by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Orange Park will be home to a new art center come 2004. The Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts will be built in the Doctor’s Inlet area of St. Johns River Community College to the tune of $19,146,280. The hefty price tag shall include a 1,750-seat main performance hall, a 202-seat adaptable black box theater, two art galleries and a complex for business and tourism events.
“The school took a leadership role in the center’s formation,” said Tony Walsh, managing director of the center. “They had the property and saw the county growing all around them, so what better place to construct it.”
The more intimate studio theater will host small musicals, cabarets and one-man shows. Seating can be adjusted to a traditional format with the audience all facing the stage, in a semi-circle arcing the stage or as theater in the round. The hall will be reserved for big Broadway plays, concerts and the like. A hundred feet of fly space will allow for elaborate sets.
“There is a growing need for this center now,” said Walsh. “I sense and see development all around us. There’s been a huge change in the demographics of Clay County. Ten years ago, this would have been premature. Families moving into this county will be future subscribers to the Thrasher-Horne. There is already a strong contingency here that would support it. We hope to draw from Western Duval County as well.”
St. Johns River Community College, Clay County and the State of Florida footed the cost of the 84,666 square-foot facility. Reynolds, Smith and Hills is the architectural firm responsible for erecting the project. Vertical phase construction has just began with projections on completion from the general contractor targeting 18 months out.
“That’s under ideal conditions,” cautioned Walsh. “This is a mammoth project.”
Programming at the venue will encompass Broadway series, musicals, dance series, comedy, lecture presentations, children’s programs and visual art exhibits. Other features include an adjustable orchestra pit, a scene shop (to build flats or props), a dance studio, eight dressing rooms, underground storage and a warming kitchen for caterers. The gallery space will serve dual audiences for photography and the art work of Floridians. Yearly exhibits will number between 10 and 12.
Thrasher-Horne Center was named for former Speaker of the House John Thrasher and former State Senator Jim Horne, both advocates of the center.
“Thrasher and Horne are from the area,” said Walsh, former dean of the Florida School of the Arts. “Any good elected official should look out for their home constituents. They identified sources of funds and went for them with tenacity, politicking and patience.”
The school is to be owned and operated by the St. Johns school. They will be debt-free due to the layaway type financial arrangement.
“There will be no mortgage because of careful planning,” explained Walsh. “Funding happened over an estimated seven to 10 years. The appropriations were not spent but put into an account.”
Operating expenses are expected to be covered through ticket sales with costs for the center falling under the school’s budget. Personnel additions are slated to include a director of marketing, a technical director and assistant, a box office manager and support staff. Aggressive recruiting of volunteers will be necessary as well.
Competing with other existing centers is not the goal of the Thrasher-Horne’s management.
“There’s so much product in the performing arts field that we can co-exist with all other venues — the new UNF center, the Times-Union Center, the Florida Theatre,” commented Walsh. “They don’t book everything available, nor should they. Eventually, we will have to collaborate to present the arts.”
Walsh is no newcomer to managing such a facility. He was artistic director of “Cross and Sword” in St. Augustine, head of the Film and Television department at Valencia Community College and on the faculty at North Carolina School of the Arts. A New York equity actor, Walsh performed national theater and daytime television in the Big Apple before turning his attention to academics. Currently, he is rehearsing “Das Barbeu” at Theatre Jacksonville as the production’s director.
“I kept a presence in New York as a playwright and director,” he said. “We will be doing original productions at some point so we will be building our own sets.”
With three decades of experience in the industry, Walsh plans to leverage his contacts to book agents and the big shows. He will be gearing the calendar of pop concerts, symphony, blues, jazz, festivals and all other productions at the center. The intent is for Broadway productions to be an ongoing series and not just an occasional affair.
“We’re looking down the line at having workshops and seminars using the performing arts center,” said Walsh. “Part of our vision and goal is to offer an array of programming encompassing multicultural diversity spanning all media. We will have performances by international companies, Asian dancers and African-American cultural groups.”
In the building adjacent to the artistic space will be the tourist/business complex for trade shows, conferences and cultural arts classroom instruction. Three dividable conference suites and an emergency shelter are part of the complex. The objective is to benefit local businesses such as hotels, restaurants and transportation providers. Clay County kicked in $1.5 million for the complex. It will be available to the community for rental by both profit and non-profit groups.