Curtains up on Act 2: Cape Fear Regional Theatre prepares to break ground on the next phase of their expansion

By Stephanie Meador, posted Aug 29, 2024 on BizFayetteville.com

Act 1 of CFRT’s expansion has already been completed. It included upgrading the interior of the theatre with wider seats, deeper rows, a new HVAC system and a custom sound system designed by a TONY-Award winning sound designer. Graphic provided by CFRT.

Cape Fear Regional Theatre (CFRT) is preparing for a groundbreaking later this year to kick off “Act 2” of their expansion plan. The renovated space will include a new main entrance on Highland Ave., two dedicated classrooms, an expanded scene shop, added areas for the community to congregate, a rooftop event space and additional parking.

One of the theatre’s biggest goals with this expansion is to make the space more accessible. Many of the new design features were carefully thought out to best serve CFRT’s specific audience. CFRT’s Artistic Director Mary Kate Burke explained that the reason for changing the main entrance to Highland Ave. is for increased safety of patrons.

“We just keep growing, which is awesome. Last year, we impacted over 60,000 people, and 22,000 of them were youth. And then there’s also a lot of mobility challenged or elderly patrons. So outside the building, there’s a drop off zone so that we can drop off the children from school buses and bring them safely into the building. They don’t have to cross a million busy streets,” explained Burke.

They’re also going to add an elevator and ramps to make the space more wheelchair accessible. Another feature to accommodate wheelchair users is demountable seats in the auditorium.

CFRT’s Managing Director Ella Wrenn shared that “7.2% of Cumberland County is Veteran disabled versus 1.2% of the US population.” With this in mind, prioritization of accessibility is a necessity. “That’s a highlight throughout the building, getting more accessible,” added Wrenn.

As their attendance continues to grow it is crucial that they make changes to their space to grow with it. Over the past six years, CFRT reported that their summer camps have grown by 45%, studio classes by 89% and mainstage attendance increased 20%.

“Right now, we turn away almost 25 to 30% of the kids who want to enroll in our youth programming, because we don’t have enough space…So the primary thought behind this expansion is, with more space, we can serve more people,” added Burke.

They’re also looking to better accommodate parents and guardians who bring their children to the theatre’s youth programming with the redesign of their lobby. Now there will be space for the adults to congregate and pass the time while the children are busy with the programming.

Another renovation they are excited about is the expansion of their scene shop. This will increase their capacity and function for internal building projects such as set design and construction.

This expansion marks a great investment in CFRT’s longevity for serving the community.

“It takes a lot of space and people to put on a show, and it’s a lot of real estate that only earns revenue for two hours a day. Four weeks off, six weeks on, four weeks off… it’s a kind of complicated business model to figure out how to manage, but this institution has done it beautifully. The average nonprofit is 65% contributed income and 35% earned revenue. Cape Fear Regional Theatre bucks that trend. Last season, we were 67% earned and 33% contributed. So what that means is we know how to do things excellently at a price that people can afford and want to join us for. So we’re just going to continue to add spaces that allow us to do what we do excellently,” shared Burke.

With the support of the community, CFRT celebrated the completion of the first phase of their expansion in January of 2021 when they officially opened their newly renovated auditorium.

“The theatre proper, like the auditorium and the stage, that’s contained, and we renovated that as part of phase one… the work we just did on the inside of the theatre itself, all of that stays, the new seats, the cup holders, we did it, people love it, and we’re very invested, and we were deeply grateful for all the support we had for that. And that is a self contained unit. So that’s staying exactly as it is, and then we’re building out everything around it” shared Wrenn.

Now it’s time for the rest of the theater to be brought up to the same level of excellence as the newly renovated auditorium and stage.

“We’re trying to do things that set the institution up for success for the next 50 years, and we’re trying to create more opportunities for us to serve the community,” shared Burke.

Details about the groundbreaking for Act 2 are soon to come. In the meantime, CFRT’s staff is excited to invite community members to one more show at their main space before they move off-site for the duration of construction. Rehearsals have begun for Footloose: The Musical, which will begin previews Sept. 5. Once that show closes, the theatre will temporarily relocate to 1707 Owen Dr. where they’ll transform the ballroom of the old Holiday Inn Fayetteville-Bordeaux into a 240-seat theater.

CFRT is incredibly grateful to the community for the support they have offered thus far. As they enter into this next phase, they continue to need support to see this monumental project through to completion.

For more information about CFRT’s Capital Campaign visit www.cfrt.org/capital-campaign.

While you’re on the site, grab your tickets for Footloose so you can experience the last show on their mainstage before it’s lights up on Act 2!

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