A Noise Within’s show of resolve

Deborah Strang appeared in her first show with A Noise Within 19 years ago, when the then-fledgling classical repertory company was settling into borrowed space in a former Masonic temple in Glendale.

“We all built the set and made brownies for the concession stand,” says the veteran actress, who played a tribune in Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus.” “It was a real ensemble piece, so we were onstage together almost the whole time.”

While such experiences are not unusual for a small troupe, one thing stood out. At a meeting, Strang recalls, co-founder Geoff Elliott told them that “one day we’d have our own theater, an Equity theater, with a conservatory program. He spoke about the future and said we were all a part of it,” Strang says. “It was very moving.”

On Saturday, Strang again will be performing Shakespeare, playing Maria in “Twelfth Night,” as A Noise Within opens a new era with a new theater — a 33,000-square-foot complex in Pasadena — and a company that in many ways is the one Elliott envisioned.

“At the first rehearsal,” Strang says, “we walked in and looked at each other and we said, ‘We’re here!’ I expect the first performance will be very similar. We’ll go onstage and, this time, we’ll have the audience with us … and they’ll look at us and we’ll look at them and we’ll all say, ‘We did it!’”

That shared feeling of triumph — and relief — reflects the spirit with which A Noise Within has spent two decades doing things its way, often despite unlikely odds.

“When we started, people thought we were crazy for trying the classics in Glendale,” says Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, Elliott’s wife and company co-founder and co-artistic director. “Then we said we’d raise money to build a theater in what turned out to be a terrible economy. Nothing’s been ideal. But we’ve had incredible good fortune, a great board and dedicated patrons and artists. Plus Geoff and I are pretty persistent — some would say stubborn.”

On a recent blustery afternoon, the Elliotts pause from unpacking to enjoy the view from their new three-story building on Foothill Boulevard. Ever practical, they point out both the scenic San Gabriel Mountains and Ross Dress for Less, where Elliott just bought a fresh shirt after completing a fix-up job. “There are a lot of benefits to being here,” he says.

Indeed, the multimillion-dollar digs — 283-seat theater, scenery and costume shops, offices and rehearsal, education and storage areas — are a welcome change from their old cramped and quirky quarters, which included a 145-seat theater reachable by steep stairs and short on backstage space. Such conditions would be challenging for any company, let alone one that mounts more than one show at a time.

Now, says Rodriguez-Elliott, “We have the artistic and physical freedom to tackle plays and projects we couldn’t and expand our audiences.” And yet, she adds, “We’re trying to keep the sense of intimacy and history we had. We just want to give it a more modern feel.”

The couple, in their early 50s, moved to L.A. in the mid-’80s after studying at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. They began to stage their own shows, including a bare-bones 1991 “Hamlet” with partner Art Manke. (He would serve as company co-artistic director before leaving to pursue other projects a decade ago.) “It was like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney,” says Rodriguez-Elliott. “Whatever we needed appeared.” That included actors, costumes and even a theater space, thanks to the DePietro family, which owns the ‘20s-era former Masonic building and offered use of it under what Rodriguez-Elliott calls “a very generous” agreement. “Dennis and Robert and their families have given us an incredible gift,” she says.

A Noise Within launched its first full season in 1992 and soon developed a core group of resident artists and a reputation for presenting quality interpretations of the dramatic canon.

“We were doing good work,” Rodriguez-Elliott says, but “to reach our full potential we needed a new home.” The company made a move in 1999 — spending a bumpy season at Cal State Los Angeles — but ended up back at the temple.

A few years ago, A Noise Within began to seriously pursue constructing a theater, buoyed by a positive feasibility study. After several twists and turns, the couple say, the search for a site led to Pasadena, where Mayor Bill Bogaard is “an ardent supporter.” Developers David Worrell and Jeff Allen’s SMV Technology Partners gave the company land in a mixed-use project in the midcentury modern Stuart Pharmaceutical building — designed by Edward Durell Stone — in exchange for city assistance in converting the rest of the building into apartments.

In July 2008, A Noise Within announced a $16-million capital campaign for the complex, designed by John Berry Architects. At the time, about half the money had been raised through institutional and individual support.

Then the economy sank. “It was gut-wrenching,” Elliott recalls. “There were any number of times when we wondered if we were going to make it.” The building design was rethought and the goal reduced to $13.5 million. Luckily, he says, commitments held and “people kept giving at all levels.” About $13 million has been raised.

In Pasadena, the first annual operating budget is about $1.3 million, compared to just under $1 million in Glendale. Audience capacity will double to 50,000 a year and the number of students in education programs to 20,000.

As it turns out, its devotion to the classics may have contributed to A Noise Within’s success. Years of presenting great plays in repertory have created senses of common purpose and community among actors, audiences — and potential donors. “There’s a chemistry that comes from working with the same people for so long,” says Strang, who has appeared in nearly 60 company productions.

At A Noise Within, she has starred in Shakespeare, Ibsen and Ionesco, teaches classes and manages the box office — a job she values because, she says, “I know who I’m performing for since I sold them their seats.”

Strang expects to see many familiar faces at “Twelfth Night,” which director Rodriguez-Elliott is setting in pre-revolutionary Cuba. (Elliott plays Malvolio.) She hopes to see new faces too. “The point is to keep growing,” she says, “and have everyone think of this as their home.”

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