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CURTAINS GO DOWN ON CENTER STAGE ACADEMY

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 29, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Debra Snyder cries when she thinks about the kids.

Where will they go now? What will they do? And who will teach them?

Those questions haunt her.

For the past three years, Snyder and her spouse, Keith, have been the duo behind Center Stage Theater & Dance Academy in Southgate Plaza.

Their studio had more than 130 students, spanning several generations, who produced and performed dramas and musicals within the 8,500-square-foot storefront.

It's been a modest operation, held together with a shoestring budget and volunteer help, but one that has propelled many aspiring performers into a life on the stage.

On Wednesday, the studio's lights dimmed for perhaps the last time.

The Snyders spent the afternoon loading stage and sound equipment, speakers and props into a U-Haul van, bidding farewell to co-workers, students and their parents.

They'd been evicted by the strip mall's new owners.

"We're still in shock," said Keith Snyder, 44. "It's going to be tough leaving this place."

Early this year, the Snyders fell a little behind on their rent after their corporate landlord, New York City-based New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc., doubled it to $8,600 a month.

They were trying to work it out last week when the eviction letter arrived in the mail.

The studio was given five days to vacate the property.

"They won't even return our phone calls," Keith Snyder said. "They're just kicking us out."

Stacey Slater, a spokeswoman for New Plan in New York City, declined to comment.

A Late Offer For Reprieve

Then, early Wednesday evening, after several media inquiries about the situation, a company lawyer called Keith Snyder and offered a six-month reprieve, he said.

Snyder was livid.

"There's no way I'm going back there now," he said. "These people are monsters."

In June, Southgate and several other shopping centers in Florida were bought by an Australia-based multinational investment group.

Centro Properties Group, Australia's second-largest shopping center owner, acquired the recently renovated Southgate strip mall for a reported $3.7 billion in cash. The deal also included 467 shopping centers in 38 states, including Clearwater Mall and the Mall at 163rd Street in Miami.

New Port Richey officials worked with the property owners for years to renovate west Pasco's oldest shopping center.

The transformation has been nothing short of a success story for the city.

Shortly after the renovations were completed, the plaza's owners began increasing monthly rental fees and many longtime tenants have had to leave.

The Snyders moved in to Southgate about three years ago, parlaying money from Keith's construction business to rebuild the stage, dressing rooms, front lobby and office space.

"We put a lot of sweat into this place," he said. "This isn't a cash-cow business."

'There's Nothing Like This'

When they first started out, the Long Island natives didn't have much experience with performing arts. They hired a stage manager, staff and certified dance instructors.

Since then, star-struck hopefuls have passed through their doors and over the stage, appearing in productions such as "Vibrations," a hip-hop musical to benefit Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services of Florida.

Some of the students have even made it to the big time: Broadway.

Robin Enix got her three children - ages 4, 10 and 11 - involved after she took a job as Center Stage's office manager. The dance studio has become like a second home for them.

"There's nothing like this around here," Enix said. "Where are they going to go now?"

When the eviction notice came last week, staff and students were preparing for their holiday performance, "A Christmas to Treasure," set for the second week in December.

"We had to cancel it," Debra Snyder said. "There was no other choice. We won't be here."

The Snyders hope to find a new location. They've talked about converting the old barn on their Port Richey property.

Rebuilding won't be easy, however, and money is tight.

"We've put every dime we have into this place," Keith Snyder said. "There's nothing left."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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