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Showdown at the LATC
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| The struggle over who will control the Los Angeles Theatre Center has become a divisive political issue. Photo by Gary Leonard. |
Questions of 'Ethnic Politics' Fly at Troubled Downtown Theater
by Jason Mandell
Community theater does not often reach City Hall, but the struggle over who will operate the beleaguered Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) has become a heated and divisive political issue in recent weeks. Charges of "ethnic politics" are being hurled, as a prominent Downtown developer and a local theater company battle for control of the Spring Street facility.
While an arrangement to hand over control of the theater was nearly sealed last summer, now that deal could be dropped, and it appears the theater could be without new leadership indefinitely. Meanwhile, the Downtown community is left wondering if LATC - historically one of the community's biggest redevelopment failures - will ever be turned around, and whether the current debacle could have been prevented.
For more than a decade, the city's Cultural Affairs Department has run LATC with little success. Productions have been scarce, and while some garnered critical praise, few managed to attract large audiences. Last spring, hoping to restore vitality to the troubled building at 514 S. Spring St. in the Historic Core, the City Council announced it would select a new operator for the complex.
Applications from five potential operators were reviewed for artistic and financial qualifications, and in July, a Cultural Affairs panel selected a partnership led by Gilmore Associates to manage the facility. According to multiple sources close to the process, Gilmore's team, which included theater group Will & Company, received a score of roughly 90% on the qualifications review.
Under the arrangement, Gilmore would serve as the landlord of LATC, which contains four stages of varying sizes. Firm head Tom Gilmore, who has developed hundreds of lofts in the Historic Core, planned to enliven the complex as part of a larger effort to revitalize the neighborhood. Will & Company, a tenant in the theater since 1991, would handle management and administration, while Downtown-based production company Garson Entertainment would program the theaters. Garson quickly backed out of the team, and Will & Company assumed the programming role.
However, before the City Council approved Gilmore's team, Councilwoman Jan Perry brought in the Latino Theatre Company, whose application had scored about 50%, according to numerous sources. Perry suggested that the Latino Theatre Company, which was formed at LATC in 1985, play a role in programming.
"They have such a long history at the site and such significant investment in the site, as well as a very significant following in the community, that I felt it was an issue that should not be given short shrift," said Perry.
Perry, along with Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa and state Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, facilitated discussions between the Latino Theatre Company and Gilmore's team. In December, Perry announced that the groups had agreed to share the programming role.
While they negotiated the terms of the partnership, Cultural Affairs in January asked Gilmore to begin operating LATC on a monthly basis.
However, talks between the two sides quickly turned combative. Although the Latino Theatre Company was initially not part of the operating team selected by the Cultural Affairs panel, its artistic director, Jose Luis Valenzuela, insisted that he serve as LATC's sole artistic director. When Gilmore's group objected, Valenzuela scaled back his proposal, arguing for creative control of the facility for nine months of each year. Negotiations fell apart.
Valenzuela said he wants to create a "multicultural, world-class theater. In order to do that, at least for those nine months we need to have control," said Valenzuela. "And I need to have some artistic freedom."
Colin Cox, artistic director at Will & Company, who would co-program with Valenzuela, said the Latino Theatre Company head is making unreasonable demands.
"We want to share the building, but he wants the whole building for himself," said Cox.
Ethnic Politics
Conflict between the two sides escalated in March, when Valenzuela complained that Gilmore had increased fees for maintenance and security at LATC. Gilmore countered that his rates were lower than those required by Cultural Affairs when it ran the building.
Councilman Ed Reyes stepped in, and said the Latino Theatre Company was being "mistreated." He further argued that the company, as an ethnic minority group, should not be left out of LATC's operations.
"I think there's a level of inclusiveness that needs to be maintained," said Reyes. "Look around. Who's being supported in the theater centers? We can't deny it."
Gilmore argued that while ordinarily the Latino Theatre Company's stipulations might be dismissed, Reyes is using the issue to ignite political controversy.
"Councilman Ed Reyes and the Latino Theatre Company have decided to turn this into an ethnic battle," said Gilmore.
Reyes questioned whether Gilmore deserved to operate LATC. "I don't understand why Gilmore should be there in the first place. Why him? How did this happen?"
Cox observed that Gilmore's team was selected to run the theater by Cultural Affairs last summer after a legitimate public process. "We applied. We won it fair and square," said Cox.
Several weeks ago the dispute reached a boiling point, when the Latino Theatre Company argued that Gilmore should not be allowed to run the building even temporarily. The council promptly handed control of the facility back to Cultural Affairs, noting that it had never approved the month-to-month agreement with Gilmore.
Now, with Gilmore's team and the Latino Theatre Company at an impasse, Perry said the city might abandon its agreement with Gilmore and search again for an operator. Gilmore accused the Latino Theatre Company of throwing a wrench in the negotiations.
"When they realized they'd made a deal they had no desire to be a part of, they destroyed the entire process," Gilmore said.
Better Days
There was a time when LATC was known for the drama on its stages, not off of them. In the mid-1980s, under artistic director Bill Bushnell, the facility's four performance spaces boasted high-profile resident companies and talked-about shows. The lobby also served as a venue for experimental theater.
Valenzuela was among the early players at LATC; he founded the nonprofit Latino Theatre Company in the theater in 1985, and the group remained there for five years.
While LATC enjoyed artistic success, it was plagued by major financial trouble, reportedly caused by Bushnell's mismanagement. The blighted surrounding neighborhood also never took off as planned, despite the efforts of the Community Redevelopment Agency, which pumped millions of dollars into the theater. In 1991, with the facility reportedly near bankruptcy, it was taken over by Cultural Affairs.
Over the next decade, activity waned and the theater's use and popularity declined dramatically. Budget cuts in recent years have further hurt the complex. Four resident companies currently rent space in the building. Will & Company has used it for rehearsals and productions, largely for students, for the last 13 years. The Latino Theatre Company has produced three plays in the theater since moving back in the late '90s. The other tenants are Playwrights' Arena and Moving Arts.
City officials are eager to have someone else run LATC. "There are some things the city does well, and other things it doesn't do well," said Perry. "Running the theater is not something the city does well."
Nevertheless, city officials are once again in charge of the facility, with no money to spend on it. Under Mayor Jim Hahn's proposed budget for next year, funding for Cultural Affairs would be cut by 30%. Will Caperton y Montoya, a spokesperson for Cultural Affairs, said it costs $500,000 a year to run LATC.
"We don't have it," said Caperton y Montoya. "It's not in the budget."
Five Options
Perry has proposed five options for the theater, the first of which would solicit another round of proposals from potential operators. If the length of the current search, which has lasted more than a year, is any indication, a new operator might not take charge of the LATC until mid-2005.
Valenzuela said he hopes the city will begin a new search. He said his group would reapply to run the theater on its own, with a proposed $5 million budget.
Cox noted that Valenzuela's group was denied control of LATC in last year's application process, in part because their financial strength was questionable. Valenzuela said he will be able to muster the funding if he is awarded control of the theater.
"Of course we'll have the money," said Valenzuela. "I don't have it in the bank, but if I had my business plan approved there is the corporate world and there are other groups where I could get the money."
Perry also raised the possibility of writing $500,000 into Cultural Affairs' budget to enable the department to run the complex. Yet considering the city's fiscal situation, that plan could prove challenging.
One option is to shut down the theater, while another calls for the city to sell the building. Perry expressed some support for that idea, but admitted that finding a buyer might be difficult. "It's a big building with a lot of structural issues," she said.
A final alternative would be for the City Council to approve the initial agreement with Gilmore's team, without the Latino Theatre Company.
The council's Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee will discuss the five options Tuesday.
page 1, 5/03/04
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
While an arrangement to hand over control of the theater was nearly sealed last summer, now that deal could be dropped, and it appears the theater could be without new leadership indefinitely. Meanwhile, the Downtown community is left wondering if LATC - historically one of the community's biggest redevelopment failures - will ever be turned around, and whether the current debacle could have been prevented.
For more than a decade, the city's Cultural Affairs Department has run LATC with little success. Productions have been scarce, and while some garnered critical praise, few managed to attract large audiences. Last spring, hoping to restore vitality to the troubled building at 514 S. Spring St. in the Historic Core, the City Council announced it would select a new operator for the complex.
Applications from five potential operators were reviewed for artistic and financial qualifications, and in July, a Cultural Affairs panel selected a partnership led by Gilmore Associates to manage the facility. According to multiple sources close to the process, Gilmore's team, which included theater group Will & Company, received a score of roughly 90% on the qualifications review.
Under the arrangement, Gilmore would serve as the landlord of LATC, which contains four stages of varying sizes. Firm head Tom Gilmore, who has developed hundreds of lofts in the Historic Core, planned to enliven the complex as part of a larger effort to revitalize the neighborhood. Will & Company, a tenant in the theater since 1991, would handle management and administration, while Downtown-based production company Garson Entertainment would program the theaters. Garson quickly backed out of the team, and Will & Company assumed the programming role.
However, before the City Council approved Gilmore's team, Councilwoman Jan Perry brought in the Latino Theatre Company, whose application had scored about 50%, according to numerous sources. Perry suggested that the Latino Theatre Company, which was formed at LATC in 1985, play a role in programming.
"They have such a long history at the site and such significant investment in the site, as well as a very significant following in the community, that I felt it was an issue that should not be given short shrift," said Perry.
Perry, along with Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa and state Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, facilitated discussions between the Latino Theatre Company and Gilmore's team. In December, Perry announced that the groups had agreed to share the programming role.
While they negotiated the terms of the partnership, Cultural Affairs in January asked Gilmore to begin operating LATC on a monthly basis.
However, talks between the two sides quickly turned combative. Although the Latino Theatre Company was initially not part of the operating team selected by the Cultural Affairs panel, its artistic director, Jose Luis Valenzuela, insisted that he serve as LATC's sole artistic director. When Gilmore's group objected, Valenzuela scaled back his proposal, arguing for creative control of the facility for nine months of each year. Negotiations fell apart.
Valenzuela said he wants to create a "multicultural, world-class theater. In order to do that, at least for those nine months we need to have control," said Valenzuela. "And I need to have some artistic freedom."
Colin Cox, artistic director at Will & Company, who would co-program with Valenzuela, said the Latino Theatre Company head is making unreasonable demands.
"We want to share the building, but he wants the whole building for himself," said Cox.
Conflict between the two sides escalated in March, when Valenzuela complained that Gilmore had increased fees for maintenance and security at LATC. Gilmore countered that his rates were lower than those required by Cultural Affairs when it ran the building.
Councilman Ed Reyes stepped in, and said the Latino Theatre Company was being "mistreated." He further argued that the company, as an ethnic minority group, should not be left out of LATC's operations.
"I think there's a level of inclusiveness that needs to be maintained," said Reyes. "Look around. Who's being supported in the theater centers? We can't deny it."
Gilmore argued that while ordinarily the Latino Theatre Company's stipulations might be dismissed, Reyes is using the issue to ignite political controversy.
"Councilman Ed Reyes and the Latino Theatre Company have decided to turn this into an ethnic battle," said Gilmore.
Reyes questioned whether Gilmore deserved to operate LATC. "I don't understand why Gilmore should be there in the first place. Why him? How did this happen?"
Cox observed that Gilmore's team was selected to run the theater by Cultural Affairs last summer after a legitimate public process. "We applied. We won it fair and square," said Cox.
Several weeks ago the dispute reached a boiling point, when the Latino Theatre Company argued that Gilmore should not be allowed to run the building even temporarily. The council promptly handed control of the facility back to Cultural Affairs, noting that it had never approved the month-to-month agreement with Gilmore.
Now, with Gilmore's team and the Latino Theatre Company at an impasse, Perry said the city might abandon its agreement with Gilmore and search again for an operator. Gilmore accused the Latino Theatre Company of throwing a wrench in the negotiations.
"When they realized they'd made a deal they had no desire to be a part of, they destroyed the entire process," Gilmore said.
There was a time when LATC was known for the drama on its stages, not off of them. In the mid-1980s, under artistic director Bill Bushnell, the facility's four performance spaces boasted high-profile resident companies and talked-about shows. The lobby also served as a venue for experimental theater.
Valenzuela was among the early players at LATC; he founded the nonprofit Latino Theatre Company in the theater in 1985, and the group remained there for five years.
While LATC enjoyed artistic success, it was plagued by major financial trouble, reportedly caused by Bushnell's mismanagement. The blighted surrounding neighborhood also never took off as planned, despite the efforts of the Community Redevelopment Agency, which pumped millions of dollars into the theater. In 1991, with the facility reportedly near bankruptcy, it was taken over by Cultural Affairs.
Over the next decade, activity waned and the theater's use and popularity declined dramatically. Budget cuts in recent years have further hurt the complex. Four resident companies currently rent space in the building. Will & Company has used it for rehearsals and productions, largely for students, for the last 13 years. The Latino Theatre Company has produced three plays in the theater since moving back in the late '90s. The other tenants are Playwrights' Arena and Moving Arts.
City officials are eager to have someone else run LATC. "There are some things the city does well, and other things it doesn't do well," said Perry. "Running the theater is not something the city does well."
Nevertheless, city officials are once again in charge of the facility, with no money to spend on it. Under Mayor Jim Hahn's proposed budget for next year, funding for Cultural Affairs would be cut by 30%. Will Caperton y Montoya, a spokesperson for Cultural Affairs, said it costs $500,000 a year to run LATC.
"We don't have it," said Caperton y Montoya. "It's not in the budget."
Perry has proposed five options for the theater, the first of which would solicit another round of proposals from potential operators. If the length of the current search, which has lasted more than a year, is any indication, a new operator might not take charge of the LATC until mid-2005.
Valenzuela said he hopes the city will begin a new search. He said his group would reapply to run the theater on its own, with a proposed $5 million budget.
Cox noted that Valenzuela's group was denied control of LATC in last year's application process, in part because their financial strength was questionable. Valenzuela said he will be able to muster the funding if he is awarded control of the theater.
"Of course we'll have the money," said Valenzuela. "I don't have it in the bank, but if I had my business plan approved there is the corporate world and there are other groups where I could get the money."
Perry also raised the possibility of writing $500,000 into Cultural Affairs' budget to enable the department to run the complex. Yet considering the city's fiscal situation, that plan could prove challenging.
One option is to shut down the theater, while another calls for the city to sell the building. Perry expressed some support for that idea, but admitted that finding a buyer might be difficult. "It's a big building with a lot of structural issues," she said.
A final alternative would be for the City Council to approve the initial agreement with Gilmore's team, without the Latino Theatre Company.
The council's Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee will discuss the five options Tuesday.
page 1, 5/03/04
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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