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Laguna Playhouse

Laguna Playhouse was founded in 1920 and is the oldest continuously operating theatre company on the West Coast. The company resided in the old playhouse on Ocean Avenue, built in 1924, until it was demolished in 1969. It was then they moved to the Moulton Theatre on Laguna Canyon Road, built through private funds on city-owned land. The playhouse was remodeled in 1985, adding a balcony and office space.

Laguna Playhouse is a California not-for-profit corporation governed by an executive committee, trustees, and professional staff. Plays are produced entirely in-house, with casting in Los Angeles and sometimes New York and both in-house and guest directors and designers hired out. Laguna Playhouse has no resident acting company. It is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, making it one of only five LORT theatres in the LA/Orange County area.

Laguna Playhouse has an operating budget of $4.6 million. $1 million of that is raised in contributions and grants. The rest comes primarily from ticket sales, with some also earned through rent at a commercial office building it owns and from class tuition and bar and food concessions. Laguna Playhouse plays to an audience of more than 100,000 annually in its theatre through its seven play Mainstage season and its four play Youth Theatre season. In addition, it performs for about 20,000 school children through about 200 performances in elementary schools throughout Southern California.

For a long time, Laguna Playhouse has planned the construction of a second theatre to house a second series and its youth theatre. In 1998 they were able to purchase a large building complex next door to the theatre and are currently in the "quiet phase" of fund raising to make this dream a reality.

606 Laguna Canyon Road

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

(949) 497-ARTS