Wasteland No More : Simi Valley Plans Arts Center, Hoping for Better Reviews

Cultural black hole. Artistic wasteland. Theatrical vacuum.

For years, Simi Valley has borne the stigma of being branded a city without a creative soul. It is an unfortunate and undeserved reputation, some residents argue.

The city is home to three movie theaters, two bowling alleys, a pool hall and a drive-in complete with an enormous Sunday swap meet.

The Simi Cultural Center, however, is wedged into a tiny space alongside the records division of the city’s Police Department, the stage of its 98-seat theater no larger than a multiplex movie screen.

“I hate to say this, but you mention Simi Valley and culture in the same sentence and people say ‘black hole,’ ” said Jan Glasband, president of the Simi Cultural Assn., which runs the theater on Cochran Street. “At this point it’s a cliche.”

Simi Valley City Councilwoman Judy Mikels, a former association president, agreed.

“There’s a tremendous amount of creative talent in Simi Valley,” Mikels said. “But when it comes to the arts, there’s this misimpression of the city as some kind of wasteland.”

Now, the city is taking a major step to change that.

After many false starts and years of pleading, haggling and maneuvering, Simi Valley is getting its own full-fledged arts center.

It will not be a grand pavilion on a par with the nearly completed $63.8-million Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks.

Instead, it will be a modest, 300-seat hall, housed in a 70-year-old former Methodist church that has also served over the years as a mortuary, Jewish temple and haunted house.

“The size is perfect because it will give the city a chance to get accustomed to having a theater, to grow into the space,” Glasband said. “I don’t think we could have asked for anything better.”

Funded with $2.55 million in city redevelopment revenue, the decaying gray structure is being restored to retain its majestic neoclassical style and adjusted to suit the needs of a soundproof theater and arts hub.

When completed, the 15,000-square-foot space at 3050 Los Angeles Ave. will house not only the main theater auditorium, but a smaller theater, art gallery and community room.

Although the theater is not scheduled to open until March, arts supporters are already making plans for the new venue.

For director Irene Silbert, the larger space means freedom to do bigger, more ambitious projects.

Silbert, whose production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is now playing at the theater on Cochran Street, said squeezing the cast onto the tiny stage has been a challenge.

“I have a cast of 35 and an audience capacity of 98,” Silbert said. “I can’t wait to have a larger space.”

In the meantime, Silbert has scheduled a free, outdoor performance of the play at the Rancho Simi Park Amphitheater for Sunday.

“We did that in part to have the extra space so that everyone who wants to see it can come,” Silbert said. “It’s just incredibly exciting for all of us to know that soon we will have a real theater.”

The City Council has appointed a five-member Simi Valley Cultural Arts Commission to run the center.

The commissioners, all Simi Valley residents, are: Lee Altmar, a training coordinator at Countrywide Funding Corp. in Simi Valley; Jay Bloom, a program adviser for the Los Angeles Unified School District; Peggy Sadler, administrative assistant at Simi Valley Presbyterian Church; Sharon Stewart, a senior engineering writer at Litton Guidance and Control in Woodland Hills; and Dudley Wynkoop, a self-employed architect.

Over the next several months, the commission will hire a full-time manager to oversee the center’s day-to-day operations and begin planning programming for the theater. The commission will also act as the theater’s board of directors, raising funds to support productions.

The newly appointed commissioners said one of their main goals is to keep in close touch with the community by actively participating in cultural events.

“Being involved is fun, and it will make it easier to understand the needs of the community,” said Altmar, who is also an amateur actor who eagerly agreed to play the role of Nick Bottom in Silbert’s Shakespearean production. “I’m just pleased as punch to be serving on the commission.”

Wynkoop designed the stage sets and also has a small role in the play--his first on-stage performance.

“I will do whatever I can to be of service to the performing arts in Simi Valley,” Wynkoop said. “This is a huge step forward for the city and for the arts.”

Sadler, a 31-year Simi Valley resident, jumped at the chance to serve on the commission.

Over the years Sadler has been involved in several attempts to build a theater in the city.

“I’ve waited more than 30 years to see this happen and I’m just thrilled,” Sadler said. “We’re not only bringing a great new theater space to the city, we’re preserving one of the few buildings in this city worth saving.”

Indeed, she helped persuade the City Council several years ago to include a $15-million, 750-seat arena in its long-range plans for public land near City Hall. The city has postponed that project indefinitely because of the recession.

As an interim step, the city paid $821,000 for the crumbling Methodist church in 1991, with the hope of transforming it into a theater.

But the plan met with resistance from some residents and from Councilwomen Sandi Webb and Barbara Williamson, who argued that private business, not public funds, should pay for the arts.

Mayor Greg Stratton and council members Bill Davis and Mikels supported the project, ultimately overruling the opposition and agreeing to fund the theater renovation.

But in March council members feared the project would hit another snag.

They worried that the increased demand for construction labor after the Jan. 17 earthquake would prompt contractors to increase their fees, pushing the cost for the theater project out of the city’s reach.

But bids on the project came in within the city’s funding range and reconstruction began in late May.

“I think we all breathed a big sigh of relief,” Mikels said. “So many people have worked so long and hard on this that it’s a huge thrill to see it finally happening.”