Could a buyer with a penchant for restoring historic buildings be waiting in the wings? That’s a fond hope of the Newberry Community Players this month as the group looks to refocus on theater, and get out of the building business.

The ink is drying on a six-month agreement that the Newberry Community Players just made with the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation — the timeline for the trust to search for an investor for The Ritz Theater.

An art deco-style movie house built in 1936, the community theater troupe begain calling The Ritz on Main Street in downtown Newberry home in 1974. But the building needs a lot of attention, and money, to bring it back to its former splendor — or even to keep it intact. That is time and money the group does not have.

“A partnership with a preservation agency fits more than one goal of the players. We all love this building that has been our home for 35 years, and we would love to see it restored,” said Heather Hawkins, chair of the NCP. “Our hope is to find an investor with the capital and vision to see The Ritz for the historic gem that it is.”

Trying to maintain and improve that historic property has been a large task set before the group of volunteer actors, and one that they are voting to set aside in favor of getting back to a mission of community theater. Funding and casting challenges have postponed the final production of the season, along with the group’s summer fundraiser. “Always...Patsy Cline” was set to take The Ritz stage April 30, now the group is realigning, and preparing to bring its art to the stage in a whole new light.

“We believe that removing the pressure of building maintenance could give NCP the spark to reinvent itself,” Hawkins explains. “A lot has changed in Newberry since the players started 40 years ago, when the Newberry Community Players were one of the few sources of entertainment. We know that there is still a need for live, community-based theater in Newberry today, but we have to literally start thinking outside the box.”

The partnership with the Palmetto Trust is a way to let both non-profit organizations focus on their professed specialties.

The Palmetto Trust is a statewide non-profit organization that also partners with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its goal is the preservation of historic structures significant to South Carolina.

The preservation group works to “save” the buildings by matching properties with purchasers who are ready to rehabilitate the structures while maintaining historic features.

Hawkins says the players are still interested in calling the Ritz home base, but without the pressure of maintaining the building. The group’s dream scenario is an investor that shares their dream of a multi-use movie/performance facility anchoring the eastern end of Main Street, and would like them as tenants.

“We need to focus on the thing that is our mission — live theater — not struggle with growing facility maintenance,” Hawkins says. “We believe that our new partnerships along with thinking outside the box could mean a win-win-win for Newberry County.”

The players expect to release newly-reformed plans for the upcoming season, building on recent success with the group’s youth programs, community partnerships and off-site presentations.