SCR announces major, $7.5-million gift

Young Chang

COSTA MESA -- South Coast Repertory contributor Paul Folino says he

has visited lots of beautiful corporate buildings but found few

just-as-beautiful companies.

On Friday, SCR officials announced that Folino has donated $7.5

million more, adding to his initial contribution of $2.5 million, to

ensure that programming will be as impressive as SCR’s exterior.

The new complex will be named the Folino Theatre Complex in

recognition of the record-breaking donation.

“This is a major resource to pursue other artistic objectives of

continuing to play a leadership role in theater,” said David Emmes, SCR’s

co-artistic director. “And it ensures that the future remains vital.”

The Folino family gave $2.5 million at an earlier phase of SCR’s The

Next Stage campaign but had kept the $7.5 million pledge that was made

last year anonymous until SCR officials disclosed it Friday.

The campaign serves to raise funds for the theater’s expansion, its

programs, endowments and operating expenses.

“I made the campaign gift of $2.5 million for education and outreach

programs,” said Folino, who said it was SCR’s educational mission that

first appealed to him. “The campaign moved along, and the facility was

taken care of, and then we paid attention to programming.”

Referring back to his corporate building metaphor, Folino said he

wants to help SCR expand its product as much as its space. Initial plans

include a program of new works for family audiences.

“My goal and my hope is that we get a number of masterpieces out of

this program,” said Folino, president and chief executive of Emulex.

“That we distinguish South Coast Repertory from other repertory

performing centers.”

Folino’s combined contribution of $10 million increases the total of

raised funds to more than $40 million in a $50-million, five-year

campaign.

The expansion includes the building of the 336-seat Julianne Argyros

Stage, the renovation and renaming of the 507-seat Mainstage to become

the Segerstrom Stage, and the renaming and expansion of the current

Second Stage into a new Nicholas Studio, which will be used mostly for

children’s productions and workshops.

A complex of offices and classrooms will be built within these

buildings.

The Segerstrom and Argyros stages will open for performances in

October and November, respectively, and the Nicholas Studio will present

its first performances next year.

During a less than fancy announcement Friday, in the gut of an Argyros

theater still under construction, Folino, Emmes and Martin Benson, also a

co-artistic director, described how the space would look when done.

Benson patted what was simply a wooden fence separating one raised,

dusty section from another and beamed.

“No more than 39 feet from any seat in the house is the stage itself,”

he said.

* Young Chang writes features. She may be reached at (949) 574-4268 or

by e-mail at o7 young.chang@latimes.comf7 .