I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to post this but the people deserve to know. I had the worst theatrical experience of my life there. I was booked for their April show and both their summer shows. Upon arriving we were read the rules (no drinking, guests, leaving without permission, etc) and seeing as most of the cast was in their mid to late twenties, some in their 30’s we thought it was insane (but it was coming fresh out of the pandemic and we were all desperate for jobs). Our first night the owners threw a little pizza party where one owner went around the room asked us to tell him what our highest paying gig was (I hadn’t had the heart to tell him that it was wayyyy way way more than what it was there.) Day one the director presented me and the person cast opposite me ideas that clearly showed he didn’t know the show (he had had the libretto for about 2 years now due to the pandemic.) Along the way we started to see many safety issues (ie clogging the wings with bulky set pieces which was a massive tripping hazard, calling in curtain <which functioned as a scene change since it was a fixed set> while actors were on stage because the director didn’t know the order of scenes, asking one of our actors to stand on a set piece with wheels but no breaks installed and acting like this person was problematic by raising the safety concern, the TD deciding to fix the set DURING A LIFT CALL and by doing so, leaving screws less than a foot away from the lift call I was involved in which could’ve seriously injured myself and the other performer involved (the list does go on but you get the picture, AND this was all post-paralyzation drama so I guess they just never learned?). Upon raising these safety concerns to the owners PERSONALLY during a meeting where they tried to corner one of the actors regarding another issue (that I had no stake in but I was silently supporting) WHICH I attended this meeting out of support for this person; I awoke the next day to an email “inviting me to leave the following two productions that I’m cast in- as it would simply not be a good fit for myself or them if how they run things at PBT isn’t compatible” citing the issue that I had no stake in as a primary reason (it was like talking to a brick wall who’s only personality traits can be described as “rich & white”). I gladly took this “offer” that they were graciously so kind to extend. There are WAY more issues but I can’t post it here as it involves other people’s horror stories and it’s not for me to share. I liked the TD up until I didn’t because of his reaction to the safety concerns. But the level of stank that I got after supporting the safety concerns of the entire cast was WILD. I don’t know- if you genuinely feel like life isn’t kicking you around enough and you thrive for a summer of suffering; if you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air AND you wanna develop some very solid, reliable clinical depression over a summer where you make a wage that’s comparable to a newly hired McDonald’s worker in 1980: PBT is the place for you. PBT: when you’re here, you’re a punching bag (edited)

It was fine. I was fortunate to not have any true horror story experience like some others, but that was partially because I knew to protect myself going in, thanks to the reviews here and other sites. Please keep using sites like these to share your experiences because m, again, I feel like I truly benefitted by knowing what to look out for. The company is either unaware of or unwilling to address some of the stuff that is still unprofessional or just off putting. Since their audience is incredibly consistent, they continue to operate regardless of their reputation with actors, directors, music directors, and choreographers. Because of things like stipend pay, no online presence, no real set designer, and an insanely light rehearsal schedule, this doesn't always feel like a professional acting contract. All of this leads to sub par shows as well. I don't mean to offend the people that work on these shows, but with the space and budget that this place has, they could really step it up if they took steps to make themselves more legitimate. They have no need to change though because, like I said, their audience retention is fantastic. Their practices have definitely improved since some of these reviews but the bar was low. Some positives: the area is gorgeous. You get access to the owner's private beach which is nice. The housing was quite nice and clean when we got there. The owners were pretty usually quick to resolve any issues we had with housing. They also have laundry and dish soap provided so even though the pay is funky ($1000 stipend for the whole production, paid after the last performance), they are doing some stuff that minimizes your expenses.

Rough. Low pay. Not much more I can add that hasn’t been said already.

Would legitimately rate -100 stars if I could. Technical director J**h is AWFUL and overbearing. I felt like he had multiple people that were on his shit list and he was CONSTANTLY scrutinizing them for the smallest of offenses. Was incredibly disrespectful and patronizing towards me and other cast members. Yelled at me because I had family come say hi to me outside the box office as they were PICKING UP TICKETS TO SEE MY SHOW. Literally called me over and was like, "You're in big trouble." Huh? He was angry because I had "guests" on the "theatre property". Ummm.. these are paying patrons and my family?!? You're "not allowed" to drink alcohol there, have to check in if you're leaving the "property" or if you have someone coming to pick you up, no visitors allowed. You also get this huge talk about all of the rules on the day you get there as if you are in elementary school. We used to be able to get filmed footage of our shows but now the owners only send the footage of the shows to their favorite cast members and ignore everyone else's requests for it. Legit got treated like I was a CHILD while I was there and constantly felt like I was being watched. The passive aggressive ways in which I would get spoken to were unbearable. Also how has no one mentioned that someone got PARALYZED there during Hairspray a few years ago?! Look it up. Also the owner's of this place are millionares so they can afford to pay their actors a livable wage. (also look them up...) ((Jokes on y'all PBT, I snuck my partner in and we had s*x on your precious PROPERTY.)) Do better.

I just finished a contract here, and I was really nervous about it considering the theatre's reputation as of late. I definitely won't claim that people's criticisms aren't true, because they are. But, it really isn't any worse than any other mid-level crappy summer stock. It seems like the owners are aware of the bad rap, and they seem to be taking those criticisms seriously. One of the biggest complaints I see is that the owners take too much control over the shows, but honestly, I barely saw either of them the entire contract. It seems as though the two of them are intentionally stepping back a little bit. However, I will acknowledge the possibility that this one show was a fluke, but my experience was pretty solid. Far from the best I've ever had, but certainly far from the worst. I would consider going back for one show in a dream role or something like that.

#iSurvivedPriscillaBeachTheatre Zero dollars. Having your own room is not good enough housing! Pay this low in 2024 is simply exploitation. Unfortunately a lot of these theatre owners think it is 1999 and that we are willing to put our bodies on the line for an under minimum wage non union job. Times have changed. Actors aren’t willing to starve anymore for a bs contract… I’d rather wait tables the rest of my life than work here again.

DO NOT WORK HERE! It’s like $4/hour!

Owners really need to stop posting fake reviews glorifying themselves on this thread. This was, by far, the worst theater I ever worked at in the entirety of my 22 year career thus far. Back when I worked here I witnessed and experienced harassment and bullying from Producers/Owners, the technical director (who is painfully overworked), and the director of the show. Dangerous working conditions and absolutely unrealistic expectations are all you will find here. They exploit young actors. One is a Gaslighter who’s narcissistic tendencies make you feel like it potentially will be a positive experience until you get there and he proves he could not care less about you. All they care about is selling tickets at the expensive of their actors so they can live in their waterfront house. Let’s not forget to mention the numerous lies and unprofessional manner at which they communicate here. No, not all stocks are weird. No, this is not a good introduction to summer stock. No, this is not even CLOSE to progressional in any capacity. As someone who has been a member of the union now for a good while since working here - I am telling you, this is no representation of any kind of ethical or professional working environment. It also has nothing to do with the fact that it is non union work. There is a LOT of amazing, ethical, uplifting, and positive non union work out there - this is not it. If you truly want to work for essentially illegal, not livable level wages and a terrible production quality, go ahead… But I would highly recommend you are better off not doing a show for the summer than working here. Let us also not forget proof is in the pudding - numerous actors have been injured (some of which permanently disabled) since the current owners took over years ago. And they continue to do nothing but be aggressive, rude, and entitled people who do not do anything to advocate for their actors. It was embarrassing to even think about ever putting on my résumé… (edited)

I just want to throw out there that everyone has a different opinion on what they think is a “good theatre” to work for I have worked at plenty of theatre's that have 5 star ratings on here that I would give negative 2 stars. I worked at Priscilla this past year and didn’t have any problems here. Is this place the epitomey of making it in the business absolutely not but I think it’s a decent place to get exposure to summerstock theatre especially if you’re in college training still. Name me a single summerstock that isn’t a little weird

I enjoyed my time and I would probably come back for a single show contract if the show was right. Just like any summer stock theatre out there it’s not perfect and it has its problems but it’s honestly not that horrible I’ve worked for much worse summer stock places out there before. The pay isn’t fantastic and that was definitely my biggest problem but I see they did raise the pay this summer so I guess it’s a good start. But I never felt unsafe and always felt heard when I brought a concern up

I truly loved my expiernce not detracting from what others said but while I was there I never felt unsafe or ever put in danger. The theatre is quirky but what theatre and owners aren’t. I also don’t know what people are talking about with this housing problem because I have stayed in horrific cast housing and this is definitely one of the nicer ones to be in for sure

Awful. Toxic owners, subpar housing and even worse pay. Don’t. It’s not a coincidence that after multiple exposures and 1 star reviews that the owners have taken to posting fake 5 star reviews. Sad. If the 5 star reviews were accurate they wouldn’t have so many downvotes! (edited)

My experience was extremely different from the rest not dismissing anyone’s experience but I loved my time there. I was contracted for 1 show and was there for less than a month so the pay did not bother me I figured I would just put $750 worth of my time into it and call it a day. When I arrived at the theatre I was met by the owner who personally brought all my luggage in for me. I was given a private bedroom all to myself with a queen bed! the housing was immaculate beautiful full bathroom with towels, toilet paper, and soap all provided for you. The kitchen was also in beautiful condition equipped with microwave, stove, and refrigerator as well as all the cooking accessories you could think of. As far as the rehearsals went we were only rehearsing for 5 hours a day so we really had majority of our time free. We were also blessed with an amazing director who cared and valued what we thought and would always listen to us if we had a problem. The owners for this show at least were very hardly around and majority of the time we had no interaction with them and the few times we did interact with them they were nothing but sweet and truly loved that we were putting our heart and soul into the shows. We were also told repeatedly throughout our rehearsal process if your need anything just speak up and we will accommodate this contract is not worth blowing out your voice or hurting yourself. I truly enjoyed my experience here and would return 100%

Extremely disappointing considering how lovely of a spot it is. I found out the owners were recording all of the performances without the performers’ consent, and when I pulled them aside to ask them to get consent, one of them became extremely defensive, raised his voice, and told me “good luck with your career!” while making a swatting motion. The problem is that these folks see themselves as not part of the “theatre industry” and therefore exempt from so many of the things we all have been pushing for in terms of safety and respect.

Yeahhhh maybe skip this place. Absolute hazard of a work place. Theyll give you bare minimum housing and a $750 stipend and act like they gave you the world. The reality is they try to act like theyre a professional theater, but they treat their working professionals like kids at summer camp. The owner managed to get a stage manager and music director to quit within the same day due to his micromanaging. Wouldnt let the stage manager call an emergency hold, said it needed to go through him first when he wasnt even in the theater half the time. The set pieces are worse than what I had in highschool, and this guy is selling tickets at about 40 a seat (with a sold out house its about 10k a night) and to be paying your actors a 750 stipend for 6 weeks??? The pit even got paid more (100 per show, which came out to about 1400 for three weeks of work vs 750 for our six weeks). Dont bother sending costume measurements, they dont pay attention to them. And the technical director is horribly horribly overworked, fantastic at his job, but its just sad, and honestly turns into a safety hazard at no fault of his own and the entire fault of the owner. If the owner stayed in his lane and truly just managed what he was supposed to manage, trusted the professionals he hired to do the work they were trained and hired to do, and paid his employees properly, this place would be a dream. I will say the beach is gorgeous and the friendships I made are irreplaceable. They certainly bring in all the talent, but in terms of how the company is run, its hugely disrespectful to its employees, horribly disorganized, and wildly dangerous. Oh, I forgot to mention the 90+ degree work conditions most days, mold in the washers, and lovely 8 seat van on campus that you arent allowed to use to get anywhere. Hope you have a car. Director told an actor that her character was "definitely mentally handicapped" and to act like it. Other iconic quotes include "If this was a REAL SHOW wed have real cigarettes," and the owner telling the lead of his show that he was "practically doing a little jig to get us all off campus " (real quote). Oh and the owner threatening to cancel the show when we advocated for ourselves. Just a perfect example of what happens when a non theater person gets their hands on a theater and tries to run it like a corporate business. If you get a dream role, dont mind getting paid $4 an hour and being treated like the lowest rate citizen, go for it, but if you have respect for yourself, please help get this place blacklisted and in better hands. stay safe out there protect your energy yall <3

this is an incredibly unprofessional theatre. I worked here and was really disappointed. if you are in school and want to have a fun summer at the beach and you can make the $750 stipend work financially, then by all means take the job! it is just by no means a professional environment. our director did pretty much nothing and offended everyone on more than one occasion. Our costumes didn’t fit (cast measurements were not even considered when renting them) and the girl in charge of washing them couldn't care less so they would be wet and dirty come showtime. it was unfortunately not a production I was proud for family and friends to see -their priority is doing as cheap a show as they possibly can despite charging $40 for a ticket and it is so apparent! on the plus, the location is gorgeous and they hire really talented and kind actors - i met amazing people and we were able to get each other through all of the chaos.

Another one for #iSurvivedPriscillaBeachTheatre the technical director was EXTREMELY overworked and it creates safety issues on set. I watched actors almost get seriously hurt from a malfunctioning set piece. I’m of the opinion that owners response to these issues were very inadequate. It doesn’t look like it’s improved (although the stipend is higher now but…) Cast housing is double and triple occupancy and you don’t necessarily have enough fridge space for 15 actors to share. Without having to stop and shop every 3 days at least It’s one of those places you might do 1 show with and leave. I’m not sure I would have made it through a 3 show season with them. (edited)

Physical safety issues were not even the worst concerns, somehow, while on contract with PBT. I firsthand witnessed discrimination (when addressed, those in charge threatened the actors) and experienced safety issues (when addressed, those in charge ignored and dismissed). This place should not be considered a professional theatre company as it does not operate as such. DO NOT work here.

Atrocious and should not be in operation. The worst experience I’ve ever had at a job. Cannot elaborate without being specific about who I am, but I’m guessing more similar reviews will come in. Do NOT work here.