Rotary Theatre

2021 marked 100 years of Rotary Service to our local community and in recognition, the Rotary Clubs of Visalia, led a revitalization of Rotary Theatre - preserving our community treasure.

You or a family member, friend, or neighbor, have likely been to Rotary Theatre to receive a, scholarship, a diploma, perform in a community theater or dance production – or to watch one of these important life events happen.

Built during the Great Depression in art deco style as part of what was then Sierra Vista Elementary School, this grand auditorium was revitalized and dedicated as Rotary Theatre in April of 1987 – a successful partnership of several local service clubs, civic organizations, private businesses, and the community.

Although Visalia Unified School District has a nominal budget to maintain the facility and provide some updates to the sound system and stage lighting, it does not allow for the total needs of the theatre. More than 30 years of wear and tear on the seating, carpeting, and flooring had this treasure of our community looking worn and tired - and the Rotary Clubs of Visalia, along with community businesses, community volunteers, and Visalia Unified Staff have put the sparkle back in Rotary Theatre. Several members of the community joined us in the effort by sponsoring a seat in the theater for $500 with the right to put the name of your choosing on the seat. As of this writing, there are a few seats still available. If you’d like to sponsor a seat, call Shirle at 334-6806 and tell her you’re interested in sponsoring a seat in the theatre! Or, send a check for $500 to: Visalia Rotary Community Foundation 11878 Ave 328 Visalia, CA 93291 and let us know how you would like the chair to read!

Rotary Theater in the News!!

 Rotary Theater, a 300-seat theater on the Redwood High School Campus is a community gem that provides a “just right size” venue for countless school and community performances and events.  In 1987, Rotary Theater was dedicated as Visalia Rotarians led a group of community service organizations, businesses, and individuals who came together to fill the need for this smaller theater.  ( read how two Renegade Teens inspire turning a Woodshop back into a Theater) 

Rotary Theater has brought our community together for many special events – it has hosted performances for Visalia School’s Theater, Drama, Band, Orchestra, and Dance groups.  All Visalia Unified School District High Schools also use the theater for scholarship awards nights.  Other community organizations such as Dancers Edge, Dance Arts, and Eleanor Roosevelt School have used the theater for performances.  Other organizations have utilized the for special events or for training.  In all, before COVID 19 closure, the theater was being utilized a total of 143 days out of the year for special events in addition to usage by classes during school hours. 

For a time after it was dedicated, Rotary Theater was operated under a joint powers agreement between the city of Visalia and Visalia Unified School District.  City ownership of the theater meant a limited budget for routine maintenance.  In 2005, the theater was taken over by Visalia Unified and while some improvements to stage lighting and equipment had been made, the school budget had not allowed for keeping this gem in our community in good physical shape.

The Rotary Theatre has been revitalized!!!!

In recognition of 100 years of Rotary Service to Visalia, Rotary Theatre has been revitalized.  A team of Rotarians and community volunteers, some 34 years after dedication of the theatre, have implemented their vision and made the theatre look fresh and inviting again by:

• Replacing theater seating

• Installing new carpeting

• Installing and retrofitting house and decorative lighting fixtures.

• Refinishing floors

• Repainting the interior

• Replacing some bathroom fixtures

• Replacing the outdoor sign

• Restoring access to the stage loading dock

• Replacing the stage curtain.

You can still help us with the theatre!!

Please support our efforts to make Rotary Theater a community gem once again.

• Consider sponsoring a seat - call Shirle at 334-6806 and tell her you’re interested in sponsoring a seat in the theatre! Or, send a check for $500 to: Visalia Rotary Community Foundation 11878 Ave 328 Visalia, CA 93291 and let us know how you would like the chair to read!

• Two Renegade Teens turn Woodshop back into a Theater

- by Patrick Lozano

In 1983 my best friend Mark Mekelian and I (Patrick Lozano) approached the drama teacher who was also the drama coach, at Redwood high school, Mr. Glenn Foster.

Mark and I told Mr. Foster were interested in doing the comedy by Neal Simon known as the sunshine boys. This was done on a live stage with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon

Mr. Foster did not like the play, nor did he want it to be one of the official productions that season at the LJ Williams theater. Not easily dissuaded, Mark and Patrick approached the woodshop teacher who was working in the Old theater at the Sierra Vista campus of Redwood high school. We pleaded with the teacher to allow us to use the woodshop/ theater for our play.

So, without permission from the drama teacher/coach or from Redwood high school; we set out with the blessing of the woodshop teacher to convert the woodshop classroom into a theater on the weekends. We had to promise that we would change it back to the wood shop, putting all the sawhorses and equipment back in place before he arrived back at school on Monday mornings.

Our show ran four weekends.

The times Delta did a brief story about two high school seniors that were doing a play in the old noncommissioned theater in Visalia.

It seems that it had been decades since that theater had actually been used as a theater and it had been used as multiple classrooms and a woodshop for the last 30 years prior to us repurposing it to make it a theater once again.

After the short blurb ran in the newspaper we picked up a little traction and popularity on campus and we were able to cast the play, produce it, direct it, stage manage it, build the sets, and take the leading roles.  We did all of this with a small amount of money donated by private persons.

As promised, each weekend, as we broke the stage down we brought all the sawhorses and equipment back out so the building could be converted back to the wood shop for class on Monday.  

I noticed on the opening night that approximately four or five gentlemen were sitting in the front row and they were all wearing suits and ties.

I recognized one of the men to be Stanley Simpson. I knew Mr. Simpson from the Vintage Press restaurant where I was working part time as a busboy. My mother worked at the Vintage Press for 30 years and always attended to Mr. Simpson.  

I then noticed that the next night there were approximately seven or eight men wearing ties that came to our play.

The following weekend we had even more men in the audience wearing ties and after the performance I went out and spoke with several of the men that were present.

I was told by the men that they were a bunch of friends from Visalia Rotary and that they all remembered when this building had been used originally as a theater for plays and musical productions.

They stated that they wanted to support us as much as they could so that’s why the group kept getting larger for each of our performances.

After the show completed its run, we were approached again by the Visalia times Delta and they ran a follow up story about the two crazy seniors that pulled off a big coup having a play, after being told by their teacher, the drama coach, that the play would not be sanctioned by the high school. 

The story went on to say that the play was very successful, drawing hundreds of people each night and that many people had told the newspaper that it was nice to see the old theater being used as a theater again.

I was informed by the reporter that some gentleman from the Visalia Rotary club had indicated to the newspaper that they were interested in converting the building back to a theater. They told the paper they did not want to see it going back to being used as a wood shop and they wanted to see it restored to its former glory.

Several months later the Rotary Theater of Visalia was opened to the public and we were once again on site for photographs with Rotarians to commemorate this endeavor.

There was something that told me at the age of 18, in my senior year at Redwood high school, that ‘Rotarians are cool’ and I wanted to be part of that organization when I grew up.

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but this is one of my life events that warms my heart every time I think about it.

To be an instrumental part of having the community embrace this old theater that had been long decommissioned really felt like a successful endeavor for renegade Redwood seniors.

To this day, when I give my story about how long I’ve been a Rotarian, I always include the fact that I became a Rotarian my senior year in high school unofficially.

Patrick Lozano is past president of Visalia Sunset Rotary