Work | Outside In Theatre
This theater and community space on York Blvd in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles is envisioned as a hub for the performing arts community and the local community at large. Large openings were added to the facade of this existing bow-truss warehouse top illuminate and activate the street and welcome passers-by in
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The community space features a full bar and kitchen, and an enclosable rehearsal room.
The skylight overhead features a stained glass piece that pays tribute to the artistic legend Mike Kelly who studio this once was, and that was fabricated by Judson Studios, a local stained glass fabricator founded in 1897.
A window from the upstairs classroom overlooks the space.
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The community space maintains a strong visual connection with the street, and creates an opportunity for the performers to mingle with the audience after shows, further enhancing the sense of community.
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A series of glowing pendants flicker at show time to lead the audience from the community space past the ticket booth into the theater itself.
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The 99 seat black box theater at the heart of the project has flexible seating and lighting grid to permit numerous configurations for a variety of performance types
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Seen here as positioned in an long end stage configuration for a performance of In Memory of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
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A second floor was added within the volume of the warehouse, containing a classroom with windows overlooking the community space. Education is central to the mission of Outside In.
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A view of the community space from a small balcony on tha second floor.
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Exiting the theater, looking back towards the entry and the ticket booth tucked into the second floor volume. A series of benches along the edge create further opportunities for social engagement.
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A detail of the entry. The arch was was discovered during construction, having been plastered over at an earlier point in the building’s history..
PROJECT: Outside In Theatre
LOCATION: Highland Park, CA
CLIENT: Outside In Theatre
YEAR: 2025
SIZE: 8,200 SF
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COLLABORATORS:
Structural: Miyamoto International
MEP: GMEP
Theater Consultant: Theatre DNA
Acoustical: Veneklasen
Construction: GKB Construction
TEAM: Poonam Sharma, Ali Jeevanjee, Aashna Singh, Yeonho Cho, Tiffany Adler, Shuang Chu
PHOTOGRAPHY: Peyton Fulford; Andrea Gaffney
