Panel backs Actors’ Gang for Ivy Substation

The Actors’ Gang is the front-runner in the race to become the resident company at the Ivy Substation, a coveted 99-seat venue operated by the Culver City Redevelopment Agency. The agency’s review panel is recommending the Gang, and the agency’s board will meet Monday evening to consider final approval. The two-year contract would begin on July 1.

The Gang was selected from a field of 14 applicants. The Hollywood-based group, led by artistic director Tim Robbins, has been searching for new quarters because of an anticipated hike in rent at its home on Santa Monica Boulevard. The rent at the Ivy would be $3,000 a month, down from the Gang’s current $5,100 a month, but the Gang would share the space with Culver City arts grant winners during dates that are equivalent to one-third of a year.

Don Shirley