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

 

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