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.