The 44,000-square-foot, $16 million facility will have a main theater with seating for 450, a ‘black box’ teaching theater with about 130 seats, a dance studio and large rooms for orchestra, band and choral groups.
By DAVID BRO / SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO- (CA)- St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Headmaster Marcus Hurlbut, who oversees 1,240 students across preschool, primary, middle and upper divisions, says he feels blessed that only a small family of skunks has managed to interrupt the school’s construction of a 44,000-square-foot performing-arts center on its San Juan Capistrano campus.
“The construction superintendent got chased out of the building one night by the skunks,” Hurlbut said. “We are sure they are still living on the campus somewhere … we have quite a nocturnal population.”
At a time when many segments of education, business and government are cutting back, St. Margaret’s students, parents and supporters have responded to the theater project with a can-do attitude, Hurlbut said. “We’re building, and we have people who buy into it – literally.”
When completed at the end of May, the new facility is to have a main theater with seating for 450, a more intimate “black box” teaching theater with about 130 seats, a dance studio and large rooms for orchestra, band and choral groups.
School arts director Darcy Rice said the center will feature 11 soundproof practice rooms for tutoring and instruction in a design in which even the lobby will be put to work showing off students’ artwork.
“St. Margaret’s values the arts, and for students, it’s essential that it’s studied.” Rice said. “The faculty works hard so that students are in some way touched by the arts. We want students to be artistically involved … to experience art.”
It all starts here.
For students in behind-the-scenes roles such as stage design and prop building, a large shop, work area and scenery storage room will sit alongside a costume-making room for the school’s productions and a rental program in which St. Margaret’s provides costumes for other productions across the county.
On Monday afternoon, workers assembled metal-framed free-floating “clouds” which, when installed high above the main stage and lined with wood, will have electric controls used to “tune” and enhance sound according to the performance.
Details like that, as well as a central audio control room where students will be able to record with professional quality, bring the price tag for the center close to $16 million and the construction time to more than a year.
Practice makes perfect.
Hurlbut said the center, contracted to Torrance-based Del Amo Construction, is on schedule and on budget.
Though St. Margaret’s expects to get the keys to the new building in May, the school will spend the summer afterward moving in. It has not set a firm schedule for productions. Hurlbut and Rice hope to work in community events as well as school performances.
“We’re not sure exactly what it will be yet, but I know it will be good,” Hurlbut said.
FiveBlocks 
A ray of diving light for St. Margaret's enters the new performing arts center.