Construction Update the Second!

Huge progress is being made at our new home in Redwood City.

We've gone from rough frames:

To solid walls!

That orange piece of equipment in the front is a scissors lift - it's a platform that lifts people up and down. Necessary when you're doing silly things like building an all new mezzanine. 

That little window up there is for the tech booth. The stage manager and various tech folk will sit up there during a show to run the lights and sound and program all the whizz bang effects that go into prettying up a show. 

Here's a look at the interior of the new theatre from the point of view of an actor standing on the currently imaginary stage: 

They've even got the new mezzanine up and safe enough for Executive Artistic Director Meredith Hagedorn to check out the view from the future balcony. We might have some fun VIP seating up there some day. 

I love  that on the wall across from Meredith you can see where the old staircase was.

Boom! Gone! 

And last but not least, here's a look back toward the front of the building from the new hallway. Note the size of that part of the lobby and that we've moved the front door front and center! 

It's starting to look like an actual theatre! If you come see our current show, The Little Dog Laughed (and you SHOULD because it's HILARIOUS. Don't take my word for it, here's a great review) there's a nice scale model in the lobby - check it out because it's pretty darn cool. And you'll get a better idea of what we're buildling toward. We are still fundraising for the build so if you have a few bucks, please donate in the buckets in the lobby when you're at the show or contact me (Kim) at kim@dragonproductions.net for more information! See you at the show! 

Construction Update

We broke ground at our new facility on Broadway in downtown Redwood City a few weeks ago and our contractor, Louis, is just building like crazy and it's starting to look like, you know, a theatre!

We started like this, at the July Sneak Peek event:

The staircase is on the left, there's a half balcony with office space, and under the stairs are offices. There's HVAC piping all over the place for the heating and cooling systems.

Then demolition happened. First the carpeting was pulled up.

 Then the HVAC piping came down.

Then walls started coming down.

The offices under the stairs are basically where the backstage will be.

Looking to the front from the back of the building. That open space on the right WAS office space. 

And the side staircase came out and the framing for the walls went up.

Louis conferring with our architects from Chiu Lao Architecture Design.

The mezzanine walls were gutted because we're expanding it. We'll have an office, a classroom, the tech booth, and a small balcony upstairs when we're done.

All of the walls are getting framed out so the shape of the theatre is becoming more clear.

This is the view from the current front door. 

This is the view of the new lobby.

The framing for the upstairs.

This is the back wall of the theatre where the fixed seats will go.

Not bad for only a few weeks work! We're making great progress on our fundraising efforts but still have a ways to go. If you can help us with a gift, please visit our fundraising page for details on how you can help build the next generation of the Dragon Theatre in downtown Redwood City!

Support the Dragon By Shopping!

We've been offered a fundraising opportunity from a local fan. Susan Reaves, a local Mary Kay rep, has offered to donate 25% of all sales between now and the end of the day on June 15th to Dragon Theatre. Yay!

In order to participate, head to Susan's webpage and start shopping! There's lots of great products for men and women - even some sunscreen and father's day gifts.

You don't need to do anything special for he donation - Susan will take care if it once you click that "pay" button!

Thanks Susan, for this lovely offer!

Happy Valentine's Day From Eve Ensler!

As you probably know, there's something of a V-Day theatrical tradition - Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues. It's theatre by a woman, for women, and it includes vagina-centered pieces on sex, masturbation, rape, birth, and so on. The idea is that the vagina is a tool of life and female empowerment and individuality. Anyway, some ladies of the Dragon Board of Directors are involved with a V-Day production. The event is free but it's a fundraiser so they will be collecting donations to support Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence.

The details can be found on this lovely flier (of which we have a large PDF copy that you can print and distribute if you want - leave a note in the comments if you'd like me to send you a copy).

Happy V-Day!