Company works to survive

SOUTH SAN FERNANDO DISTRICT — The Burbank theater company Shakespeare at Play relocated to a warehouse on Oak Street on Saturday, with a troupe of actors and technicians dragging everything from props to costumes to stage flats to their new facility in 100-degree heat.

The company had to clear out of its former location in the Theater Arts Courtyard on San Fernando Boulevard to make room for the property owner’s possible expansion of the 800-square-foot building. Movers transported both the contents of that facility, as well as three spaces of stored equipment, Shakespeare at Play member Jim Schendel said.

“We had quite a day,” he said. “And after moving all that stuff, we also had to make room to make it not just a storage space, but a rehearsal space.”

The company has installed shelving to keep equipment off of the floor and store 8-by-4 foot flats, which are wooden frames often used to create stage scenery. Pegs will be placed in the warehouse walls for use hanging props like tables and chairs, Executive Director Debbie Gates said.

“It’s going to be very SoHo-ish,” she said, referring to the district south of Houston Street New York City. “We’re going to be putting plants on the building and put in nice little hanging baskets and flowers. We’re going to make it nice over there; it’s not a warehouse anymore.”

The move on Saturday came after about a month’s delay, during which Gates’ search for a new location continually turned up warehouses that were well out of the company’s budget, she said.

“Each time, I said we just can’t,” she said. “We can’t sign our names to pay with money we couldn’t possibly come up with every month. That would be bad on both of our parts.”

To generate funds for Shakespeare at Play, Gates and business partner Jeff Schoenberg purchased Renaissance Dancewear, a company that manufactures specialty tights and costumes for the stage. The business will operate out of the new warehouse, tightening Shakespeare at Play’s quarters even more, she said.

“It’s going to be more cramped and it’s not in the fun entertainment area,” Schendel said. “But it’s a new place and it’s exciting to have a new place.”

Shakespeare at Play has struggled with funding challenges, especially after the elimination of city performing-arts grants hit its budgets, Gates said. But the company has endured through refinancing, credit-card loans and the new investment in Renaissance Dancewear, she said.

“You do all the things you have to do when you’ve got a dream,” she said. “And if you’re going to fail, let me fail big.”

The company rehearsed on Tuesday for the first time in its new space, in preparation for “Comedy of Errors” performances in Las Vegas next week, Gates said. Three teams of actors will also travel to 32 schools in Clarke County, Nev., to hold classes, she said.

“It’s like moving a little army,” she said. “It’s just a wild time for Shakespeare at Play. But we’re a traveling company — it’s what we do.”