SCR’S YOUNG PLAYERS PLAN BLACK BOX THEATER SKITS

Until now, the black box theater at the Orange County Performing Arts Center has fulfilled one-half of its dual role. It has already been used as a rehearsal area for visiting performers, including members of the New York City Ballet. But the room also was intended for use as a small theater, and members of the South Coast Repertory Company are about to make that a reality for the first time.

On Nov. 22 and 23, SCR’s Young Conservatory Players will present five performances of a collection of children’s skits titled “Magic Theater, ‘86,” a musically accompanied production featuring Orange County children between the ages of 9 and 17. It is the first of three offerings by the group, made up of graduates from SCR’s theater training program for young children. The other productions, also children’s theater, will be in April and June. Meanwhile, on April 23, Dance Kaleidoscope, a Tustin-based company founded in 1975, will present a single, eclectic performance of modern and jazz dance. The company--which includes professional and pre-professional dancers--will perform works choreographed by William Hastings and Fred Walton, among others.

To date, those are the only productions booked for the space, formally called Founders Hall, according to Ria Carlson, media coordinator for the Center.

The space, 42 feet wide and 60 feet long, has a capacity to hold 284 removable seats. The materials and design of its floor mimic the main stage of Segerstrom Hall, the Center’s main theater, which opened Sept. 29. A third theater, to have 1,000 seats, is in the embryonic stages of planning.

David Emmes, producing artistic director at SCR, said the space gives SCR “an opportunity to expand audiences by 100 to 130 per performance.” He said that until now the Young Conservatory Players had used one of SCR’s two stages to perform. He said the group’s presentations are being produced jointly by SCR and the Center, which is waiving the rental other groups will have to pay for the space.

Susie Vanderlip, the business director of Dance Kaleidoscope, said the company is paying $500 for its one-time use of the space and another $500 for the assistance of stage workers at the Center. She said the standard ticket price will be $12, with $10 tickets for children and senior citizens. Vanderlip proclaimed the theater excellent for dance. “We feel the Center has been very supportive of us, and very open to us as a local arts group,” she said.

Diane Doyle, director of the Young Conservatory Players, said that the group’s productions are based on original adaptations of children’s books and improvisations by the child performers themselves.

All the SCR productions are on weekends. The offering for April 4-5 is “I Didn’t Know That!,” which consists of anecdotal segments based on unusual facts. The June 13-14 event is “Cinderella and Tizzie Twinkle,” a fanciful Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation of the Cinderella story.

Doyle said subscriptions for children to all the SCR offerings are $15, with single tickets costing $5.