Performing Arts Center Squashed Performing Performing Arts Center Squashed

Plans for this behindbuilding a closed curtain

Pierce College Performing Arts professors and students remain frustrated as the expectation for the opening of the new Performing Arts building comes up short again.

According to Michael Gend ,Department Chair of Theatre Arts/ Dance, the project is heading into its fourth year and should have only taken nine months.

Gibson Director of

Theater

“ From my understanding, the school in terms of the leadership level is having a legal confrontation with the contractor that is only going to make things more complicated,” Gend said.

Director of Pierce College Dance Theater Denise Gibson said the lack of space in the temporary building is inhibiting her ability to teach her students.

“It has definitely dropped the enrollment in the dancers we have been able to cast in our shows ,because our theater is so small,” Gibson said. “We can only fit comfortably about eight dancers on the stage. So instead of casting 40 dancers, we now have to cast very small pieces.”

Pierce College ENCORE performer and student volunteer Sharon Fine said that the lack of a theater arts and performing center sends her groups to sing at other venues to perform.

“The fact is that as a singer we cannot be singing here on campus. We have to try to raise funds and find venues to sing,” Fine said. “That is not easy to where we can afford it.”

Back in April 2014 Director of Facilities Paul Niemann said that the Performing Arts building could be finished in July and the theater arts facility page has already

Media on campus to be handled by new company instead of campus

FilmL.A. takes leading role

Svidler Roundup Reporter

Pierce College has always handled outside media within the college, but now the school has a new contract where all outside commercials, movies, and other broadcasting media are run by a company called FilmL.A.

FilmL.A. helps coordinate and arrange permits for on location filming because Los Angeles requires permits when filming anywhere in the city.

Associate Vice President Larry Kraus gave a brief summary regarding filming on campus and the new partnership.

“We decided it would be best to work with an organization that coordinates and manages films,” Kraus said.

As of late May, the Los Angeles

Community College District changed its contract for film productions to work with FilmL.A. instead of Pierce College.

According to Kraus, the campus never had a prior contract for filming permits.

“Nothing is different really it’s just a maintenance contract for services,” Kraus said.

Administrative Analyst Brian Silk, who dealt with the schools film permits, declined to comment to the Roundup about the subject.

The film companies scout for locations and once they decide to work with Pierce College, FilmL.A. takes control of drawing up the contracts or permits.

FilmL.A.’s Director of Production Planning and New Business Jodi Strong explained how the merger is still in development.

“We’re still working through the process and tweaking things as we go but it’s all worked out so far,” Strong said.

Once FilmL.A. decides the location on campus they are going to film at, they must run it through administration and then the president of the college must sign it in order for production to start.

According to Los Angeles Pierce College Special Events and Filming Rate Sheet, the filming rate for all areas of the campus start at $1,000 for four hours or less and it increases by another $1,000 every additional four hours.

When FilmL.A. approves of a production company filming, they make sure that students are not affected by the project on campus. According to Filmla.com, community relations are important. Pierce College is part of that community.

“We put FilmL.A. monitors and they monitor the crew to make sure they’re doing what they’re suppose to do and stay where they’re suppose to be,” Strong said.

Cabaret dance auditions

North Gym opens doors to new dancers

Megan Moureaux Roundup Reporter

The final round of auditions for the Pierce College Fall production of Cabaret were held Saturday afternoon in the North Gym.

Gene Putnam, who directed the musical for Pierce College in 2003, will be directing again this year. All of the main roles have been filled. Saturday, Sept. 13 however, the final round of auditions for Kit Kat girls and other Cabaret dancers was held.

“We’re trying to get two for the price of one,” Putnam said. “We want people who can both sing and dance.”

The award-winning play is based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood that takes place in the 1930’s, where a novelist meets a singer in a seedy Cabaret club in Berlin.

“It’s fun and exciting, it’s a different type of theater,” Jacquel Harris, an auditioner, said. “It’s very raunchy, very sexy and it has a good storyline.” announced that they will be returning to the new theater arts facility this fall.

The show will run from Dec. 5th-14th with an alternating cast each night. Choreographer Denise Gibson said they were ‘getting creative’ this year and will be performing in the tents by the Child Development Center at Pierce College.

This will be the second of four productions that the LAPC Theater is putting on this school year.

For more information please visit the Los Angeles Pierce College Theater page on Facebook.

However, Gend jokingly suggested that it might be faster to just tear the building down and build a new one because it seems to be stuck in bureaucracy.

The Roundup News reported in a previous story that Director of Facilities Paul Nieman told the Pierce

College Council, during its meeting last Spring that the Performing Arts building could be completed in July.

Nieman said the building was going to have new lighting and sound equipment, a new stage floor and there will be

Upcoming Events

Deputy Snover of the County Services Bureau monitors an entrance to Pierce College during an evacuation on Off campus police received a tip from a second hand source that a potential gunman had been on campus. The lock down lasted less than an hour and was cleared with no suspicious activity found.