Hammers Pound as Civic Builds a Future
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) -- Construction work finally has begun to bring the old Civic Theatre complex in Loch Haven Park back to life. Shuttered two summers ago for lack of funds, the three theaters in the complex will be repaired and renovated to turn them into a home for three different theatrical ventures -- some of it new to Orlando, and some almost identical to what the now-defunct Civic Theatre of Central Florida used to do. The first part of the renovated three-theater complex, the small Tupperware Theatre, is expected to reopen late this fall. If all goes as planned, the larger Edyth Bush Theatre and a renovated lobby would open next spring. Speculation about what is going into the complex, which was long the cornerstone of Orlando's theater community, has waxed and waned as plans and price tags have been announced and then promptly changed. But now that plans have been firmed up and renovations are under way, the idea seems to be to turn the complex into an amalgam of what the University of Central Florida theater program is becoming and what the Civic used to be. The initial program to be housed in the complex, which is now controlled by UCF and a not-for-profit UCF-Civic community board, will be the children's classes and workshops that survived from the old Civic. The complex also will be home to two programs associated with UCF's master's of fine arts degree in theater, a new degree first offered last fall. Students in a master's track in children's theater, which is expected to be offered starting in August 2003, will work and attend classes at the Loch Haven complex and will present a series of shows for children there. Three to 5 years from now, the complex also will house a play series for adults, performed by UCF graduate-student actors and by local professionals. A variety of donors came up with $681,000 to renovate the 100-seat Tupperware Theatre, which was built in 1975, and to bring the rest of the complex up to fire and safety codes, with repairs to the electrical, air-conditioning, sprinkler and fire-alarm systems and to the roof. Meanwhile, the state department of cultural affairs this spring made a $500,000 grant to the enterprise as a match for $500,000 in other donations. That money will allow work to begin on remodeling the 350-seat Edyth Bush Theatre, which opened in 1973. And Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood has asked for $200,000 for the Civic in her budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. If approved by the City Commission, the money would pay for improvements to the complex's exterior, which faces heavily traveled Mills Avenue, and to its rambling lobby. The third theater in the complex, the 12-year-old Ann Giles Densch Theatre, may be used for classrooms, rehearsal space or storage for the short term. Advertisements have gone out for an artistic director and an executive director to run the new theatrical partnership. The artistic director will be paid by UCF and will have a faculty appointment there. The executive director will be paid by the community board. One key question that remains is a name for the venture and for its various components. Although some people involved stand by the name "Civic" because of its history in the community, others point to the fact that civic means amateur in theatrical circles and that many of the associations the community had with the Civic, especially in its last years, were not good. The part of the new venture that provides classes for children, now known as UCF-Civic Academy of Theatre Arts, may be called Orlando Family Theatre and the play series for adults may be called Orlando Conservatory Theatre. Right now, the enterprise is using the cumbersome title Orlando Civic Theatre of Central Florida -- a name that everyone admits no one likes.
ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) -- Construction work finally has begun to bring the old Civic Theatre complex in Loch Haven Park back to life. Shuttered two summers ago for lack of funds, the three theaters in the complex will be repaired and renovated to turn them into a home for three different theatrical ventures -- some of it new to Orlando, and some almost identical to what the now-defunct Civic Theatre of Central Florida used to do. The first part of the renovated three-theater complex, the small Tupperware Theatre, is expected to reopen late this fall. If all goes as planned, the larger Edyth Bush Theatre and a renovated lobby would open next spring. Speculation about what is going into the complex, which was long the cornerstone of Orlando's theater community, has waxed and waned as plans and price tags have been announced and then promptly changed. But now that plans have been firmed up and renovations are under way, the idea seems to be to turn the complex into an amalgam of what the University of Central Florida theater program is becoming and what the Civic used to be. The initial program to be housed in the complex, which is now controlled by UCF and a not-for-profit UCF-Civic community board, will be the children's classes and workshops that survived from the old Civic. The complex also will be home to two programs associated with UCF's master's of fine arts degree in theater, a new degree first offered last fall. Students in a master's track in children's theater, which is expected to be offered starting in August 2003, will work and attend classes at the Loch Haven complex and will present a series of shows for children there. Three to 5 years from now, the complex also will house a play series for adults, performed by UCF graduate-student actors and by local professionals. A variety of donors came up with $681,000 to renovate the 100-seat Tupperware Theatre, which was built in 1975, and to bring the rest of the complex up to fire and safety codes, with repairs to the electrical, air-conditioning, sprinkler and fire-alarm systems and to the roof. Meanwhile, the state department of cultural affairs this spring made a $500,000 grant to the enterprise as a match for $500,000 in other donations. That money will allow work to begin on remodeling the 350-seat Edyth Bush Theatre, which opened in 1973. And Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood has asked for $200,000 for the Civic in her budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. If approved by the City Commission, the money would pay for improvements to the complex's exterior, which faces heavily traveled Mills Avenue, and to its rambling lobby. The third theater in the complex, the 12-year-old Ann Giles Densch Theatre, may be used for classrooms, rehearsal space or storage for the short term. Advertisements have gone out for an artistic director and an executive director to run the new theatrical partnership. The artistic director will be paid by UCF and will have a faculty appointment there. The executive director will be paid by the community board. One key question that remains is a name for the venture and for its various components. Although some people involved stand by the name "Civic" because of its history in the community, others point to the fact that civic means amateur in theatrical circles and that many of the associations the community had with the Civic, especially in its last years, were not good. The part of the new venture that provides classes for children, now known as UCF-Civic Academy of Theatre Arts, may be called Orlando Family Theatre and the play series for adults may be called Orlando Conservatory Theatre. Right now, the enterprise is using the cumbersome title Orlando Civic Theatre of Central Florida -- a name that everyone admits no one likes.