Open Fist looking for a new home

Hollywood’s Open Fist Theatre won’t be open much longer in its quarters on North La Brea Avenue. A mixed-use development of condominiums and retail spaces is slated to take its place.

Open Fist artistic director Martha Demson says she believes the company will be able to produce its “Threepenny Opera” in its home but will have to move shortly after the show closes June 12. The venue for two remaining productions this season is unknown.

Demson says the company is looking for a space similar to its 4,400-square-foot facility. In fact, Open Fist joins two other Hollywood companies, the Actors’ Gang and the West Coast Ensemble, that are looking for new quarters because of planned demolitions or rent increases. Open Fist and the Actors’ Gang are among 14 companies that have applied to Culver City officials to become the resident troupe at the Ivy Substation.

The La Brea building was used for private theatrical and social events for decades before it became Open Fist’s first and only home. The company was founded in 1989 and opened its first show in 1990.