Theater offers view of coming attraction

Mathis Winkler

BALBOA PENINSULA -- Where the orchestra pit once stood, a quiet pond

filled with construction debris now rises and falls against the back wall

that’s covered with graffiti.

Right now, four walls and a porous roof over a sand floor pretty much

make up what is to become the Balboa Theater. But soon residents will

have a chance to view the theater’s skeleton -- and plans and models of

what’s to come.

The Balboa Performing Arts Theater Foundation, a nonprofit

organization in charge of renovating the 1927 building, installed a

viewing platform last week to give residents a chance to inspect the

structure in its raw stage.

In the next few weeks, the organization hopes to set up weekly open

house events with docents who can explain the project and bring the

future venue to life.

Standing inside the immense room Wednesday and pointing out features

like the original brick walls that will remain exposed in the 350-seat

auditorium, Michele Roberge, the foundation’s executive director, said

construction on the theater could start within a few weeks.

Building plans have been with the city since June, she said.

“That’s a really long time,” she said. “But we’re encouraging them to

take that long. If there’s a problem, I want to know it now, not when the

bulldozers are here.”

Should the foundation manage to raise the necessary funds -- about $3

million are still needed to complete the renovation -- the theater could

open 10 months after groundbreaking, Roberge said.

Around the viewing platform, posters with computer-generated drawings

depict the inside of the theater once it’s finished. Gently rising up in

front of the stage, 16 rows of green theater seats will offer

unobstructed views of performances. Dressing rooms, offices and patrons’

restrooms will be built underground, she said.

The theater will use the alley behind the building as a backstage area

and close it off to traffic during performances, Roberge said. Three

elevators in various parts of the building will provide access for

disabled patrons and actors alike.

Recently, an actor friend of Roberge’s who visited the theater said to

her that the room was an “old promise” waiting to be fulfilled.

“And we’re looking to fulfill it,” she said, her eyes turning to the

theater’s model that stands on the viewing platform.

“Oh, look, the sun’s beaming a spotlight on stage for us,” she said as

a ray of sunlight shining through a hole in the ceiling illuminated the

model’s tiny stage.

For more information on tours of the theater, call (949) 673-0895.