Country Club Living - Palm Beach North - March 2025

10 | C O U N T R Y C L U B L I V I N G - PA L M B E A C H N O R T H | M A R C H 2 0 2 5 MEET PALM BEACH DRAMAWORKS - Submitted by Jennifer Sardone-Shiner - - Photo courtesy of Palm Beach Dramaworks - I n December 2000, at a rundown, soon-to-be-demolished theatre at Palm Beach Atlantic University, a new, nonprofit theatre company produced its first-ever show, the aptly named Greetings! Starting out with a shoestring budget of $10,000, which included the cost of renting the theatre, the company would produce three plays in its first season. BUSINESS PROFILE PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR WilliamHayes and MANAGING DIRECTOR Sue Ellen Beryl The response from patrons and critics was encouraging. As one critic said following the premiere of Greetings! “Time [and] the group’s resolve . . . will tell whether Palm Beach Dramaworks has staying power.” Indeed, it has. Long acknowledged as one of South Florida’s most invaluable arts organizations, PBD has been observing its 25th anniversary since the start of the 2024-25 season. There’s much to celebrate, thanks in large measure to the visionary leadership and tenacious fiscal management of two of its founders, Producing Artistic Director William Hayes and Managing Director Sue Ellen Beryl, who borrowed the initial $10,000 from her employer. The award-winning company produces “Theatre to Think About”: classic and contemporary plays, overlooked works of significance, and world premieres that inspire, engage, challenge, and entertain audiences while illuminating our shared humanity. PBD is also recognized for its stimulating educational programs, robust community engagement, and as an important incubator for new works. Among its many honors are the 2016 Muse Award for Outstanding Major Arts & Cultural Organization by the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, and 2024 Non-Profit of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. Since 2011, PBD has performed in a state-of-the-art, 218-seat theatre on Clematis Street, renovated to Hayes and Beryl’s specifications, which the company owns. It’s been a remarkable journey from those earliest years when PBD had a Mickey-and-Judy-putting-on-a-show-in-a-barn kind of vibe. The company spent its second and third seasons in an 800-square-foot storefront which they converted into a 45-seat theatre. They had no staff. Hayes and a third partner directed and acted, while Beryl took care of the front of the house (box office, ushering), and all three did most of the design elements. For the following eight seasons, home was an 84-seat theatre on Banyan Boulevard. The venue was no- frills, but the company was attracting some of the region’s most gifted actors and designers, critics were raving, audiences were expanding, and as one writer put it, PBD became “the hottest ticket in town.”