GLENDALE : Theater Group Hopes to Form Arts Hub

A group of theater enthusiasts who hope to turn Glendale into a performing arts hub plans to ask the City Council for $35,000 to begin working on a plan to promote the city’s stage venues.

Members of a task force formed by the city last year to hash out plans for the proposed Glendale Theater District said this week they plan to create a nonprofit corporation that would actively promote events at Glendale’s three existing live theaters, the Alex Theatre, A Noise Within and the Glendale Centre Theater.

Task force members and city officials believe the plan would improve the city’s image as a cultural arts center and also provide an economic boost as more theater-goers are attracted to the area.

“The city sees the district as an economic development opportunity,” said Derrill Quaschnick, assistant redevelopment director. “We think having attractive cultural opportunities here is good business and will be good for business.”

The task force, composed of about two dozen business people and community activists, will make a formal request to the council for the $35,000 in the near future so it can hire a marketing consultant for the theater district.

The group also hopes to adopt official boundaries for the district--proposed for the Brand Boulevard area of downtown--and to form a nonprofit corporation within the next year, said Mason Yost, chairman of the group.

A city-commissioned study concluded last year that the cost of running a theater district, including a budget for advertising and salaries for a director and small staff, could reach $200,000 a year.

Officials said they want the district to be a self-sustaining organization.