The privately owned Scottish Rite theater in Stratford Center will no longer be available for use by Square One Theatre Company after it concludes its 25th season there in May. That means the approximately 5,000 theater guests who went there during a typical fall to spring season will be going to some other, not-yet-determined location for Square One’s performances.
The owners of the theater, the Scottish Rite Masons fraternal organization, will keep the use of the 240-seat theater, or meeting house, for its own group and for other Masons, according to Jack Farkas, secretary of the Valley of Bridgeport Lafayette Consistory Mason organization. “We do our work here,” he said.
One reason for the change, Farkas said, is that the Masons were not happy with the way the theater was left when various tenants or guest-users were finished.
“There was a tremendous amount of damage done by these groups,” he said. “They felt it was theirs, and they didn’t put it back” in the condition they found it.
Square One was the largest non-Mason user of the theater, paying about $10,000 per season to the Masons, according to Farkas. Smaller groups that occasionally used the space, church groups for example, paid “nothing or $300,” he said.
Square One Artistic Director Tom Holehan said that the fee paid to the Masons was over $14,000 last season. Regardless of the amount, Farkas said that the Masons could not use the space when Square One was in production; his group had to spend $6,000 to rent space elsewhere for its own purposes when their theater was occupied; and the cost to operate the building is $200,000 per year.
“We would rather give the ($6,000) money away” than pay to rent space for ourselves, Farkas said.
Masons’ philanthropy
Giving money away points to the other reason that the Masons decided to discontinue renting their theater to non-members. “We need the theater back to do our own work,” Farkas said.
The local Scottish Rite group uses the theater as a meeting house where they use the stage for performances to teach lessons about their organization and about “morality and virtues,” according to Farkas.
The Masonic tradition is about “helping our fellow man” and “becoming better men,” he said.
Another Masonic lodge in Stratford, at 3960 Main Street, is involved in providinggeriatric care. Those Masons own Connecticut Visiting Nurses, Farkas said. The Shriners, another division of Masons who have space in the same Stratford block as the Scottish Rite Masons, support medical burn units. The Scottish Rites’ philanthropy is in support of the Dyslexia Center in Connecticut, where children with the learning disabilities go and become better students, according to Farkas.
In addition to working on dyslexia, Farkas said, “We support almost everything in this community financially,” naming Sterling House, The Perry House and student scholarships. “Our members are members of the community.”
As a national organization, “We give away $1 million a day.”
“When Storm Sandy hit, we gave away $3 million in $500 gift cards in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut,” he said.
Farkas said that membership in Masonic groups is going up again, after dropping off from the peak in the 1950s and 1960s.
Where to Square One?
As for the professional theater that is Square One, a new venue is being sought for the 2015-2016 season, according to General Manager Richard Pheneger. “Our 25th anniversary season will take place as scheduled at the (Scottish Rite) Theatre through May 2015. Square One refers to the Scottish Rite Theatre as the Stratford Theatre in its literature and promotion.
“The Square One Theatre advisory board, headed by Jorge Santiago of The Milford Bank and Mike Vickerelli, are spearheading a search for a new site, in addition to the Town Council’s help, Pheneger said. He will be seeking help from the Chamber of Commerce too.
They are looking for a space with between 100 and 300 seats, according to Holehan. People with suggestions for the future location of Square One are invited to contact them. Both Holehan and Pheneger said the plan is to stay in Stratford.
Holehan said, “This is a blow to us. It took us by surprise.” He also disputed any suggestion that his group left the theater is poor condition. “We are very professional,” he said.
Pheneger and Holehan both expressed thank to the Scottish Rite Masons for allowing Square One to rent the theater for their first 25 years.
The entrance to the Scottish Rite theater on Main Street, just south of the railroad.