Little House, Big House : Theater: Actors Alley, marking its 20th year, will transfer two of its productions from its small venue to the much larger Gindi Auditorium.

In the year of its 20th anniversary, Actors Alley is taking a leap into the unknown.

Like most small theater companies, this troupe in Van Nuys has long dreamed that one of its productions would also be seen in a much bigger house. But for most small companies, that dream comes true only on very special occasions or not at all.

Playing a big theater is prohibitively expensive. Actors Equity, the theatrical union, waives its salary requirements for shows playing in houses with fewer than 100 seats, so little theaters, such as the 99-seat house that Actors Alley uses, get a major break.

But Actors Alley has struck an unusual deal that will guarantee that two of its upcoming shows will also play at least six performances each in a big Equity theater. A partnership between the troupe and the University of Judaism, on Mulholland Drive, will bring Actors Alley theater to the school’s 490-seat Gindi Auditorium.

“This is all a part of our agenda to someday get established as a true regional theater for the San Fernando Valley,” said Robert Caine, managing director of Actors Alley. “If we are ever going to produce in an Equity venue on a regular basis, we are going to have to get our feet wet.”

Actors Alley begins its season tonight in its regular small theater with “Red, Hot & Cole,” a revue of Cole Porter songs. It plays until Nov. 16.

Its second show, Ira Levin’s “Cantorial,” will mark the debut of the new partnership. The comedy-thriller, by the author of “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Deathtrap,” will play at the University of Judaism on Dec. 14 through 18 and then move to Actors Alley’s regular space from Jan. 2 to Feb. 16.

Later in the season, the other show under the new agreement, Susan Sandler’s “Crossing Delancy,” will play at the university May 9 through 13 and then will run at Actors Alley on May 16 through June 28.

The partnership came about because both institutions have long wanted to do major, original productions.

Actors Alley first had to get its financial act together, and that took several years. Caine knows all too well what happens when finances go bad. He owns a collection agency.

“They brought me in to try to run their business affairs, which were in complete disarray,” said Caine, who has worked for Actors Alley as a volunteer for eight years. “We had to get on a sound footing and that included setting goals, determining a purpose for existing, setting a course of action.”

Jeremiah Morris, who took over as artistic director 2 1/2 years ago, was in full sympathy with the goal of doing original productions in large Equity theaters.

“I took the job because I am an innocent,” said Morris, 62, who at one point in his career directed several episodes of TV shows, including “Barney Miller” and “Quincy,” and a few shows on Broadway, including one starring Jackie Mason. He also directed the national tour of Neil Simon’s “The Gingerbread Lady” that played Los Angeles.

“I missed the theater, and the thought of redefining a company--choosing a season, choosing directors and casts--really turned me on,” Morris said. “And I liked the idea that they had growth plans.”

In the meantime, the university had an ongoing, successful performing arts series. Its theater, dance and music events were drawing an average 85% of capacity, according to university officials. But artistically, the series was not entirely satisfying.

“Being that we were involved in the arts, we wanted to do something beyond just bringing in traveling shows,” said Max Vorspan, senior vice president at the University of Judaism.

The university made its first foray into original theater last year with a show called “Jokes: Kosher & Traif,” a reading of Jewish jokes and stories as compiled by producer Irwin Parnes and directed by Morris.

“Frankly, it was a bad misjudgment,” Vorspan said.

The show did not get a good audience response and, after a couple of performances, was cut in half. The star, Shelley Berman, was asked to substitute some of his classic routines for the second half.

Vorspan said: “The people had come to see Shelley, so we gave them Shelley doing his own material, and he was magnificent. But those first few shows were a difficult experience.”

Last year, when Caine approached Vorspan with the idea of producing a play at the university, “it was about the same time we heard about ‘Cantorial’ playing in Phoenix,” Vorspan said. “It sounded perfect for us.”

The play is about a young couple who buy a New York brownstone that was once a synagogue. While renovating, they find that it is haunted by the sound of its former cantor, who wants the building returned to its religious use.

The play made its debut in 1984 at the Hartman Theater in Stamford, Conn., played the 99-seat Jewish Repertory Theater in New York in 1988 and then moved up to the off-Broadway Lamb’s Theater in 1990. But it was not one of Levin’s better-known works and had never played Los Angeles.

Actors Alley secured the rights to do it.

The budget for the six-week run of the show at Actors Alley will be about $16,000, Caine said. But doing the show for just six performances at the university will cost about $35,000.

The money breakdown is as follows: Actors Alley pays the costs for all rehearsals and the set, which will have to be expanded for the bigger stage at the university. The troupe will also pay all production costs of doing “Cantorial” at its small theater.

The university pays all lighting, crew and other staging expenses of doing the show in its auditorium, including actors’ salaries for those six performances.

The combined ticket income from both productions will be split between Actors Alley and the university, on a prorated basis. “That way we either both win or both lose,” Vorspan said.

Vorspan is optimistic, based on past experience with the university’s series, that the venture will at least break even. Caine said Actors Alley has resources that it can call upon in case of a shortfall.

Unless presentation of the plays is a disaster, both entities stand to benefit.

“They get a benefit because they get a professional acting company as part of their series,” Caine said.

“The theater gets to use a big facility they would not normally have access to,” Vorspan said. “Hopefully, we can make it all work.”

“Red, Hot & Cole” opens tonight at Actors Alley, 12135 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays through Nov. 16, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees Sept. 15 and 22, Oct. 13 and Nov. 3. Opening-night tickets are $18; all other performances are $15. For information on individual shows or season tickets, call (818) 508-4200. For information about the Actors Alley productions at the University of Judaism, call (213) 476-9777, Ext. 203.