INSIDE SCOOPS
It’s the last thing theater folks do when they lock up shop for the
night.
They roll out the “ghost light” to center stage.
The practical explanation is rather dull and boring: It helps the
first person in the next day to become oriented in an otherwise
pitch-black room.
Theater legend is much more fun: The light lets the ghosts know that
the actors will return the next day to bring the magic to life again.
The tricky thing with these ghost lights is that they cannot be
purchased anywhere. They must be constructed of various pieces of old
equipment.
You can imagine the sense of relief felt by Michele Roberge, the
executive director of the Balboa Performing Arts Theater Foundation, when
she saw an old swivel chair peeking out of the pond that currently fills
the Balboa Theater’s orchestra pit.
She salvaged the chair’s rolling feet and will use them as the base
for the theater’s ghost light, she said.
Well, at least that’s taken care of.
Now all Roberge has to worry about is raising another $3 million to
renovate the theater to create that pitch-black space at night.
Gregory on the campaign trail
Why was Don Gregory, Newport Beach’s arts commissioner, prowling
around the press box at Wednesday night’s fund-raiser for George W. Bush
at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine?
Because his son, David Gregory, brought him along.
David is a correspondent for a television station and is following
Bush on the campaign trail.
Very hush-hush
A Costa Mesa Senior Center committee has settled on its choice for
executive director, but no one will spill the beans on who the
recommended candidate is -- or even offer any hints.
The board is scheduled to make a decision Tuesday.
The center’s former director, Alan M. Meyers, was fired in May for
allegedly impersonating doctors and embezzling money from health clinics
and nonprofits across the country.
Aviva Goelman, the interim director, is one of the candidates for the
position.
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