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Smithfield Youth Theatre urges council to help after losing May SkyView dates
Summary
Director Hannah Sartzen and board members told the council SkyView will not host their May production, arguing the volunteer-run program draws 700+ nightly and needs city help to negotiate dates, rehearsal space and storage; council members offered to assist and to open dialogue with the school and principal.
Hannah Sartzen, director of the Smithfield Youth Theatre, told the City Council she and her board are in a “crisis” after being told the SkyView Auditorium will not host the youth-theater’s May production this year, and asked the city to advocate for meeting times that allow the program to continue without capping participation.
The request, delivered during the public-comment portion, said the program provides an inclusive, mostly free fine-arts experience for Smithfield children and routinely fills SkyView, with "700 plus people each night" attending on multiple nights. Sartzen said surveys and community feedback emphasize the program’s benefits — confidence, public-speaking practice and community connection — and she asked the council to help set up direct discussions among the theater, the school administration, and city staff to find workable dates and rehearsal space.
Board member Susan Barris described logistical constraints the theater faces if the show is moved (set-build space, rehearsal gyms, volunteers’ summer schedules) and recounted what she called a "blindsiding" confrontation by a school staff member that occurred in front of students; she asked that the council consider asking the school to address the tone of that encounter and to apologize if appropriate. "She deserves an apology," Barris said, describing the exchange as aggressive and inappropriate for students to witness.
Council members asked clarifying questions about the program’s size and timing. Staff and councilors suggested possible options — advocating with the new SkyView principal, exploring alternative venues (including a private indoor arena offered informally), considering an adjusted schedule (two casts or additional performances), and pursuing a limited temporary plan such as tented outdoor space only if technical needs (lighting, sound) could be funded. Sartzen said detailed equipment and staging needs make many alternatives costly: she noted some stage microphones cost about $2,000 each and that renting equivalent systems or buying them would materially increase production costs.
Council members pledged to help facilitate communication. Several councilors and the mayor offered to be included in correspondence with the school principal and encouraged an in-person meeting so the parties could identify specific operational concerns and potential compromises.
The council did not take formal action on the request during the meeting; members asked staff to be copied on communications and suggested follow-up meetings to seek solutions.
The council's next relevant procedural step is to coordinate meetings among the theater board, SkyView administrators, and city staff to identify feasible dates and any resource requests the theater might present to the city or partners.
