Adventure Church to Fresno’s downtown auditorium? A theater company is already there
As Fresno city officials continue to solve the puzzle of satisfying the Tower District community and Adventure Church, they’ll have to consider another community group — the Children’s Musical Theaterworks.
Mayor Jerry Dyer wrote a letter on Wednesday to Adventure Church offering an agreement in which the church would agree not to buy the Tower Theatre and instead operate out of the Fresno Veterans Memorial Auditorium through a lease with the city.
That was news to the Children’s Musical Theaterworks, which has operated out of the auditorium for more than two decades.
“We saw this news flash on Twitter about the offer made by the city, and frankly we were shocked because we were not notified that anything was happening,” said K.C. Rutiaga, board president of Theaterworks.
Tower Theatre went up for sale in October, and Adventure Church put in a bid to purchase it. Church operations would require a lengthy rezoning process, and the community has protested the purchase. The church and city also have lobbed legal threats.
Theaterworks operates out of the auditorium about nine weeks out of the year, Rutiaga said. That accounts to three or four shows a year, rehearsals, stage setup and some office space.
“We were just concerned because once our stuff is in there, we really can’t have any other organization in there,” Rutiaga said. “We just want to make sure our rights are being protected and that if (the church) does move in there, we’d have full access during times of shows.”
Theaterworks’ lease is up next week, and the company’s officials were nervous because they don’t have a meeting set up with city staff, Rutiaga said.
Dyer on children’s theater future
Dyer said the city will continue to partner with the theater company.
“Regardless of what happens with Adventure Church, the city of Fresno will continue to partner with the Children’s Musical Theaterworks,” he said. “They play an important role in our downtown culture and provide unique opportunities for our performing arts students.”
In his letter to Adventure Church, Dyer also said the city would make necessary renovations to the auditorium. Funding for those upgrades has not yet been determined, Dyer said, but money from Measure P could be used, he said.
Measure P, Fresno’s parks and arts sales tax initiative, included the auditorium in its funding for improvement, restoration, rehabilitation, operations, and maintenance of projects and programs.