7/18/2007 8:32:00 AM Key City Players plans biggest production yet
Key City Players Board President Ian Keith discusses the proposed new theater plans to an audience of about 50 at the Port Townsend Community Center. View the architectural drawings at KCP’s office at 1128 Lawrence, the site where the new theater is to be constructed. Construction could be four years away. – Photo by Shelly Randall
The proposed new theater is two stories tall, with its highest point near the building’s rear, where the “fly loft” is located. A fly loft allows “flats” to be raised and lowered, making a wider variety of scene changes possible. – Drawing by architect Andrea Wickham
Key City Players revealed the shape of things to come on Saturday, July 14, when Seattle architect Andrea Wickham's plans for the theater group's new facility were unveiled. Along with the proposed new facility is a new name for the organization -- Key City Public Theater -- effective Jan. 1, 2008.
"This name change respectfully embraces the long and successful history of our group while clearly stating who we are and who we serve," said Denise Winter, artistic director.
Regarding the proposed accommodations, she said, "I don't think there's anyone questioning whether we need a better facility and that the community deserves it. Word is spreading regionally about what is happening here in theater."
Although the number of seats expands from 46 to 150 under the new plan, the seating configuration retains the intimacy found in the current space, promises the Key City board of directors. The theater is arranged in three groups of 50 seats. Each grouping curves gently around the thrust stage and is no deeper than the seating configuration at the current facility on Washington Street.
Additional aspects of the new theater are a fly loft, bigger lobby, box office, larger restrooms, a green room, dressing rooms, kitchen area, scene shop, costume shop, prop and furniture storage, administrative offices and rehearsal space. The building's footprint of 8,500 square feet will rest on property purchased in 2006 at 1128 Lawrence St. in the historic Uptown district of Port Townsend. At its highest point, the building is 44 feet tall, where a fly loft and mechanical space is located toward the theater's rear. From street level, the building appears only 35 feet tall.
"The design of the exterior of the building is ongoing. We held a preliminary and voluntary meeting with the Historic Preservation Committee to discuss some elevation options, and we will continue to work with them as the design progresses," said Wickham.
Four to five years
Realistically, the grand opening is probably four to five years away. "If we had all of the money right now, it would still take two years to do it," said Ian Keith, board president. A preliminary study estimates the price tag will total as much as $5 million, he said. While generous support from the community is hoped for, Key City is also pursuing grant funding from a variety of sources.
The current theater space downtown is a rented facility that could disappear in a real estate deal at any time. Also, it's simply too small for the oldest community theater organization on the Olympic Peninsula, which began production in 1958, say actors and others involved in the all-volunteer organization. While plays are in rehearsal, actors must work around set construction taking place at the same time. Furniture, prop and costume storage is bursting at the seams in a crawl space underneath the building and in the loft area inside. A "green room" that also serves as a dressing room is 140 square feet, making privacy and comfort extremely limited, especially in the case of large casts often required for musical productions.
"It's cramped," said Winter.
Chris Hawley, who has participated at Key City since the 1970s and was one of the people who secured the current space for the group, said size isn't the issue as much as is the theater's flexibility. "It's limited in what you can stage there. The constraints of the walls - I think that contributes to the feeling that the shows can't 'breathe,'" he said.
The present annual schedule for Key City consists of five main stage shows, a Christmas show, play readings and other events, including the awards ceremony for the annual one-act play competition sponsored by the Port Townsend Arts Commission. When the new theater is constructed, Key City plans to partner with other arts groups such as the Port Townsend Film Festival.
"This an exciting opportunity and is going to be a big undertaking for a small organization. We are going to do our best to do it in a responsible way while providing good theater for our town," said Keith.
Members of the theater capital campaign committee are Chairman David Parris, Cindy Hill Finnie, Joe Finnie, Michelle Sandoval, Randy Pendergrass, Micheal Cavett, Judy Cavett, Patricia Earnest, Nancy Koch, Catherine McNabb, Susan Yawman, David Hundhausen and Ian Keith. Ex-officio members are John Clise and Denise Winter.
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