New Vic to Break Ground in Spring
Live Theater at Reasonable Rates
ENSEMBLE’S HOME: Ensemble Theatre Company, closing in on its $9.9-million goal to rebuild the old Victoria Hall Theater, expects to break ground next spring and begin staging plays in the fall of 2013.
The plan is to create a community performing arts venue other nonprofits can lease at very reasonable rates compared with rental costs at larger downtown theaters, Ensemble Campaign Co-Chair Derek Westen told a group touring the former church on Monday.
The city of Santa Barbara has kicked in $1 million in redevelopment funds. The rest is coming from donations. The plan is, Westen said, to gut the present inefficient auditorium and create a 299-seat theater with new seating and better audience sight lines, relocated restrooms, and an enlarged, redesigned stage.
