Hoffman’s troupe in residency at Madison
MID-CITY — The theater which supporters say will become a mecca for Westside arts and culture was topped off with its final high beam on Monday.
Dozens of local officials, guests and other well-wishers for Santa Monica College’s Madison Theater — a 541-seat performing arts center under construction at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and 11th Street — celebrated the placement of its last beam onto the 32,000 square-foot facility. While the theater still resembles a giant metal cage, officials contend the most attractive phase of construction will be underway from now until it opens in the winter of 2007.
On Monday, several supporters for the $32 million project listened to classical compositions by Antonio Vivaldi and were handed a rose intended to symbolize the beauty and culture which the theater will foster. In addition, they were given a hammer, representing the hard work needed to make the facility a reality. Then, the group of supporters and others present, which included SMC’s interim president Tom Donner and Malibu Mayor Andy Stern, proceeded to sign the last high beam before it was hoisted into place atop the auditorium, with an Plans for the theater have been at least seven years in the making. Funding comes from a variety of sources, one of which was private contributions from a number of celebrities, including actor Dustin Hoffman. Still, the largest chunk of funding, $24 million, came courtesy of 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 $32 million will pay to renovate the Madison campus for use by the SMC music department and convert the existing auditorium into a rehearsal hall.
Once complete, the outside of the theater will feature gardens, a reflecting pool and fountain. It will have a limestone exterior with rough-board concrete and a wood-paneled entry canopy that will lead into a hardwood floor auditorium with stone and paneled walls, as well as a structural glass curtain.
Hoffman, a former SMC student who lives in Brentwood, has previously decried the lack of a major performing arts center on the Westside. The beauty of the Madison Theater, he has said, 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.
The Madison theater was designed by Santa Monica architect Renzo Zecchetto. Dale Franzen, SMC’s project director, said it will be a unique contribution to Santa Monica life.
“It will bring the community together in a way that the beach or Promenade can’t,” Franzen said. “It will be a source of cultural enrichment in which all people can participate and be equal.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 11, 2005. Read the original PDF.