Black Actors Theatre Leases Site in Santa Ana

The Orange County Black Actors Theatre has taken what its founder described as “a first step toward a permanent home.” The 8-year-old amateur troupe, which has produced shows most recently in Brea and Anaheim, on Monday leased a basement space here at 410 W. 4th St.

Adleane Hunter, the troupe’s founder and producing artistic director, said she hopes to put in a 100-seat theater by next June--if $15,000 can be raised to equip and renovate the 2,000-square-foot space. Until then, it will be used for workshops and rehearsals and as an office.

The lease costs $1,100 per month, Hunter said, and runs through Sept. 30, 1991.

She said the cost will be defrayed by a recent $12,500 grant from the city.

The troupe hopes to stage productions this season at other theaters around the county--”The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae,” by Marsha Leslie, at the Gem Theatre in Garden Grove from Jan. 24 to Feb. 17; and “Fences,” by August Wilson, at the Curtis Theatre in Brea from April 26 to May 18--before opening the new space June 27 with “The Colored Museum,” by George C. Wolfe. However, Hunter said, rights to “Fences” and “The Colored Museum” still must be secured.

She also said acquiring the new space does not change the troupe’s desire to become a part-time resident company at Brea’s Curtis Theatre, where it showcased “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” in April.