The Venues
The first structures built on the new campus were identical small, one-story buildings designed by campus architect A. Quincy Jones. Though utilitarian-looking, the structures were connected by walkways, benches, and lawns that helped create a thriving and communal campus environment. Among these buildings was the campus theatre, known as the Playbox Theatre. Later, when this part of campus became known as Small College, the theatre was likewise often referred to as Small Theatre.
The interior, at first glance, may not have been inspiring -- more lecture hall in appearance than university theatre. The stage was very small, and seemed destined for one-act plays, or if the productions were larger, they would have to have small casts and few scenery changes. There was little room between the stage and the audience, and the seating area consisted of three tiers: the auditorium floor, and then two tiers rising like wide steps. The seating might consist of classroom chairs, or small tables used to create a cabaret atmosphere, as in a 1976 production of The Drunkard.
But, as the photos in this exhibit show, if there were any shortcomings in the Playbox Theatre's size or set-up, they disappeared as soon as the curtain rose. Inspired direction, staging, costuming, and acting established Dominguez Hills as a destination site for exciting theatrical experiences from the very first production. The space was indeed perfect for intimate plays and intimate scenes. The 1975 production of The Diary of Anne Frank, for example, might rank among the most realistically claustrophobic presentations of that play.
But the Theatre Department also proved to be a perfect venue for productions of spectacle and scale. In its first five years alone, the Playbox was home to Jacobean, Shakespearean, and Edwardian comedy , Greek tragedy, a Morality play, Brechtian musical, Baroque Spanish tragicomedy. Even after close to a half century later, the images of these productions have a startling dramatic immediacy. Small wonder that the Theatre Arts program was twice recognized for excellence in costuming two out of three years at the American College Theatre Festival.