ARTS CENTER GETS GOOD REVIEWS IN COMPARISON STUDY.

Byline: Kevin F. Sherry Daily News Staff Writer

The Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center holds its own with other major city-sponsored theaters in Southern California, even though it receives no municipal tax subsidy, a recent study found.

Thousand Oaks puts on more shows in the Civic Arts Plaza's two venues, yet receives less tax money than similar centers in Cerritos and Escondido. The Civic Arts Plaza indeed is one of the only public performing arts centers in the country that receives no such subsidy, said Tom Mitze, the city's theaters director.

``I think this is a unique circumstance,'' he said.

Mitze prepared the recent study for the center's Board of Governors. It comes nearly three years after the Civic Arts Plaza opened in 1994.

The plaza's 400-seat Forum Theatre and 1,800-seat Probst Center for the Performing Arts are comparable to Cerritos and Escondido in size, but each has a radically different approach to performances and funding.

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts' single theater holds up to 1,780 people. Escondido's California Center for the Arts can hold 400 and 1,500 people in its two theaters.

The city of Cerritos gives its center $3 million a year in public money, which goes toward programming, maintenance and staffing the 5-year-old facility. The city of Escondido subsidizes its center with $1.5 million, officials said.

But the city of Thousand Oaks makes Mitze pay for everything, from staff time down to the electricity to light the garage.

``They charge us for everything,'' he said.

In the 1997-1998 season, the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center will host 381 events, compared with Escondido's 300 and Cerritos' 125.

Cerritos made a commitment to draw big names and major performers to the city, said Wayne Shilkret, executive director of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

``We have to support excellence,'' Shilkret said. ``The city wants to reflect the very best.''

On the other hand, Thousand Oaks officials ``did not want to risk any public money,'' Mitze said. Because of that, all performances in Thousand Oaks are sponsored by arts groups and promoters rather than by the city, he explained.

``The city doesn't actually sponsor anything,'' Mitze noted. ``We're basically a rental facility.''

This past weekend, for example, there were six different shows offering everything from mariachi and big-band music to the musical ``Cabaret.''

The Civic Arts Plaza charges $1,800 a day for groups to rent the Probst Center for the Performing Arts and $400 a day for the Forum Theatre. Renters also must pay for labor, custodial and technical costs, Mitze said.

The different methods of collecting cash manifest themselves even in small ways. Cerritos lets theatergoers park for free, while the Civic Arts Plaza charges $5.

``That parking is a major source of revenue for us,'' Mitze said. ``We have to use everything we can to make our money.''

One benefit to being in the Conejo Valley is that many performance groups there were longing for a venue to call home, he said. That provided the Civic Arts Plaza with a built-in base of renters.

``We've got more groups than we can handle,'' Mitze said. ``We're booked solid year-round.''

Thousand Oaks' location also appeals to performers, because they know they can draw crowds of people who do not want to drive an hour in each direction to see a performance, Mitze said, referring to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

``We're essentially the only game in town for a lot of miles in any direction,'' he said.

The three cities don't necessarily think their methods are better or worse than the others.

``It's a different city philosophy,'' Shilkret said. ``Ours was built on a different set of rules.''

In some ways Mitze said he admires his colleagues.

``I think those theaters are run very well,'' Mitze said. ``They're just run differently.''

In other ways Mitze said he is sometimes jealous of the other cities' public subsidies.

For example, he would like to bring more modern dance and opera performances to the Thousand Oaks venue. Yet he recognizes those offerings do not have enough mass appeal to pay for themselves. Opera, for instance, is traditionally costly because of its extensive use of costumes and sets.

Public money could subsidize such performances, or let other groups stay in town for more performances, Mitze said.

``If you're willing to subsidize things, you can present almost anything. We can't,'' he said.

Unlike his peers, Mitze cannot go to the city to ask for a handout. He therefore socks away about $64,000 a year to plan for the replacement of major items like carpeting and technical equipment 10 years down the road.

Even though the cities have very different methods of making money, they still keep an eye out for ways to make changes, Shilkret said.

On a recent visit to a performance at the Civic Arts Plaza, Shilkret looked to see how the boutique shop and bars operate. He said they even watch how the others market themselves.

``We all watch each other's ads,'' Shilkret said. ``You always learn something.''