BizBeat: Scene One preparing for new location

When Scene One crew members set up for the East High Street black-box theater's production of "Talking Things Over with Chekhov" May 12, it will be for the last time.

Action will resume two months later in Scene One Theatre's new, larger Jefferson City location at 619 E. Capitol Ave.

"With Scene One, where we're at right now, its a black-box theater - its very small and very intimate," said Scene One President Mark Wegman. "With moving, we wanted to make sure we didn't lose that intimacy. We are outgrowing the space a little bit, but we wanted to keep the intimacy and grow just a little bit."

The historic home housing the new theater will help maintain the black-box atmosphere. Scene One Theatre will operate alongside Avenue HQ, the event venue that opened for business in March at 621 E. Capitol Ave. on the east side of the structure built in 1902.

Wegman and his wife, Tracy, had already been considering a change of scenery for Scene One when a member of the theater group saw the Capitol Avenue space - at the time, unleased - during last years Hidden Spaces Secret Places tour of historic downtown Jefferson City properties.

"We looked at other spaces as well, but this one really jumped out at us," Wegman said.

The new space allows for a capacity increase of about 20-25, upping the number of seats for performances from 60 to 80. And it met other criteria they had in mind.

"The space we're in right now has served us very well for the last 11 years. But it has stairs," Wegman said. "Some of our regulars that have been coming are getting older, and the stairs can be challenging."

The new Scene One Theatre's Capitol Avenue entrance will allow show-goers a stairs-free experience, and the back entrance from the large parking lot is accessible by stairs or elevator.

Scene One Theatre's final show at 121 E. High St. will run May 12-14 and May 19-21, with all shows at 7:30 p.m. After that, the theater will have the end of May and all of June to make the move.

Scene One will christen its new theater with a production of "Looking," set to open July 14.