RIDGEFIELD – Zachary has been commissioned for paintings and original artwork. Dillon is an expert gourmet popcorn maker. Christopher is a professional cleaner. Stephanie is an environmentally conscious artist who creates poster boards.
What brings this team of young people together is an opportunity to work at one of the more unique movie theaters in the state: The Prospector. The 10-year-old 25,000-square-foot theater that shows new release major motion pictures was built on the site of the original Ridgefield Playhouse, which opened in 1938. Employing 116 people, the theater is also known for its own gourmet popcorn.
But even more so, it gives people with disabilities a chance to get a paying job where they learn a skill that matches their “sparkle.”
Zachary Sorena is an animator who works at The Prospector. His work is showcased in the theater’s marketing materials, including a coloring book, and advertisements. Dillon Tepfer, who has been with the company since it opened in late 2014, has worked in the box office, human resources, events, the clean team and the kitchen making popcorn.
Christopher Potter is a transplant from England who is the “Mr. Clean” of the theater who keeps it looking brand new. And Stephanie Schultz is one of the newest prospects who loves spending her time creating artistic pieces that hang from the walls of the theater and are used to entertain children via her poster boards.
“When we interview and we hire, we ask what is your ‘sparkle,’” Prospector CEO Ryan Wenke told the Fairfield County Business Journal. “That is, ‘what is your passion? What do you like to do?’
“In the case of Zach (Sorena), he loves art. He loves drawing and graphics. We’re not just having Zach color and draw downstairs because it’s enjoyable. He’s creating a coloring book that is now a product and is at the box office to promote the different movies that can be sold.”
Wenke, who was named to Westfair Business Journal’s 40 under 40 list this year, said his company has a mantra: “It either has to make sense – programmatic sense – or cents, financial cents.”
On the programmatic sense side, the business includes a movie theater and a gourmet popcorn manufacturing “plant.” At the moment, the manufacturing side produces 10 flavors of Prospector Popcorn – from Belgian Chocolate Toffee to Classic Caramel and Gemstone Maple Gold – with such jobs as pop and caramelizer, mix and baker, bag and sealer, pack and shipper, photographer, merchandiser. The theater has such areas as the box office, concessions, a coffee shop, and the events and engagements facilities. Jobs include the clean team, ticket takers, sales people, entertainment (including rappers), The Prospect Band, production team, ushers, promotional artists.
“I work in box office, HR, events, clean team and the kitchen,” Tepfer said. “I do love working in the kitchen making the popcorn. My favorite is the chocolate Belgian toffee. It’s our bestseller. I am a caramelizer where I mix a lot of our flavors. There are a lot different jobs in the kitchen.”
Schultz has spent her first seven months on the job working in all the “buckets,” but she really gets the most out of anything creative.
“During the job interview, I told them I really like to create things,” she said. “I help with the poster board that features the movies coming up. I designed one for ‘Lilo and Stitch.’ We churn them out pretty fast. It’s good seeing the kids having fun with the poster board and posing.”
Potter prides himself with the work he does for the Clean Team.
“I started working here in 2020,” he said. “I usually clean this theater. It is what I am good at to make it all shiny for our guests. Every morning I clean the recycling bins because they have to be washed. I clean the bathrooms. At the Sparkle awards, I said cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
He described how previous jobs he has had were overwhelming as he tried to fit in and learn new skills. “Around here I got so used to it,” said Potter, who is due to become an American citizen next month. “Sometimes I come here to see some movies when I am not working.”
As for the “cents” side, the Prospector – a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit – is in the middle of taking a big leap forward as it prepares to open a factory for its gourmet popcorn venture.
“Right now, we have a caterer’s kitchen,” Wenke said. “It was never designed to do this. As we are growing with the popcorn, we are getting into more grocers and retailers. We are in 350 hotels across 34 states.”
Some of the local retailers that sell the popcorn include Carluzzi’s, LaBonne’s Markets, and Village Market of Wilton.
“This is something we always sold at the concession stand from the very beginning. It has accelerated out of necessity as the movie industry has been quite tumultuous, especially now post-pandemic.”
Located on property at 137 Ethan Allen Highway about 4 miles from the theater in Ridgefield, the popcorn plant will be housed in the Nod Hill Brewery building. The 4,906-square-foot building includes a kitchen, warehouse, offices, and related production space. That compares to the current 325-square-foot kitchen housed in the theater now. The new building is due to open in the early fall, according to Wenke.
Wenke and his team of 16 prospects make up the expansion team tasked with raising $1.5 million in a capital campaign for the expansion. The project is overseen by the theater’s board of directors, which includes founder Valerie Jensen.
“Expansion means popping into new communities and touching more lives with our mission and model of meaningful work,” Jensen said. “Buying Prospector Popcorn is a win-win. You experience the most delicious popcorn on the planet, while we ‘pop’ open more doors of employment for people with disabilities.”
As of June 18, the theater has raised $500,000 and has attracted such partners as Doyle | Coffin Architecture, Boston Consulting Group, Southport Engineering Associates, Procure Impact, Hatrack Consulting, and Gemstone Farm.
Of the capital that is needed, most will go toward the building and renovations ($600,000) and equipment and machinery ($474,000).
Jensen opened the Prospector on Nov. 20, 2014. It grew out of yearning to do something with people with disabilities especially since she saw the challenges her sister, Hope, as someone with Down syndrome, Wenke said.
“While volunteering for a non-profit called SPHERE, she would put on plays and create films with her friends with disabilities, like Romeo and Juliet,” he added. “At the time she was doing this she realized that everybody was always available to rehearse because no one had any conflicts. That was because no one had jobs.”
According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages 16 to 64) was 37.4%, meaning that percentage of people with disabilities in that age range were employed.
The mission of that nonprofit called SPHERE is to enrich and enhance the lives of adults with disabilities through education, recreation and the arts.
So, in 2011 when original Ridgefield Playhouse was about to be razed for more parking for the Ridgefield Library, Jensen had a “A-ha” moment as she was on Prospect Street, according to Wenke.
She said she had a better idea of what to do with the building, and that was creating a movie theater that would not only create jobs, but jobs for those with disabilities. And that’s what she did with the help of the library, which had bought back the property in 2000. She created a workplace for people who identify as having disabilities, such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis.
As the theater approaches the sale of its 1 millionth ticket, Wenke ruminated about how his life has changed in the decade since he graduated as a theater major from Emerson College.
“Part of being a theater major is that you understand empathy, you understand communication, how to talk to people and know what people need,” he said. “One of the biggest challenges with everything is balancing the mission with the business.”
