Help Us Rebuild SCR’s Production Center
Managing Director Suzanne Appel and Artistic Director David Ivers survey the damage sustained after the roof collapsed at the theatre's production center in Santa Ana.
The Story
On January 26, South Coast Repertory suffered a major loss when, following a rain storm, the roof collapsed over a 4,500-square foot section of our Production Center in Santa Ana. We are immensely grateful that no one was in the building at the time of this accident and there were no injuries.
SCR purchased the 18,000-square foot Production Center in 1994 to augment the limited shop space and storage available at our Emmes/Benson Theatre Center in Costa Mesa where you see all of our productions. For over 30 years, all of the sets built for SCR productions have been painted at the Production Center. It’s also where we store more than 100,000 costumes, tens of thousands of props and scenic materials; inclusive of items collected from past productions dating to the 1970s.
To help us get past this temporary setback, a fund has been established. If you would like to help us recover from this disaster, we welcome your support at this crucial time.
The costume storage area held more than 100,000 hanging costumes, along with shoes, hats and accessories.
David Ivers, Artistic Director (center), SCR colleagues and Board Members including Sophie Cripe (lower right) enjoy the 2024 SCR Board and Staff Appreciation Dinner held in the Production Center's paint studio.
The Impact & Need
We want to assure you, our community, that we will not let this affect our current season and that your upcoming performances will go on as scheduled with the same quality you expect from us.
This will, though, impact how we produce world-class theatre. Because the heaviest damage happened to the Paint Studio, we are currently looking for other places to paint our sets for the next six to eight months while the Production Center is rebuilt. The current estimate to rebuild will cost more than $1.3 million. SCR is appropriately insured for this type of rare event. However, insurance companies typically only provide restoration value equivalent to the prior condition. For example, we had anticipated another decade of use from our HVAC unit which collapsed with the roof. However, given this event, we would like to replace that unit with a new one to provide better air quality and temperature control to a larger portion of the space. We are also exploring improved storage solutions for our props and costumes to make accessing those items easier.
While the challenge is enormous, we are inspired by our collaborative efforts and know the community will rise to the challenge. We remain committed to getting our art onstage during this difficult time. Thank you!
Photos of the damage and clean-up following the roof collapse at SCR’s Production Center.
For more information, contact Clare Kiklowicz, Director of Development, at [email protected] or (714) 708-5521.
Thank You to Our Supporters
SCR would like to thank the following supporters who have made a gift to help us in our efforts to rebuild our Production Center:
Anonymous (3)
Fred & Kathleen Allen
Denise B. Chilcote
Dr. Tim & Mary Chin
Jean Cory
Ms. Kathy Esfahani
Farhang Foundation
Peggie Fariss
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Forbath
Margaret M. Gates
Moira Gleason
Gloria Glenn
Tina Gustin-Gurney
James Henshall
Betty Iseri
In Memory of Mrs. Annie R. Ivey
Karen Kewell-Jacoby
John Louis Lafleur
Claudia J. Lovelette
Christy Marlin
Dava Mccoig
Mr. and Mrs. Todd Millam
Elizabeth V Morrow
Beth Neudell
Tom O'Connor
Susan Oka
Carol Opstad
Andrew Parks
Alice Prothero
Marcia Pryor
Karen Raab
Ron Ranson
Sally Rae
Brett Reid
Carol Rice
Rose Roberson
Bonnie Robinson
Claire Sais
Jonathan Schiesel
Helen Schuster
Jason Spelbring
Alec Stais
Vicky Staub
Wendy Taylor
Patricia Tisone
Monica Truxton
Andrea Wellman
Wayne Wolfe
Current as of February 19, 2025
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