BIGGER DIMENSIONS FOR DRAMA BURBANK THEATER DARES TO DREAM.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

BURBANK - Without a prominent marquee, the Colony Theatre is currently referred to as being next to the Ikea furniture store inside the Media City Center mall.

The goal of Barbara Beckley, artistic director of the Colony, is that someday Ikea would be identified as being next to the burgeoning playhouse at Third Street and Cypress Avenue.

Touting critical acclaim, commercial success and an ambitious expansion plan, the Colony Theatre might just be poised to become another Burbank landmark.

``They've done great and exceeded all their expectations,'' said City Manager Robert ``Bud'' Ovrom, who has patronized the theater. ``It's hard for local theaters to make a go of it. A lot of them seem to struggle. This one seems to be booming.''

After 25 years in Silver Lake, the Colony Theatre moved to Burbank in May 2000 after the city spent $1.5 million renovating the building that once housed a satellite of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.

In the last year, Colony's subscriber base has grown from 3,000 to 4,500 and its audience seating from 99 to 168. Despite the move, it has managed to retain nearly all of its original subscribers from Silver Lake, in addition to recruiting new ones locally.

``The response from Burbank was so far beyond anything we had envisioned that we simply could not accommodate all the people who wanted to see our shows at 99 seats,'' said Beckley, who helped found the company.

Colony's first show, ``Dandelion Wine,'' ran for four months in order to accommodate all the patrons who wanted to see it.

Starting in June, the theater plans to operate at its full capacity of 276 seats, with contracts with the Actors Equity Association.

Currently, Colony actors do not work under contract because of the limited size of the theater. By advancing to Equity status, the theater expects it would be able to attract more talent and buy the rights to regional hits.

``We are going to be able to rise to a whole new level of excellence that we have not been able to achieve previously,'' said managing director Amanda Diamond. ``The first year has been great - but we think there are even greater things in the future.''

As a union theater, the Colony would open auditions to all members of the Actors Equity and pay its actors higher salaries and better benefits. It would be considered a full-fledged professional theater worthy of higher-profile productions, directors, set designers and actors.

``It's a big step, but we haven't come this far not to make it. We will make it,'' said Beckley, who promised that ticket prices would stay the same despite higher expenses from union contracts.

Catherine Springer, who manages the box office, said the theater has two major factors working in its favor: a loyal subscriber base whose patronage spans two decades and a close-knit theater company.

``What makes us a success is we have 25 years together. We are a family,'' she said. ``We are starting in a new place, but we have each other.''

Of the 80 or so actors who belong to Colony, Springer said 50 percent have been a member for a decade or more. A large number of the subscribers have also been with Colony for 15 years or more, with some having joined in 1977 when the theater scored major success with ``The Martian Chronicles.''

``We as a company greet the public as they come in. They know us by name,'' said Kathryn Kates, another founding member. ``Barbara (Beckley) speaks to her audience before every show.''

Over the years, the theater has won Theatre L.A. Ovation Awards - Los Angeles' version of the Tonys - Drama-Logue Awards and accolades from numerous critics, including author Ray Bradbury, who wrote ``The Martian Chronicles.''

Colony's niche is in staging musicals, dramas and comedies that tell a good story, are entertaining and accessible to the general public. Many of its productions are forgotten or overlooked plays that even regular theatergoers might have not heard of but nevertheless manage to become hits with its audience.

``I am kind of a missionary about theater being for the people - theater as much a populist experience as going to the movies,'' Beckley said. ``I hate it when people think of theater being an elitist type of activity. I think it's for everybody.

``I think we sometimes forget that just pure, unadulterated entertainment,'' she said, proudly noting there has always been an element of Colony's subscriber base that is distinctly working class.

A New York native who moved to California in 1970, Beckley and other fellow transplants founded the Colony in Silver Lake in 1975 as a diversion as they sought to establish themselves in television and film.

Despite being located in an industrial area between an out-ousiness hardware store and a plumbing company with no restaurants around, the theater thrived. By the early 1990s, it had outgrown its space.

At its current location, the Colony is steps away from free garage parking. In addition, it has been able to partner with local restaurants to offer dinner discounts so its patrons can enjoy the full experience of a night out.

Banking on its prime location and track record of success, Colony staff said they remain optimistic the expansion is the right thing to do, although they admitted to some nervousness about the gloomy economic climate and repercussions from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

``Right now it doesn't seem like the best time to do this,''Diamond said. ``But we don't want to divert. We want to continue to move forward. We feel everyone is going to come out of this. When they do, we will be there and better than ever.''

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Photo:

Barbara Beckley, artistic director of the Colony Theatre, points out features of the large stage of the theater. The company moved to its current home in Burbank in May 2000 after it outgrew its Silver Lake location.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer