Bryce Alexander Takes the Lead

Bryce Alexander learned the meaning of community at a young age. His father abandoned his family when he was just 4 years old, leaving his mother, Barbara, and her four boys to fend for themselves. “My mom, bless her, hadn’t worked in 19 years,” he says. “She got married right out of college and had kids; that was her career.” 

The family received help from a surprising source—people they barely knew in all the years they lived in their affluent Denver neighborhood. “It was our neighbors who, when the house was sold and the moving trucks didn’t show up on time, stored our stuff in their garages and let us stay overnight,” Alexander recalls. “While it was a sad situation, a lot of good came out of it because we all learned how important it is to be connected to your community.”

Barbara was hired as an office manager at a neighbor’s medical practice and, thanks to another community connection, transitioned to a career in financial services, enabling her to take care of her sons. Her three oldest grew up to be a rocket scientist, a health care CEO, and a chief science officer for a large company. “All underachievers,” her youngest quips. “I rebelled and decided to go into the arts.”

Alexander’s interest in theater was piqued in elementary school when he was cast in the role of Mark Twain in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. By middle school, he was hooked. While attending University of Colorado, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance, he knew he wanted to run a theater company. And so he is—exceedingly well, by all accounts.

As CEO and executive artistic director for The Naples Players since 2016, Alexander has achieved significant increases in attendance, earned revenue, donations, education offerings, accessibility, and community partnerships. In 2020, he launched a $22 million capital campaign for the renovation of The Sugden Community Theater, home to The Naples Players. The newly refurbished playhouse on Fifth Avenue South re-opened last year, raising the curtain on three performance spaces—the 452-seat Broadway-style Kizzie Theater, the 104-seat Price Studio Theater, and the 104-seat Glass Educational Theater.

The Naples Players’ newest initiative under Alexander’s leadership is the Academy of the Dramatic Arts, a full-time educational and training program for middle and high school students. Introduced this fall, the curriculum combines academic courses with theatrical electives, preparing participants for diverse roles in theater production.

“Our students experience everything from acting and voice to lighting and sound to scene and costume design—all the opportunities and needs for a show to happen,” says Chief Education Officer Steven Caruso, who gives props for the program to the company’s chief. “We wouldn’t be here right now if Bryce wasn’t such a thoughtful, long-term visionary about what The Naples Players can do for the community.”

Indeed, Alexander has turned to the values ingrained in him since childhood and woven them into the organization’s mission. “In today’s digital world, many people don’t even know who their neighbors are; younger generations especially are more comfortable texting than having a conversation,” he says. “Theater is a great way to help them engage.”

Artistic Director Phillip Fazio adds that theater also encourages teamwork and enhances personal growth. “It involves people from all different experiences and talents coming together to create a production,” he says. “The collaborative nature of the art form forces them to sometimes have difficult conversations, to give and take, and to work together toward a united goal. I think theater makes people better human beings.”

All-Access

A volunteer position early in his career with Phamaly Theatre Company in Denver, a playhouse for artists with disabilities, opened Alexander’s eyes to the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in the performing arts. He ultimately became the company’s artistic director and was instrumental in connecting dozens of arts and culture organizations with disability service providers to develop sensory-friendly community programs. Before coming to Naples, he ensured that his successor was an individual with a disability, a noteworthy first.

At The Naples Players, Alexander has implemented the inclusive standards and ideals etched into his professional ethos at Phamaly. “Accessibility is in our mission and not just physical accessibility; it can mean socioeconomic accessibility or accessibility of content. We have an arts access department whose goal is to ensure that everyone—from audiences to staff to volunteers—has the resources to enjoy access to the theatrical arts.”

To that end, the company introduced the country’s only sensory booth, a private viewing room for theatergoers with sensory-processing sensitivities that features independent control of lighting, sound, and temperature, as well as customizable seating. The theater also regularly hosts relaxed performances for patrons with autism, Down syndrome, and sensory-processing challenges. “A big part of the theater experience is the social aspect, so the whole space is made available for people with disabilities and their friends and families to have access to the show,” Alexander says.

Located off-site, the organization’s Wellness Through the Arts program collaborates with more than 45 community partners—including nonprofits, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and public and private schools—to provide social outreach to more than 5,000 individuals annually. “Our vision is to be a cultural hub,” Alexander notes.

One such offering is Expressive Theatre Therapy with Horses, a partnership with Naples Therapeutic Riding Center. The only one of its kind in the United States, the program provides equine-assisted therapy combined with improvisational theater techniques to help military veterans coping with PTSD express their emotions. As Alexander explains, “The goal of these programs is to ask how we can apply theater to other situations to make everyone better.”

Making the world better is an ideology Alexander and his wife, actress Katie Cross, eventually aim to impress upon their 8-month-old son, Ellis. To help him understand generosity and community, they co-authored a children’s book called The Bakers by the Sea to honor Naples philanthropists Patty and Jay Baker. The Naples Players donated thousands of copies to local nonprofits bearing the Baker name, with proceeds benefiting those organizations. “We wrote this book for Ellis, and hopefully the story makes a difference for lots of other kids in the community, too,” Alexander says.

Longtime supporters of The Naples Players, the Bakers made a major gift toward the renovation of the Kizzie Theater, named for their much-loved late Shih Tzu. “We like the work they do and admire their commitment to the community,” says Patty Baker, who has a degree in theater and is a two-time Tony Award–winning Broadway producer. She also has high praise for Alexander’s leadership. “Bryce’s compassion, his loyalty, his problem-solving abilities, his outlook—I just think he does an amazing job.”

“We’re fortunate to have The Naples Players in this community, and I feel so fortunate to have the incredible privilege of running it here and raising my family here,” Alexander says. He is particularly gratified that theaters throughout the country now look to the organization as a model for making a difference in their own communities. “The way we are making a deeper impact locally is making a deeper impact nationally, and nothing could be more exciting than that.” 

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