Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
Encyclopedia
The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (or CCPA) is a 154000 square feet (14,307.1 m²) entertainment and music venue
located in the Cerritos Towne Center
of Cerritos, California
. It is owned and operated by the City of Cerritos and it opened its doors to the public on January 9, 1993 and hosts opera
, cabaret
, jazz
, dance, magic, drama
, musicals
and comedy performances as well as private functions. Its season runs from August to May.
persisted. Fears primarily included having a large theater with few patrons in attendance.
The consultants, Theatre Projects Consultants of London
, calmed fears and inspired city leaders with the details of Derngate Theatre in Northampton, England
, where blocks of seats on rollers could be rearranged or removed completely, tailored to each performance. At the time, nothing like it existed in the United States
.
Architects Barton Myers
Associates of Los Angeles
were hired to design a similar marvel for Cerritos. Once worries were abated, it was decided that a large venue that could compete with the likes of the Long Beach Terrace Theater, Orange County Performing Arts Center
, and the Los Angeles Music Center
would be a better direction for the development of the community theater. In 1987, the layout plans included an auditorium with six distinct seating configurations, a 5100 square feet (473.8 m²) conference center and a 200-seat theater with its own sound and lighting systems. Construction began shortly on a city landmark
that incorporates glass walls, pink limestone
, colorful ceramic tiles and angular points and projections. A glass elevator tower topped with pyramid
s, thin spire
s and pennants completed the final façade
. The interior includes a lobby featuring a curved grand staircase with etched glass, stylish fireplace, soaring ceiling and artwork. Though initially budgeted $17 million for the development, the final price tag came out to be over $60 million.
More than 6,000 visitors attended the open house tours upon the CCPA's completion. With a $4 million spending budget to attract performances in its inaugural season, the CCPA's sold out opening night welcomed crooner
Frank Sinatra
for three nights, helping establish the Cerritos Center as a premier venue in the Southland
.
The city council realized that it would take several seasons to build up an audience to make the Cerritos Center self-supporting, so a $2 million subsidy or pump-priming fund was budgeted to augment the annual $3 million from ticket sales and pay operating costs and performers. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/library/history/chapter9.html
The Mojave Room as well as the Grand Lobby can be rented out for small business meetings, luncheons and receptions. http://www.cerritoscenter.com/mojave.cfm
In 1994, the CCPA received the United States Institute of Theater Technology's (USITT) highest honor, hailing the theater as "The most sophisticated project we've seen in terms of architecture, technology and urban design." Performance Magazine also acknowledged the Center's accomplishments, naming it the number one theater in California (under 3,000 seats) for the third consecutive year. http://www.cerritoscenter.com/history.cfm
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
located in the Cerritos Towne Center
Cerritos Towne Center
The Cerritos Towne Center is a power centre located in the center of Cerritos, California that combines retailing, office, and entertainment in one master project. The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts is located within the southwestern part of the project...
of Cerritos, California
Cerritos, California
Cerritos is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was incorporated on April 24, 1956...
. It is owned and operated by the City of Cerritos and it opened its doors to the public on January 9, 1993 and hosts opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, dance, magic, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and comedy performances as well as private functions. Its season runs from August to May.
History and architecture
Plans for the construction of a community theater had been proposed in the Cerritos Towne Center since 1986, however, debate as to the size and influence of the theater vis-à-vis other venues in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
persisted. Fears primarily included having a large theater with few patrons in attendance.
The consultants, Theatre Projects Consultants of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, calmed fears and inspired city leaders with the details of Derngate Theatre in Northampton, England
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, where blocks of seats on rollers could be rearranged or removed completely, tailored to each performance. At the time, nothing like it existed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Architects Barton Myers
Barton Myers
Barton Myers, FAIA is an American and Canadian architect and president of Barton Myers Associates, Inc. in Los Angeles, California....
Associates of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
were hired to design a similar marvel for Cerritos. Once worries were abated, it was decided that a large venue that could compete with the likes of the Long Beach Terrace Theater, Orange County Performing Arts Center
Orange County Performing Arts Center
The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a performing arts complex located in Costa Mesa, California, United States.The Center offers the world’s leading dance companies, Broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round...
, and the Los Angeles Music Center
Los Angeles Music Center
The Music Center is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the nation. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the Music Center is home to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theater, Mark Taper Forum and Walt Disney Concert Hall...
would be a better direction for the development of the community theater. In 1987, the layout plans included an auditorium with six distinct seating configurations, a 5100 square feet (473.8 m²) conference center and a 200-seat theater with its own sound and lighting systems. Construction began shortly on a city landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
that incorporates glass walls, pink limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, colorful ceramic tiles and angular points and projections. A glass elevator tower topped with pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
s, thin spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
s and pennants completed the final façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
. The interior includes a lobby featuring a curved grand staircase with etched glass, stylish fireplace, soaring ceiling and artwork. Though initially budgeted $17 million for the development, the final price tag came out to be over $60 million.
More than 6,000 visitors attended the open house tours upon the CCPA's completion. With a $4 million spending budget to attract performances in its inaugural season, the CCPA's sold out opening night welcomed crooner
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
for three nights, helping establish the Cerritos Center as a premier venue in the Southland
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
The city council realized that it would take several seasons to build up an audience to make the Cerritos Center self-supporting, so a $2 million subsidy or pump-priming fund was budgeted to augment the annual $3 million from ticket sales and pay operating costs and performers. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/library/history/chapter9.html
Seating configurations
There are six seating configurations in the 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) auditorium of the CCPA, made possible by moving seating towers and mobile seating wagons, multiple floor lifts and moving ceiling panels. It takes about eight hours or less to switch from one configuration to another.- Arena - A 1,691 to 1,721-seat arena setting with 500 floor seats surrounded by box seats and balconies on one side for popular music, comedy and jazz performances. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/gallery/arenabig.html
- Cabaret - A 1,324 to 1,504-seat cabaret setting with up to 67 tables and 412 chairs on a flat floor, surrounded by box seats and balconies, for jazz and other music performances. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/gallery/cabaretbig.html
- Concert - A 1,493 to 1,629-seat concert hall with in-the-round seating and acoustic concert ceiling panels for orchestras, recitals and acousticAcoustic musicAcoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
performances. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/gallery/concertbig.html - Drama - A 921 to 1,083-seat prosceniumProsceniumA proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
theater for plays, recitals and chamber musicChamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
performances. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/gallery/dramabig.html - In the Round - A 1,845 to 1,934-seat in-the-round theater for popular music, comedy and jazz performances. http://www.cerritoscenter.com/ts_round.cfm
- Lyric - A 1,311 to 1,391-seat proscenium theater for musical theater, dance and popular music performances. http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/gallery/lyricbig.html
Facilities
The Sierra Room/Sierra Theater at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts features a technologically advanced grid of tracks and moveable partitions, which can divide the 5100 square feet (473.8 m²) space from one large open room to five smaller meeting places. A hidden retractable seating unit can be opened into part of the room creating the Sierra Room Theater, perfect for fashion shows, guest speakers and presentations. Additional amenities available include a state-of-the-art sound system, lighting and a dance floor for parties and wedding receptions. http://www.cerritoscenter.com/sierra.cfm
The Mojave Room as well as the Grand Lobby can be rented out for small business meetings, luncheons and receptions. http://www.cerritoscenter.com/mojave.cfm
Awards and recognition
- 1993-2001 Amusement Business Magazine Top 10 Venues - 5,000 seats or less in the United States.
- 1995 Performance Magazine "Theater of the Year"
- 1994 United States Institute of Theater Technology Honor Award
- 1993 Concrete Industry Paving Award
- 1993 Cabrillo Chapter of American Institute of Architects Design Award
In 1994, the CCPA received the United States Institute of Theater Technology's (USITT) highest honor, hailing the theater as "The most sophisticated project we've seen in terms of architecture, technology and urban design." Performance Magazine also acknowledged the Center's accomplishments, naming it the number one theater in California (under 3,000 seats) for the third consecutive year. http://www.cerritoscenter.com/history.cfm
See also
- Cerritos, CaliforniaCerritos, CaliforniaCerritos is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was incorporated on April 24, 1956...
- Cerritos Auto SquareCerritos Auto SquareThe Cerritos Auto Square is an automobile retail center located in the city of Cerritos, California. Cerritos Auto Square states that it is the largest auto mall in the world with 29 import and domestic marques.- History :...
- Cerritos Millennium LibraryCerritos Millennium LibraryThe Cerritos Library, the New Cerritos Library, or the Cerritos Public Library is the civic library for the City of Cerritos, California. It was rededicated on March 16, 2002 with the new moniker and the current futuristic design. It was the first building to feature an exterior clad with titanium...
- Cerritos Senior Center at Pat Nixon Park
- Cerritos Towne CenterCerritos Towne CenterThe Cerritos Towne Center is a power centre located in the center of Cerritos, California that combines retailing, office, and entertainment in one master project. The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts is located within the southwestern part of the project...
- Los Cerritos CenterLos Cerritos CenterThe Los Cerritos Center is a super regional shopping mall located in Cerritos, California. Since September 1971, the Los Cerritos Center has been an integral part of the city of Cerritos' tax revenue. The mall is the city's largest revenue source, producing $581 per square foot in sales in 2010...