Berkeley Community Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Berkeley Community Theatre is a theatre
, located in Berkeley, California
on the campus of Berkeley High School
. The Art Deco
-style theater has 3,491 seats, including a balcony section. A large stage is extended by an orchestra pit
that can be raised or lowered.
The 'backstage' resources are extremely limited, and large acts tend to have trucks and buses lined up along the road immediately behind the stage.
The theater is also the site where Metallica
's S&M
live album was recorded with the San Francisco Symphony
.
In recent years, it has also held lectures from noted political activists Arundhati Roy
, Al Franken
& Amy Goodman
.
The theater is also used by Berkeley High School and the Berkeley Unified School District. The theater building also holds the Florence Schwimley Little Theater, a smaller theater that is often used for Berkeley High School music and theater performances.
The theater was dedicated on June 5, 1950 after sitting only partially completed for almost nine years, due to delays caused by World War II
. Students attending Berkeley High during the war years often called it the "Bird Cage" since the exposed metal framework was a roost for many seagulls waiting for students to finish their lunches.
The theater was designed to house a Theater organ, but one was not installed at the time of construction. In the 1980s, an organ was moved from the Paramount Theater in Toledo, Ohio
and installed in the Berkeley Community Theater by the Nor-Cal Theater Organ Society. With 41 ranks (sets of pipes), and two fully functional 4-manual (four keyboards plus pedals) consoles, this Wurlitzer is one of the largest and finest in existence. The organ is maintained solely by the volunteer work of the Society. The "Mighty Wurlitzer" can be heard being played by world-renowned professional theatre organists during each concert season.
Starting in 2004 Berkeley Unified School District began to use the theater foyers, green rooms, stage shop and dressing rooms as classrooms. The stage shop was in the process of being made a computer lab, however that was moved to the green room due to security. Before every show the classroom desks, chairs, and bookshelves must be moved out; the facility is difficult to use due to the presence of classrooms. In addition the theater lighting and sound systems in both the Berkeley Community Theater, and the attached Florence Shwimley Little Theater have been neglected by the district funds, and are in dire need of upgrades.
However, the citizens of Berkeley have directed funds towards the theater on numerous occasions. Berkeley Voters, allocating around $15 million to the theater for renovation, passed measure AA in 2000. These funds were later taken to build the new administration building at Berkeley High School. A few of the funds came back into the building in renovating the fire alarm system. Yet during this process the grand curtain was damaged. It was finally replaced as well as all other soft goods in July 2009.
In Spring 2010, a new sound system was installed in the theater.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, located in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
on the campus of Berkeley High School
Berkeley High School (California)
Berkeley High School is the only public high school in Berkeley, California. It is located one long block west of Shattuck Avenue and three short blocks south of University Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, and is recognized as a Berkeley landmark...
. The Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
-style theater has 3,491 seats, including a balcony section. A large stage is extended by an orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
that can be raised or lowered.
The 'backstage' resources are extremely limited, and large acts tend to have trucks and buses lined up along the road immediately behind the stage.
The theater is also the site where Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's S&M
S&M (album)
-Video release:Metallica also filmed and released the concert in DVD and VHS with direction by Wayne Isham. The VHS set has only the concert video, while the double DVD set has 5.1 sound , 41 minute documentary about the concert, and two "No Leaf Clover" music videos: "Slice & Dice" version and the...
live album was recorded with the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
.
In recent years, it has also held lectures from noted political activists Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
, Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
& Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
.
The theater is also used by Berkeley High School and the Berkeley Unified School District. The theater building also holds the Florence Schwimley Little Theater, a smaller theater that is often used for Berkeley High School music and theater performances.
The theater was dedicated on June 5, 1950 after sitting only partially completed for almost nine years, due to delays caused by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Students attending Berkeley High during the war years often called it the "Bird Cage" since the exposed metal framework was a roost for many seagulls waiting for students to finish their lunches.
The theater was designed to house a Theater organ, but one was not installed at the time of construction. In the 1980s, an organ was moved from the Paramount Theater in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
and installed in the Berkeley Community Theater by the Nor-Cal Theater Organ Society. With 41 ranks (sets of pipes), and two fully functional 4-manual (four keyboards plus pedals) consoles, this Wurlitzer is one of the largest and finest in existence. The organ is maintained solely by the volunteer work of the Society. The "Mighty Wurlitzer" can be heard being played by world-renowned professional theatre organists during each concert season.
Starting in 2004 Berkeley Unified School District began to use the theater foyers, green rooms, stage shop and dressing rooms as classrooms. The stage shop was in the process of being made a computer lab, however that was moved to the green room due to security. Before every show the classroom desks, chairs, and bookshelves must be moved out; the facility is difficult to use due to the presence of classrooms. In addition the theater lighting and sound systems in both the Berkeley Community Theater, and the attached Florence Shwimley Little Theater have been neglected by the district funds, and are in dire need of upgrades.
However, the citizens of Berkeley have directed funds towards the theater on numerous occasions. Berkeley Voters, allocating around $15 million to the theater for renovation, passed measure AA in 2000. These funds were later taken to build the new administration building at Berkeley High School. A few of the funds came back into the building in renovating the fire alarm system. Yet during this process the grand curtain was damaged. It was finally replaced as well as all other soft goods in July 2009.
In Spring 2010, a new sound system was installed in the theater.