Civic Arts Plaza Panel Plans Conservative Lineup : Theater: Commission decides Thousand Oaks facility’s first year of programs will be varied, but not too controversial.

As they reviewed programs from groups clamoring to perform in the new Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks theater commissioners kept returning to a single question: Just what are residents expecting to see?

A lighthearted lineup of old favorites? “West Side Story”? “South Pacific”? “Oklahoma!”?

Or a more daring schedule of modern drama--plays about hot-button topics like AIDS, abortion and homosexuality?

Debating the issue during their monthly meeting Wednesday night, the seven members of the Civic Theatres Commission decided they wanted to bring in a mix of programming. But, at least in the first year, a conservative mix.

“As a commission, we have to be very sensitive to the citizens of Thousand Oaks,” Commissioner Larry Janss said. “There is a place for controversial theater here, but I want us to get hunkered down and hit a home run in our first year.”

Although the Civic Arts Plaza will not open until next fall, most performers begin to firm up their schedules in January, so the commission must begin to set programming goals now.

To that end, the commissioners voted unanimously to request City Council authorization to begin negotiating for long-term programming contracts with three groups seeking “resident company” status: the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera, the Theatre Corp. of America, and the Theatre League of Kansas City.

While the Santa Barbara opera produces mainly tried-and-true warhorses, like “Peter Pan” and “Evita,” the Theatre Corp. of America stages original productions for the Pasadena Playhouse, including more avant-garde material.

The Theatre Corp.’s latest show just landed on Broadway--a futuristic tale of a pregnant woman who finds out that her fetus is gay, and holds an agonizing debate with friends and family about whether to abort it. Called “Twilight of the Golds,” the play, Janss said, may be “too far out” for Thousand Oaks.

The third group seeking resident status specializes in bringing big-name shows like “Les Miserables” and “Cats” on tour across the country. Because it functions as a touring company, stopping in each town for a one-week run, the Theatre League could share its resident status with either the Santa Barbara or the Pasadena group, commissioners said.

Landing any of the three as residential companies would cost the city nothing, other than the slight risk of signing a long-term contract and setting aside 10 to 12 weeks of prime programming.

But also at Wednesday’s meeting, the commission approved the concept of co-presenting headline stars--an arrangement that requires a small risk of funds.

Instead of asking big-name performers to ante up thousands of dollars to rent the auditorium, the theater commission could waive the standard rental fees and labor charges, in exchange for a percentage of the star’s profits.

If the show flopped, the commission would lose the money it would have received in rent--but the risk would be minimal, said theater Director Tom Mitze.

Co-presenting would allow Thousand Oaks to attract stars without risking any money from the taxpayer-supported general fund. Determined to make a splash in the auditorium’s first year, the theater commission has already begun to pursue Mikhail Baryshnikov’s dance troupe, singer Judy Collins, the Vienna Choir Boys and Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain Tonight!”

“We’re special and we need to have something special in our theater,” Commissioner Virginia Davis said.