Malibu’s local theater company may be joining forces with the Point Dume Community Services District in managing the facility the company rents.
The Malibu Stage Company is in the process of reviewing a proposal made by the District for a join-operating agreement regarding the facility. If approved by the Malibu Stage Company Board of Directors, the agreement could go into affect as early as the end of January.
Beverly Hammond, president of the Point Dume Community Services District, Malibu Community Center, said she had come up with the idea because the community center had no facility of its own.
The Malibu Community Center was established in the mid-1980s for the purpose of developing the community use of an abandoned school site. The Point Dume Community Services District, which was established by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, directs the activities of the center.
“We are looking at a joint agreement with the Malibu Stage Company that would benefit aspects of the company and the community,” said Hammond. “It [the proposal] does open up a significant opportunity for the community to have another facility, when facilities are so limited.”
Hammond said the District would rent out the facility for other productions, classes and lectures. She also said she was looking into perhaps helping Malibu Stage purchase a large screen to use for film screenings.
Nidra Winger Maus, executive director for the community center, would be the general manager of the theater facilities, said Geoffrey Ortiz, Chairman of the Malibu Stage Company.
“In theory, what they proposed is that Nidra would be general manager,” said Ortiz. “In doing so, she’d be in charge of the scheduling of all events going through the theater.”
However, “they’ve understood and we made it clear, that the majority of the year will be used by the company,” Ortiz explained. “The remaining time will be used by those wishing to use the facility.”
“We would have to come to an agreement on the amount of usage the Stage Company would need for performances,” she explained. “We recognize they don’t need it 100 percent of the time.”
Ortiz said that in reviewing the proposal, Malibu Stage is trying to finalize how much time the company would need the facility and how much time the center would be working with it and what types of bookings would go through the facility.
Other types of activities Hammond said the center was considering would be yoga, acting, and art history classes.
“Anything that would suit itself to the facility,” she said.
Hammond did say in a later interview that Clark Cowan, son of James Cowan, owner of the facility, told her there were complications in the lease that may affect the speed of any agreement with the theater company.