City to Temporarily 'Curtail' Shows at Amador Theater in Mid-August

Longtime Pleasanton resident and mother of three Jamie Renton is frustrated. Last weekend her daughter Kelly performed in an annual recital for Pleasanton-based Jazz 'n Taps dance company at the Amador Theater.

Next year, Renton has learned, the theater on Santa Rita Road will likely be closed to such private groups, which will have to look at other venues for special events.

After hearing rumors of the temporary closure of the Amador Theater to private groups, Renton decided to take action.

She found that the city, due to budget constraints and the upcoming opening of the new Firehouse Arts Center, has decided it cannot staff and operate two theaters simultaneously.

"[Amador Theater] definitely is part of the community and I'm very excited about the Firehouse Arts Center too, but they're very different venues," said Renton.

Renton said she has always been supportive of the Firehouse Arts Center project, but didn't know that it would be at the expense of Amador  and the private groups that have been renting the venue for years.

The Amador Theater has been the city's principal performing arts venue for more than 60 years and cost $800,000 to renovate in 1981. The theater costs $319,000 to operate each year.

The Firehouse Arts Center, a $10 million project located on Railroad Avenue, will cost about $870,000 to operate but is expected to bring in $400,000 in revenues.

Joanne Hall, Pleasanton's public information officer, confirmed that the city will be reducing operations at the Amador in mid-August. City staff said that any revenues from rental rates, which makes up about 10 to 20 percent of Amador's operating costs, are not enough to keep the theater running as it has been along with a new arts center.

The theater will still be available for use by the Pleasanton Unified School District.

Hall said children's programs such as the Summer Drama Camps will take place at the Firehouse Arts center, as will Civic Arts presentations of popular shows such as performances by the Sippy Cups, a children's rock band, under the title of "Firehouse Kids."

In a voice mail to Pleasanton Patch last Friday,  Andy Jorgensen, the City of Pleasanton's Civic Arts Manager, said:

"The Amador Theater is, of course, part of two theaters that the city is going to be operating now this coming year and, given the fact that we need to put (much of) our resources into opening the Firehouse Arts Center … we are going to be temporarily curtailing our activities at the Amador," Jorgensen said.

He said groups who have rented Amador Theater may use venues in surrounding communities, including the Bankhead Theater, the San Ramon Theater, and a soon-to-be-opened, 500-seat theater at Las Positas College.

In addition, city staff said that less formal productions may have opportunities to perform at the Senior Center or the Veteran's Hall, depending on availability of those venues.

"We're going to really focus on getting the Firehouse [Arts Center] going the way we feel that it should be, with frankly about the same number of staff that we have at the Amador," Jorgensen said.

When asked about the duration of this year's expected reduced use of the Amador Theater, Jorgensen said, "We hope that that's going to be a temporary situation and that as things improve budget-wise and everything then we can expand our horizons."

Regarding the economic impact, Pleasanton's economic development director Pamela Ott suggested that new offerings at the Firehouse Arts Center, beginning in September, should offset any affects of limited performances at the Amador Theater.

"Not only will this new center add to the arts venues in our community, but it will also generate additional cultural and economic vitality in the downtown," Ott said. "To ensure that the Firehouse Arts Center gets off to a successful start, for the next year or two the city's resources will be focused on programming this new facility while activity at the Amador Theater is reduced. As such, the economic impact isn't lost, but rather shifted to other businesses, particularly those in the downtown (area)."

But it's the impact on residents and kids that Renton is worried about.

"I'm a Pleasanton resident, my daughter dances in Pleasanton and I love being able to say that [Amador Theater] is where my daughter dances," she said.

Last week, Renton started a grass-roots effort to keep the Amador Theatre offering rentals to Pleasanton-based private groups wishing to perform at the venue.

Renton inserted fliers in the recital programs for last weekend's dance recital promoting a blog, www.saveamadortheater.blogspot.com and its accompanying Facebook Page, which now has more than 400 fans.

Resident Don Hogue, while supportive of Renton's efforts, last week warned about the importance of learning exactly the timing and scope of the planned closure as well as whether that closure applies to just some, or all, private use.

"I would caution against taking an 'all-or-nothing' approach," Hogue said. "Noting that Pleasanton has invested much in the children of our community [such as playing fields, family friendly activities], we should respect a decision to limit the number of events at Amador, but we should point out the history and intent of the original renovations of the theater, which was to fulfill "a need for a first-rate performing arts facility."

A detailed history and intents of the most recent renovations to the Amador Theater can be read on the website of the non-profit entity, the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council. The Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council raises private funds for the arts and is not a division of the city government.

For more information on the Firehouse Arts Center opening and how it will impact groups and Amador Theater, visit the City of Pleasanton's website.

Marnette Federis contributed to this report.