JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Members of Jacksonville Beach’s fine arts community are working to pick up the pieces after a devastating fire recently broke out inside of The Players by the Sea Theatre.
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In a message posted to its website and social media accounts, Players by the Sea staff and Board of Directors said the building’s sprinkler system doused the flames but left behind widespread water damage throughout the entire facility.
“The impact is substantial and thankfully, no one was hurt or present during the fire,“ the organization said. ”The safety and well-being of our staff, artists, volunteers, and patrons remain our top priority. Because of the extent of the damage, all operations and programming at Players by the Sea are suspended until further notice.”
Video taken by News4JAX at the scene shows various items like exit signs, boxes, and other debris lining the outside of the theatre.
Bradley Akers, managing director of Players By The Sea, recounted what his team members were met with when they attempted to enter the building Thursday morning.
“Opened the doors and [were] met with a wall of smoke, and discovered that there had been a fire overnight and that our sprinklers had just been dousing the building with water, [which] flooded the entire building,” Akers said.
The managing director also said this isn’t the first fire that has broken out at the theater.
“In the 1970s, [it was] closer to the beach than we are now, and they walked by the theater one morning and discovered that there had been a fire overnight that pretty much took half of the building down,” Akers explained. “So it’s an interesting turn of events to walk in and find there was a fire in this building.”
Akers says he understands support, but now he feels as if he has a greater understanding of what community means.
“Never have I truly understood what the term community theater meant until now, and what that word community meant,” he said. “You know, for 60 seasons, we’ve been trying to do our best to give back to the community, while welcoming the community in, and the outpouring of love and support that they have shown means the world to me, to my entire team, our board of directors, and it gives us the strength to know that we’ve got a whole community standing behind us so that they can see their theater come back.”
Players by the Sea says it is assessing the full scope of the damage and will provide updates about the facility’s recovery.
Additionally, the theatre has made no modifications to its performance schedule for Waitress, which is scheduled to run from May 2 to May 18.
While it hasn’t begun receiving donations yet, Players by the Sea said once it gets a “clearer understanding of where things are heading,” the organization will begin announcing ways for the public to help.
