on for the next fiscal year,” she says. “The education program needs to come back to life. What does that look like? How do we have that happening when all of our other seasons are happening? It would be great to see us six days a week having people in there doing things that move them personally to the next level in training and experience and eventually get them on stage.”
“The staff is talented, and the board is engaged, and I really want this thing to move to the next level.”
Hudson-Smith said her goals also include increased sponsorship opportunities that encourage the public to participate as stake holders at PBTS. By getting the community connected and involved, she hopes to broaden the reach outside of the theatre walls. “One of the goals on my list is that I want to get out of the theatre space and do some art in other places. We have to look outside because that’s where we pull our energy from to give back. Players by the Sea is not just that building. It’s the spirit of who we are and what we do,” she says.
“The space is incredible with the main stage and the smaller studio stage. I think we really want to use the facility as much as we can. I always talk about capacity. The shows are scheduled and that’s fantastic but how do we get more community in? The staff is talented, and the board is engaged, and I really want this thing to move to the next level. That’s my big over-arching goal, to really get this place rocking. With that kind of energy, there is no place but up to go but up.”
She most recently served as the Development Director for The Florida Theatre and previously filled the role of Executive Director for the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation. She has also performed with national development teams at such non-profits as PBS and NPR. As Executive Director of Players by the Sea, Hudson-Smith hopes to demonstrate her capacity for effective management with her artistic vision.
“My background is theatre trained. I did equity internship in Atlanta, but I have that weird brain that does two things. It’s creative but I also have a managements side. My non-profit and for-profit worlds kind of collide,” Hudson-Smith said. “I love the producing end of it and being out there and really doing this development work, which is relationship building. This opportunity came up last year and I thought this is my passion and this is how I want to make an impact on the community with art. I can’t wait.”
Hudson-Smith studied theatre performance and management at Texas State University and has opened theatre companies from Texas to Sarasota. While she has no immediate plans to produce or direct during the upcoming season, she isn’t ruling out future seasons. “I have that skillset to offer but first things first. Let’s get ship shape and then let me go in and do something if there’s something I’d like to do. It’s not really a main focus of mine right now,” she said.
“I am coming in focused on the tasks at hand. The 53rd season has already been announced so I’m looking forward to working with the crews to get those on stage. Something may open itself up to me as we move through but for now I’m focused on just getting the community in there and presenting the best work that we can. Community theatre is just so wonderful because its educational and it’s all ages and your doors are open. Everyone is welcome. I’m thrilled to be a part of it all.”
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