Curtain up: One-woman show featured as theater opens in Rancho Cordova’s Old Mills Winery

A new performance space - the Cal Cap Black Box Theatre - has opened in Rancho Cordova with the aim of being an intimate and experimental addition to the Sacramento arts scene. It will host a variety of dramatic works, improv shows and inclusive classes.

The theater was founded by Charles Lago, who has spent much of his career managing actors, running a theater in Palm Springs and producing films.

In 2019, Lago secured city funding to open the California Capital Film Office in Rancho Cordova with the goal of bringing more movie production to the area, then moved the business to the Old Mills Winery Complex. After realizing that the new building had a large unused space, Lago said he had an idea.

“I thought, if I can pull this off and turn this into a black box theater, I know I’ll be able to schedule it with really good shows that I’ll bring in,” he said. Black box theaters are simple performance spaces, usually with black walls and flat floors.

With approval from the city, Lago transformed the space and started attracting works that differed from the standard local theatrical fare.

The theater’s inaugural season recently kicked off with “Billie! Backstage With Lady Day.” a one-woman show about Billie Holiday written and performed by Synthia L. Hardy. The production sold out all three nights.

Next in the lineup on Aug. 13-15, the theater is presenting another one-woman show, “Lush Life: Twelve O’Clock Tales with Ava Gardner.” This show follows an old Hollywood darling — Gardner — as she attempts to juggle a comeback film role and a comeback lover from her past. This piece was written by Allesandra Assaf, who will also perform the titular role.

After “Lush Life,” the theater has slated several more shows with small casts, including “Wild Son: The Testimony of Christina Brando,” “Mother Mayhem,” “Date Night” and “KATE,” another one-woman production.

Lago gushed about another production, “Freeze,” a drama written and directed by Sacramentan Richard Broadhurst and starring Tom Sizemore of “Saving Private Ryan,” which he says might be his favorite of the season. Set during a protest following the Rodney King verdict, “Freeze” zooms in on the conversation between an injured white police officer and the Black owner of a recently-looted convenience store.

“That’s going to be a really good play, because Sizemore is intense when he acts ... being in this environment where the nearest audience members are going to be literally an arms’ length away from him, it’ll be very, very intense. And I think it’s a very well-written play… it’s going to be really good.”

The theater seats 75 audience members, who will surround the actors on three sides and at times be mere feet away from the drama onstage.

In addition to these works, the theater has assembled a new improv troupe - The Cordova Players - that will host their first public performance (for only $10) on Aug. 3. And for those wishing to get involved, the theater will offer acting classes at three different levels.

“We’ve been all cooped up for a year and a half,” said Lago. “And it’s an intimate space. The actors are on top of you.”

After a pandemic’s worth of physical distancing, why not experience a play where the cast and the drama are less than six feet away?

To view more information about the upcoming season and purchase tickets, visit http://www.calcapstudios.com.

This story was originally published July 27, 2021 at 2:48 PM.