> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Dustin Hoffman helps break ground on $31 million Madison Theater in Santa Monica - URL: https://www.smdp.com/actor-dustin-hoffman-puts-shovel-to-soil-for-ceremonial-ground-breaking-of-new-madison-theater-in-santa-monica/ - Published: 2005-01-20T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T06:01:38.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Entertainment, Brentwood, #archive-import *The stage is set* CITY — Actor Dustin Hoffman and outgoing Santa Monica College President Dr. Piedad F. Robertson officially broke ground Wednesday afternoon on a $31 million theater slated to open in 2007. Hoffman, a former SMC student who lives in Brentwood, decried the lack of a major performing arts center on the Westside. The 540-seat theater was designed by Santa Monica architect Renzo Zecchetto and will be built on the Madison School campus at 11th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. “I grew up here, and I didn’t see any theater,” Hoffman told a crowd of 350 during a 15-minute speech that touched on his acting past, and the growing need for arts and artistic expression. Hoffman praised a jazz band that played at the event, saying musicians share a connection few ever understand. “To be in that zone, and there ain’t nothing like it,” said Hoffman, comparing the creation of music and art to a religious experience. “That is missing today, that I know. And that is missing at a very critical time... “Art is a gentle way of allowing us the intimacy that we shut off,” Hoffman continued. “We are all here, now. Alive, temporarily, and we have things that we can do and we have things that we can do, symbiotically.” The beauty of the Madison Theater, Hoffman added, is that actors and directors who live on the Westside will be able to participate in show runs between their stage, screen and television engagements. Unlike Broadway plays, which typically run for six months, a year or longer, shows at Madison will have three-month runs, theater representatives said. Hoffman’s acting troupe, 3 Coasts, will be in residency at the theater. Several local leaders were on hand for the event, including members of the SMC Board of Trustees, the Santa Monica City Council and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a supporter of the theater. Also present were actors Stephen Collins, Tom Hulce and Shelley Morrison, among others. Plans for the theater have been seven years in the making. Funding comes from a variety of sources, one of which was contributions from a number of celebrities, including Hoffman. Still, the largest chunk of funding, $24 million, came from Measure S, the $135 million bond approved by Santa Monica-Malibu voters in November. Another $4 million came from Measure U passed in 2002 and an additional $1 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, said SMC spokesman Bruce Smith. In addition to the theater, the $31 million will pay to renovate the Madison campus for use by the SMC music department and convert the existing auditorium into a rehearsal hall. Robertson, who went on to a farewell event at St. Monica’s Church Wednesday evening, said seeing the project finally take off after years of hard work was a fitting end to her 10 years at the helm of the college. In a ceremonial show of confidence, she handed a yellow construction cap and shovel to Tom Donner, a top college official who will take over as president of the college until a replacement for Robertson is chosen. When the crowd gave her a standing ovation, Robertson held back tears. “This is a unique occasion,” she said. “You are all here from the moment of birth for what will be a huge thing for this community... This will be a place that children will come to have their first introduction to the arts. “From me to all of you, thank you for helping this to be accomplished,” Robertson later added, as she concluded her comments. “Thank you for believing it could happen.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/012005-03_01-11.jpg) Dustin Hoffman is joined at a Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony by interim Santa Monica College President Tom Donner, left, outgoing SMC President Dr. (Photo: John Wood/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/012005-03_02-11.jpg) ROCKIN’ OUT: Dustin Hoffman keeps the beat as a jazz band performs for the Madison Theater groundbreaking event Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: John Wood/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/012005-03_03-8.jpg) ROCKIN’ OUT: Dustin Hoffman keeps the beat as a jazz band performs for the Madison Theater groundbreaking event Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: John Wood/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 20, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/012005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)