As if putting on large scale plays and musicals weren’t enough work, The Playhouse had to find a way to put itself back together after weather damage it suffered from a thunderstorm last May. A rain-damaged roof soaked through and ceiling plaster came raining down on the seats at their Russell Hill Rogers Theater.
As Playhouse CEO Asia Ciaravino notes, fixing a theater is tough work for people who just want to entertain you in one.
"It is, but it’s really worth the fight," she said. "I’m hoping to improve upon the space, which improves upon the theater-goers' experience, and they’ll want to come back and be a part of what we’ve created that’s new."
But before the new is created, the old has to go, which Ciaravino said is being done in a three-phase project.
"The first phase was removing the plaster in the Russell Hill Rogers Theater. And then we put some black fabric up to protect it and keep it until we do the next phase, which is working on the roof. And then the phase after that will be replacing the ceiling, back to either what it originally was, which is plaster. Or what I’d like to do is put sound clouds in and have a space which could help people hear better in it. So I’m trying to improve upon the space," she said.
Ciaravino is raising money through foundations and other efforts, but also got help from the city.
"It’s a combined effort with the city; the city is bringing the money forward for the roof," she said.
They hope to be finished with renovations by this time next year. Ciaravino has no complaints though; theater-going is booming here.
- Learn more about The Playhouse at: www.theplayhousesa.org
