For the second time in its storied 60-year history, a devastating fire darkened the stage at Players by the Sea. And for the second time, a team of dedicated volunteers rose to the occasion and demonstrated what community theater is all about.
Players by the Sea celebrated its grand reopening on June 9 at 106 N. Sixth St. with a ribbon-cutting and commentary from local dignitaries on the importance of supporting arts and culture in Jacksonville Beach.
“I look at that time, and we were moving on such a high. We had just started our 60th anniversary, and it was a huge announcement with lots of public support,” said Executive Director Bradley Akers. “We got a show in, and this happened.”
When the cast and crew of “Violet” first stepped across the threshold into the newly renovated Studio Theatre, it was an emotional homecoming. The production itself is rife with themes of resilience, scars and healing.
“In that room, the connection of audience-to-actor is so close that there’s not one person in there that’s not having a shared experience. It’s a magical little room,” Akers said.
In the early hours of April 9, 2025, a small fire ignited in the Studio Theatre, triggering the building’s fire suppression system. The sprinklers continued raining water throughout the former industrial building for the next 12 hours.
“There is so much hope that has now come out of it. There’s hope in the new chapter,” Akers said. “We can’t ever forget that first word ‘community’ in community theater. We can talk all day long about the theater and performances and all the personal time, but this theater belongs to the community. That’s the very essence of it.”
In the months that followed, volunteers rallied to bring the beloved community theater back to life. It was a monumental undertaking. Akers said it was difficult to focus on the finished product rising from the ashes.
“As a nonprofit, it’s scary. Funding is scary, especially with some of the funding challenges we had and continue to have, especially at the state level. Of course, there were moments that were really frightening,” he recalled.
“The folks that live and work and contribute to this community, this institution belongs to them, so it was never an option for us not to fight for it.”
The response from the community provided the momentum to keep pushing forward. Volunteers worked tirelessly to clear out waterlogged costumes, scripts and equipment. The fire halted programming but could never extinguish the spirit that has kept Players by the Sea alive for 60 years.
“Day in and day out, people were reaching out, asking how they could help, submitting donations, waiting for volunteer workdays or just checking in,” Akers said.
“Everyone was rolling up their sleeves to get to work. There was so much Players’ pride that came out of this. It was an awful event but there were moments of hope and joy, which ‘Hope, Joy and Togetherness’ was our season theme for the year.”
During its first 30 years, Players by the Sea performed in temporary, borrowed or rented spaces. In 1972, the group occupied its first permanent address in a vacant movie theater at First Street and Fourth Avenue, but the building was lost to an electrical fire just a few years later, in 1975.
Undaunted, Players moved into a rented space in a former five-and-dime store at First Street and Second Avenue in the summer of 1984, where they remained for the next 15 years.
In 1999, Players purchased the former laundromat at 106 N. Sixth St. and outfitted the building with a 150-seat Main Stage, an 80-seat Studio Theatre, expanded technical capabilities, educational space, a set-building shop, dressing rooms and ample storage and office space.
The first blaze became part of the theater’s story, shared across generations of volunteers as proof that the show would go on. Six decades later, history repeated itself, forcing another cast of actors, volunteers and patrons to rebuild more than just a building.
“It was so weird that it happened in our 60th season. I thought about the fire in ’75. I thought about the founders not having a place. They traveled around the Beaches. I thought about COVID. I thought about staff turnover and the thousands of volunteers that have called this place home,” he said.
“I thought about all the people that have worked so hard to make this little corner of the world special. I think that’s what kept us going. You feel a responsibility to carry on the legacy.”
Audiences were invited to experience the loss up close in a series of photos captured during the renovation that illustrate the full scope of the damage and the progression of the effort to bring the building back to life.
A chair placed along the wall of the Studio Theatre sat as a reminder of the scars that exist beneath the new drywall.
“When I watch people walk in and see how things have changed in here, and then realize there was a fire right where that chair is, they can see how materially deteriorated this place was,” Akers said. “But then to look around and see that it’s bright and inviting again, it goes back to we weren’t going to let this place go because no one else was going to let this place go.”
Akers is looking straight ahead toward the future, always asking, “Why not?” The upcoming production of “The Play That Goes Wrong” opens July 24 on the Main Stage. It’s a love letter to community theater and all the ways a play can go sideways.
“‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ is a massive technical undertaking, and we knew that from the moment we boldly asked, ‘Should we do this play?’ Why not? Sure, we’ll be scared later, but I think what is going to show so beautifully is the Players’ resilience and artistic excellence,” he said.
“We worked so hard to rebuild. Now we’re seeing the next generation of Players take shape. It’s emotional to remember what it used to look like, but it’s emotional to imagine what it’s going to be for the next 60 years.”
Visit www.playersbythesea.org for reservations and information about the upcoming season. Volunteer opportunities are also available for anyone interested in getting involved on stage or behind the curtain.
