MUSIC IN THE AIR THE BOWL AND THE FORD CAN HEAR AND SEE EACH OTHER - BUT THEY'VE GOT A HANDLE ON IT.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

From an upper entryway of the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, a patron peering over a balcony can catch a glimpse of the Hollywood Bowl across the 101 Freeway. A sizable portion of the Bowl's 17,460 seats - but not the stage - are visible. For a reciprocal view from Bowl to Ford, you have to be in the audience toward the nosebleed section to get a mere peek at what looks like a tree-covered castle.

It's as clear a reminder as any that the two venues are neighbors that have to maintain good fences.

``We have a sort of interesting acoustical tug of war that happens,'' says Dave Pier, the Ford's managing director. ``We actually get their crowd noise. If it's a pop show and the audience is really going crazy, we hear it over here. And because our stage points toward them, they get our stage noise. So if we have a concert and we're not careful, we can disrupt what's happening there. We also get their fireworks.''

``If I had doors, I'd close them, but we don't have doors here,'' says Ed Tom, the Hollywood Bowl's director of operations. ``Sometimes there are conflicts, but we try to make the best of working it out. The (atmospheric) conditions play a mighty role. If the weather is right, the sound carries. Other times you don't hear a thing.''

The two performance venues began operation around the same time (the Ford in 1920, the Bowl in '22), both on L.A. County-owned land. But otherwise they appear to share little more than mutual views and the same freeway exit off the 101.

The massive Bowl has its box seating, picnics, concession stand, museum, souvenir booths and adventurous stacked parking. This year's lineup, always a who's who of performance talent from around the world, includes Harry Connick Jr., Tracy Chapman, Lyle Lovett, k.d. lang and Van Morrison. And the venue is being leased out for concerts featuring Sting and Annie Lennox, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton. Esa-Pekka Salonen and John Mauceri will wield the baton for, respectively, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. There will be Muppets, patriotic songs and plenty of fireworks.

The Ford could be the Bowl's edgier little cousin, offering a different kind of parking nightmare and less starry programming, the type of fare that a 1,241-seat house can provide. Since both outdoor venues operate during the summer, overlapping programming sometimes necessitates some strategizing between Pier and Tom. Consider Aug. 9, when the Ford will present the Blaha-Taylor-Leonard Piano Trio performing a selection of Mozart, Smetana and Brahms. Across the 101 at the Bowl, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey and the Who take the Bowl stage.

Not that the Ford hasn't hosted its share of stars or celebrated performances. Norah Jones, Coldplay and Beck played the Ford before they were famous enough to book the city's larger venues. Natalie Merchant plays a two-night engagement in August. Back when it housed Center Theatre Group's Taper Too series, the Ford's indoor space - which now hosts the Inside the Ford performance series - held a workshop production of Tony Kushner's ``Angels in America.''

Patricia Leao, entering her 11th season of producing Brazilian Nites events at the Ford (returning Sept. 5) is now part of what she considers a local tradition. The event could graduate to a larger venue, she says, but the Ford is unique.

``With any Brazilian events or music, you end up on your feet,'' says Leao. ``The Ford is very laid back. We were looking to expand the idea of a festival, and this seemed to be the perfect venue because of its size. There isn't really a bad seat in the house, you're outdoors and inside the mountains. We live in a city, but when you're there, you feel like you're so far away.''

The Ford's programming this summer ranges from bluegrass vocalist Laurie Lewis to the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, from an evening of belly dancing to a trio of film festivals, including the IFP Los Angeles Film Festival, Outfest and one celebrating Mexican comedian Cantiflas. The world-spanning, genre-crossing mixture is deliberate. Those who aren't leasing the venue get on the Ford stage via a unique Partnership Program between the Los Angeles County Arts Commission - which operates the Ford - and various arts organizations throughout the city.

Basically, an entity like Leao's Brazilian Nites or the West Hollywood Orchestra takes part in a competitive application process. Those selected get a one- or two-night engagement at a state-of-the-art performance venue, with some marketing and technical assistance thrown in. If left to their own devices, an organization trying to book such an engagement on its own could spend thousands of dollars in rental fees alone.

``The County Arts Commission could have just given out money and said, 'Go put on a show at the Ford,' '' says Pier. ``Instead, arts organizations apply to be part of the summer season. The goal is to increase the visibility of smaller arts organizations in L.A. and also to help them learn how to produce in this scale of a house.

``The groups learn how to market themselves, and they get all this nice equipment. The groups keep a lot of the ticket revenue, and they get a lot of bang for their buck. They're very motivated to attract audiences,'' he says.

Bowl patrons typically need little or no motivation to pack their picnics and settle into a box. But this season, promoters say, they've got reason to be excited. The replacement of the Bowl's outer shell - priced at $24 million - means an increase of stage space, better acoustics for audience and orchestra alike. Gone are those funky spheres, which have been replaced by a halo-shaped sound reflector affectionately dubbed ``the UFO'' or ``the doughnut'' by Bowl staff. Also new are the addition of a rotating electronic turntable and four enormous projection screens.

More stage space and better acoustics means programmers can expand their selections. The full-scale performance of Shakespeare's ``A Midsummer Night's Dream'' set to Mendelssohn's music (July 13) or the Martha Graham Dance Company performing as part of the ``Appalachian Spring'' event would not have been possible in the past.

``The stage simply wasn't big enough,'' says Deborah Borda, president of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. ``We couldn't fit anything other than the orchestra - and the orchestra wasn't even completely covered.''

The Bowl season gets under way June 25, but patrons can check out the improvements during the L.A. Philharmonic's Sneak Peek at the Hollywood Bowl beginning at noon Sunday.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- cover -- color) The BOWL the FORD & the best of SUMMER

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(3) The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre hosts eclectic summer programming that ranges from bluegrass to belly dancing.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

(4) Timpani player Mitchell Peters checks his equipment during Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly revamped Hollywood Bowl. The public is invited on Sunday.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer