Thousand Oaks is a suburban community northwest of Los Angeles. For some years there had been considerable community pressure to build a facility for use by local performing groups large and small, and by outside professional touring groups. In 1989 the City determined to build such a facility as part of a new City administrative complex. Previous feasibility studies had recommended construction of a single large theatre, but when Ward Design Group began working with representatives of local arts organizations it became evident that the needs of the smaller local users would be much better met with a 400 seat theatre, whereas the large local users, and outside touring groups in that market, would need 1,800 seats.
Ward Design Group provided planning and programming, architectural design consultation, and the design of technical systems for this 1800 seat multi–use professional theatre.
Designed primarily for a variety of touring professional productions, the theatre also has the size and flexibility to accommodate symphony orchestra, opera, touring musicals, and dance. It has received highly favorable comments from both performers and the press, and is booked for approximately 250 performance nights per year.
The project received a US Institute for Theatre Technology Architectural Merit Award for 1994.
