An Arts Scene As We Like It

South Coast Repertory provided more encouraging news on the arts front last month with the announcement that it has raised much of the money it needs to build a new stage and to nearly double its endowment.

That news came at a fitting ceremony: the groundbreaking on a 336-seat theater due to open in fall 2002. South Coast Repertory launched a $40-million fund-raising campaign nearly three years ago. So far it’s gone past the $30-million mark, with much of the money coming from large donors, including the organization’s single largest contribution since its founding in 1964, a $5-million gift from George and Judie Argyros. The plan now is to raise the rest in smaller contributions.

Shows on the Mainstage in the season that just ended registered 86% capacity. Those on the Second Stage, where new productions are staged each year, averaged 88% capacity. That’s a reflection of the interest in the arts, both in revivals such as those often featured at Mainstage, and the more innovative, experimental work on the Second Stage.

The new stage also will be a venue for shows for children, thereby playing an important role in expanding the horizons of youngsters. The Whittier Family Foundations announced a $500,000 grant over four years to help bring new, professionally produced works for children and families to the stage.

The founding artistic directors of South Coast, David Emmes and Martin Benson, have commissioned playwright Donald Margulies to write a play for the youth series. Margulies said his intent is “to create a kind of G-rated theater that invites everybody in,” including his 9-year-old son.

South Coast Repertory has an impressive history and has garnered a large number of awards. It also has provided the county with an important benefit, an opportunity to relax or be challenged outside the workaday world.

The new theater and increased endowment should go far toward ensuring a flourishing arts community in the county and providing residents with different productions for different tastes.