Ridgefield’s Prospector Theater a haven for those with disabilities

Prospector Theater Director of Development Mike Santini talks about the theatre and it's employees. Friday, March 24, 2017, in Ridgefield, Conn. Prospector Theater Director of Development Mike Santini talks about the theatre and it's employees. Friday, March 24, 2017, in Ridgefield, Conn. Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Ridgefield’s Prospector Theater a haven for those with disabilities 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

RIDGEFIELD—Even though the Prospector Theater is the best-performing independent four-screen movie theater in the tri-state area, the movies are only a side attraction of the business.

The most important product of the nonprofit theater, said Director of Development Mike Santini, is the community of empathy it creates for both staff and moviegoersf. The Prospector, refurbished in 2014 to its original purpose as a movie theater, was created by Valerie Jensen with the mission of providing meaningful employment to adults with disabilities.

Today, 70 percent of the 107-person staff identify as having a disability. The staff members, called “prospects,” are responsible for running all parts of the theater—making popcorn, greeting customers, cleaning the theater and even creating advertisements and promotional videos to show before each screening.

“It’s not just going to the movies,” Santini said. “We’ve built a community here…the movie theater is our vehicle to do that. It brings people into the doors, but in turn they have the opportunity to interact and engage with our prospects and see the talent, the passion and hard work and shatter those expectations of what it means to have a disability.”

Jensen, Santini said, grew up with a sister with Down syndrome and dedicated her life to helping those with disabilities. She had worked as the executive director of a nonprofit that provided arts experiences for those with disabilities before realizing that many friends with disabilities didn’t have jobs, despite trying to find employment. She decided to create the Prospector.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 17.5 percent of people with disabilities were employed as of 2015.

The Prospector, with 107 employees, hires about 10 times more people than other theaters of its size, Santini said, but the focus is on making each job meaningful.

“We don’t create jobs just for the sake of creating jobs,” he said. “It has to fit into what already goes on here.”

The theater works with prospects to tap into their “sparkle,” their inner passions, to find the most appropriate job. Each employee is allowed to try several jobs at the theater before committing to one, or a few, that suits him or her.

Training is also tailored to individual learning needs, Santini said.

Daniel Conille, who works as an usher and makes promotional videos for the theater, said he discovered a passion for hip-hop since being hired three years ago.

When Conille started working, Santini said, he was nonverbal.

Through working one-on-one with Santini, who used to work for a hip-hop nonprofit, Conille grew confident enough to star in promotional rap videos that show before the movie screenings. Conille has since won awards for his raps and even performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for the World Hip Hop Conference.

The theater also offers a variety of services to moviegoers with disabilities. Each month the theater holds a sensory-friendly screening with lights up and volume low so the audience can dance, sing, talk or walk around during the show. Sensory-friendly films are promoted by the Autism Society as a way for those living with autism to enjoy a movie in a safe and accepting environment.

For standard showings, Prospector offers narrative descriptions through headphones for those with impaired vision, closed-captioning glasses for deaf audiences, and regular headphones for those that are hard of hearing.

“Our goal is to not only bring in audiences that may have been excluded from movie-going,” Santini said. “Our prospect staff works specifically with the individual, their caregiver and families to show tips and strategies to make normal movie-going an everyday occurrence.”

The goal, Santini said, is to fully integrate adults with disabilities into the community and workforce.

The employment model at the theater differs from other employment opportunities where adults with disabilities are isolated from others, he said. He added that allowing them to integrate is beneficial for both the adults with disabilities and the community they live in.

“We often find that accommodating people with disabilities is an afterthought,” he said. “What we want to show the world is that it should be at the forefront. Once you include, engage and employ this population who has long wanted to be a contributing member, the benefits are tenfold.”