NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Cable Show Will Spotlight ‘Theatre Life’

A new cable television show aimed at using TV to lure audience members out of the house and into San Fernando Valley theaters held its first rehearsal in North Hollywood on Thursday.

To be called “Theatre Life,” the program is being developed by the Valley Theatre League. It will be shown monthly on public access Channel 3 to Century Cable subscribers south of Ventura Boulevard, including parts of the Valley and Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.

“So many people don’t know what’s going on in theater in the Valley,” said Juanin Clay of Woodland Hills, an actress and one of the show’s three anchors. “They just stay home and watch television.”

The half-hour show will feature segments on the 23 theatrical troupes and theaters that make up the nonprofit Valley Theatre League, highlighting current plays and other theater-related themes.

The first show, complete with the anchors and four roving reporters, will feature segments on a children’s show, a Shakespearean production and a play about Hollywood.

The show will also include an interview with David A. Cox, a driving force behind the NoHo Arts District.

Thursday’s rehearsal included a round-table discussion on topics ranging from the way theaters compete for the rights to a show, to how to make sure that one theater doesn’t put on the same play planned by another.

Some of the details of the program’s structure and content are still being worked out. One debate on Thursday was over the way interviews would be handled.

Some of the anchors--all actors--wanted to be filmed asking their questions in a limousine. Others talked about doing interviews on a roof.

“Suppose we’re all in a bubble bath,” Clay suggested. “It should be zany.”