SANTA MONICA, Calif. — It’s been 22 years since the Ruskin Group Theatre first put down roots at the Santa Monica Airport, but the time has come for them to spread their wings — and they're doing it in a hangar just a few buildings away.
Standing in the cavernous space, producing artistic director Michael Myers sees endless possibilities.
“Because of the height,” he pointed out. “I don't think we could have ever dreamed of a space with better height. The bones of this space are really good.”
The building was originally designed as an armory at the end of World War II and later became the Museum of Flying. In a collaboration with the city of Santa Monica, extensive renovations are being done, inside and out, including a lot of seismic work, Myers said.
Some of the existing features have been preserved. He plans to string lights from a cluster of gorgeous old trees outside the entry to create a parklike setting for pre-show activities.
“Thank God that the city saving these trees,” Myers said. “You're going to …be able to sit under them and…we'll have music out there going and then come into the lobby for a drink and then see a great play.”
There is also a hall length mural depicting the history of aviation that he absolutely loves.
“This mural was put here in 1983,” he said, trying to peek behind the protective paper that is keeping it covered while renovations are underway. “We begged them to keep it because it's just really cool, from the from the Wright brothers all the way down to modern aviation.”
But where the changes really take off is inside the hangar, which will house not one but two theater spaces, both of which contain more seats than their current 50 seat house with its stage that Myers describes as a postage stamp.
“The actual stage spaces here are also like four times as big in both spaces,” he explained.
Throw in classrooms and fine art studios and what you have is more than a theater.
“The place will be the Ruskin Group Theater Arts Center,” he said, savoring the new title as it hung in the air for a few seconds.
Of course, to those who work at the Ruskin, it’s always been more than a theater. Actor Rob Morrow is returning to the current stage with a production of "The Substance of Fire." He was actually a part of the original production in 1989 with Naked Angels in New York City. Back then, he played one of the son’s, a part, he said, that was written for him.
“I'm always hunting around for stuff to do,” he said. “It just popped in my head about six months ago. Oh my God, I'm old enough to play Isaac.”
The TV and film star has appeared on this stage before — mostly notably as Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman."
“I consider that like a high watermark of my career,” Morrow explained. “And the thing about the Ruskin, which is so cool, is that it's so intimate, so it's unlike any other kind of theater experience. We don't really have to project and present a lot because it's people right here.”
He began his career in theater and loves returning to the medium.
“The idea of taking flight,” he said, using appropriately aviatorial terms, “taking ownership of a character and taking off, you know, at 8 o’clock and being in charge of your own destiny.”
"The Substance of Fire" will be the last main-stage performance in this theater before the company moves into that WWII-era armory. The story follows a Holocaust survivor who reinvents himself in America as a publishing giant. He’s a complex character in complex circumstances that Morrow said remains remarkably resonate. His co-star Marcia Cross agrees.
“For me, also, what it speaks to is inherited trauma,” she explained, “and how we don't deal with that, but that how it wounds the next generation... You know, the world needs healing around that."
Cross also came up in theater and trained at Julliard, but she began at the Ruskin by first taking some classes and then teaching some. She loves the space and recently asked her daughter to come take photos of every cranny and quirk to preserve its perfect imperfections.
“It's like the worst shape,” Cross laughed, sitting on the tiny L-shaped stage. “The guys came in and said, let's make a theater. And so everything's off. I mean, it's just crazy. It's crazy wrong. Everything is wrong with it, which is what I love.”
“This place has been glorious, and it's served its time,” Morrow agreed. “But you know, they've outgrown it. They need more. And I think you won't lose any of the intimacy in the new space, but we'll have a lot more flexibility.”
The new complex is part of a bigger vision for the future of the Santa Monica Airport, which Myers says is already a thriving hub for the arts. It’s actually home to the largest collection of artists in the city, he says, and the new theatres only open up more opportunities.
“When it's done, I think it's going to be something that not only takes care of our needs but also serves the city of Santa Monica and the west side for years to come,” he explained.
So far, the group has raised half a million of their $800 thousand goal. Myers expects programming in the new space to take off in March 2025.