After agenda discussion and social time at the Lompoc Valley Arts Council meeting on Feb. 20, members of the Lompoc Theatre Project detailed what’s necessary to acquire the theater and get it to operational capacity.
Board member Steve Stormoen related the group’s mission statement to enhance Lompoc’s historic Old Town: to act as a multi-use venue available to the community, to encourage the development of the arts, and to preserve the historical heritage of the location.
“We want to provide something to do—a place to go—and have something that we can do as a community,” Stormoen said. “We hope to act as an economic engine in downtown Lompoc.”
Acquiring the theater will come at a cost, though perhaps not to the fledgling nonprofit. Previously owned by the now-defunct Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation (LHCDC), the Lompoc Theatre still has a hefty lien on it, which the group is hoping can be removed by the state at the city’s behest. Mark Herrier, a group board member and theater manager, explained what the group is facing.
“It’s an unprecedented legal quagmire, but we are slogging through,” Herrier said. “We have had plenty of help from the city, and we will do whatever it takes to get this theater and move forward with our project.”
The city of Lompoc is preparing a memorandum of understanding with the Lompoc Theatre Project, which will be taken to the Lompoc City Council to be voted on. The memorandum is in response to the support the group has received. There’s already been a professional engineer’s report done on the building to ensure it’s structurally sound, but it still needs some renovations, including a new roof, new upholstering for chairs, and other cosmetic updates.
Herrier named a number of experts in the field of theater restoration and entertainment who are on board with the nonprofit to help make the project happen.
Part of what makes the Lompoc Theatre special, he explained, is that it can apply for historical landmark status to become the only historical-landmark theater on Highway 1. The Lompoc Theatre Project hopes to preserve the historical integrity of the theater, right down to the popcorn machine in the lobby.
“There were previous plans to build a balcony, but we want to leave the theater as it is, untouched, and preserve the unique acoustics in it,” Herrier said. “We aren’t in the real estate business here; we are in the theater business.”
He said that the theater, once opened and renovated, would be a hub for the community, and host to community groups, movie screenings, and national performing acts. Herrier said that groups like the Lompoc Civic Theatre, Lompoc Valley Master Chorale, Lompoc Pops Orchestra, Lompoc Concert Association, and the high-school dance and music departments will enjoy the use of the theater for free—including the concessions stand, with all profits of those performances and sales going back to those groups.
“This is going to be a local theater in every sense,” he said. “December is classically the time when theaters make the most money … [and] so do our local organizations, so they will get most of December for their holiday programs.”
Herrier also expressed an interest in reaching out to other local organizations, such as the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, UCSB Arts and Lectures, and Allan Hancock College. The theater will also offer screenings of classic films, local musical groups, national touring acts, comedians, a student film festival, and a “Lompoc Has Talent” show.
“This puts us on the map culturally and economically,” Herrier said.
The meeting concluded with a message from the group’s president, former City Council member Cecilia Martner, reminding everyone that the theater will need community support, whether via ticket purchases or helping out right now.
“The Lompoc Theater will not exist unless our community buys into it,” she said. “And we need you. It is you people who can help make it happen by donating or volunteering.”
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 6, 2014.