THEATER NOTES : Fund-Raising With Boxes and Elevators

The Ahmanson Theatre was rededicated in December and reopened in January with much fanfare, following a $17.1-million renovation.

So why do little notices keep appearing in Center Theatre Group programs mentioning the names of people whose pledges are “providing the remainder of the funds needed for the renovation project,” followed by a number that you can call for more information?

Because the Music Center borrowed $3.5 million to pay its share of the Ahmanson renovation cost (which was split among five organizations). The Music Center now must raise the money to pay back the loan plus interest and fund-raising costs. So far $1.5 million has been raised or pledged; another $3.5 million is the goal.

“It was crucial that we took out the bridge loan,” said Melissa Do Vale, executive director of the Music Center Capital Campaign. Without it, the facility’s renovation could not have followed immediately on the heels of “The Phantom of the Opera,” the hall’s last pre-renovation occupant, Do Vale said.

With the renovation taking place before all the money was raised, Do Vale said she can tell prospective donors, “Your funds have already been put to work ahead of time”--and they can see the results. She said she’s certain the rest of the money will be raised--especially after Center Theatre Group returns its regular Ahmanson series to the theater (after six seasons at the Doolittle Theatre), beginning next fall with “Candide.”

Do Vale hopes for gifts in the $350,000-$500,000 range--the price tag for getting rights to opening nights in the new theater’s boxes (only three of the 10 have been sold). But she realizes that might be “a little too steep” for some donors. So a range of other “naming opportunities” for donors of smaller sums has been devised.

Chip in $200,000, and an elevator from the garage to the plaza will be named in your honor. The asking price for your name on a wheelchair access ramp is $75,000. Two dressing rooms for principal actors go for $50,000 each, or your name can grace one of 11 chorus dressing rooms for a mere $25,000. The price for your name on the new forecourt or the east court is still to be determined. Names of $50,000 donors also will be included on a plaque in the lobby.

The hall’s seats will not be part of Do Vale’s campaign--their “naming opportunities” are being saved for fund-raising efforts of Center Theatre Group itself.

Although the loan has a five-year term, Music Center officials would like to raise the money to pay it off “ideally” within the coming fiscal year or “realistically” in the next two years, said a Music Center spokeswoman.

SEND IN THE COINS: Then again, if you’re a big spender, you might prefer to have the 664-seat auditorium inside Santa Barbara’s 71-year-old Lobero Theatre named after you. The cost: $1 million.

The Lobero is trying to raise $1.5 million to complete a required seismic renovation. If $150,000 isn’t raised by Sept. 1, allowing the third phase of the renovation to be completed by Sept. 30, the auditorium may have to close on Jan. 1, theater officials say.

This hasn’t stopped them from continuing their search for a fully professional theater company to serve as the Lobero’s “anchor tenant,” to replace the Pasadena Playhouse series that folded last year. Recently they have resumed talks with the Williamstown Theatre Festival, a summer operation in Massachusetts that’s considering the possibility of a winter home.

THE MUNICIPAL PLAY: The city of Los Angeles--via the performing arts division of the Cultural Affairs Department--is sponsoring a playwriting competition, “Premiere: Play Day.”

The first-place play, and possibly others, will be staged at the city-owned Los Angeles Theatre Center. Selected plays will receive LATC runs of no less than four weekends.

Don’t think about entering at this late date. Ten theater companies already picked the candidates and are presenting readings of the nominated plays this month. Each company will submit its recommended plays to the city, perhaps rated in order of preference.

Participating theaters are Broadway on Sunset, Hudson Theatre, Inner City Cultural Center, Interact Theatre, Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, LATC itself (using works from the city-sponsored Wordsmiths playwright workshops), Mojo Ensemble, Theatre of N.O.T.E., Theatre West and West Coast Ensemble.

A panel, to be appointed by Cultural Affairs staffers, will meet at the end of the summer to go over the submissions and select the ultimate winner or winners. The panel will consist of “theater experts on the artistic side,” said Adolfo V. Nodal, general manager of the Cultural Affairs Department.

The playwrights must be residents of Los Angeles County, but not necessarily the city.

Each play-submitting theater gets $1,000 for its efforts in the screening process, while the two musical-submitting companies each get $1,500. The ultimate productions will probably be co-financed by the city and the sponsoring companies.

“We’re trying to fill in the gaps when outside productions aren’t using LATC,” Nodal said. He indicated that as many as six shows might be produced under the plan, beginning next winter. He hopes the project might “bring back some of the people who were involved at LATC” when the building’s resident company was active in 1985-91.