DISCOVER
OJAI MONTHLY OJAI’S DRAMA PROBLEM "Instead of posing as prophets we must become makers of fate." — Karl Popper
Bret Bradigan
In a musty mow of my grandfather’s barn I once found a stack of Photoplay magazines. My memory fastened on what must have been a 1939 edition since it featured several lavish spreads of Charles Laughton and Maureen O’Hara in ‘‘Hunchback of Notre Dame,’’ based on one of my favorite Victor Hugo novels. It was a movie that doled out the sentimentality by the cargocontainer load and yet I fell under its spell. Unrequited love stories are known to do that. What intrigued my 8-year-old mind was that everyone in that movie seemed to be in love with the gyspy girl Esmeralda. Some, such as Quasimodo, were inspired to deeds of great heroism. Others, such as Frollo, are driven to murderous jealousy. It fascinated me that the same emotion could drive different people to such dramatically different actions. I must admit I have had a drama problem ever since. In our small foothill village school there were no opportunities to get involved in theater. That was a sad irony because Forestville, N.Y. (pop. 600) was the boyhood home of George Abbott, the great actor, writer and impresario who was working on a reboot of his ‘‘The Pajama Game’’ days before he died at the biblical age of 107. No one I knew growing up had even heard of him. Few locations in Ojai have, and will continue to, drive local drama as the Ojai Unified School District headquarters, those 7 acres of prime real estate in a prime tourist village. The district is bound to maximize this taxpayer asset, which limits the viability of many projects. There are no projects which won’t anger up the blood of some or most residents. And the impracticalities of many ideas are tone deaf to the contingencies under which such a major project must operate. Marc Whitman, the noted architect, brushed off his old plans for a college campus, to teach art and design. That would bring prestige to Ojai and also reduce the traffic impacts if those students were also housed on campus. It will cost a lot of money, and require far-reaching partnerships and investments. But it could also offer an abundant return in capital and social infrastructure. Another of the prior proposals worth another look is developer Ted Moore’s plans for a boutique hotel and auditorium, office park and housing. It would include a new look at the old Chaparral auditorium as well. I remember complaints back in the mid-2000s asserted that it would exacerbate Ojai’s traffic issues. But if this auditorium could bring in mid-week musical acts and events that were already on tour in California and were looking to plug in dates to bring economy to expensive touring operations, then the cultural value would be worth it to endure late-night, mid-week traffic, which would have less impact on locals. Either of these proposals should get a new look, if only because they have been dreamed up by people with long and deep roots in Ojai, people with skin in the game. That either or both of these plans can, will or should include theater space is an important consideration for Ojai, where the difference between our public life and the stage is often indistinguishable. I’m sure the ghost of George Abbott would agree. OM — February 2022
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