The press got a sneak peek of ongoing construction at The Joan, the new performing arts center scheduled to open on Sept. 10 in Arts District Liberty Station.

During a “Media Hard Hat Tour” on May 7 conducted by NTC Foundation and Cygnet Theatre, the “Fourth Estate” was treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the state-of-the-art The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center as it nears completion of its brand-new contemporary permanent home.

Stakeholders toured the project witnessing progress on the new theatre complex. Revealed was how the building’s original structure has been maintained and restored honoring the building’s naval rec center history. The tour also offered a first-hand view of the innovative additions and refinements transforming the space into a world-class theatre and performance arts center.

The media tour was led by Sean Murray, artistic director for Cygnet Theatre Company, and Lisa Johnson, president/CEO of the NTC Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to enrich the lives of San Diegans by renovating 26 historic buildings at the former Naval Training Center.

“We’ve installed this loading dock back here in this driveway where all the scenery is going to get moved into the theatre,” said Murray leading off the tour. “This side of it is the historical part of the building that’s been restored. Everything on the other side is brand new to look like the part that we took down.”

“This building was built in three different stages in 1942,” noted Johnson. “It was the base exchange, kind of like a department store that served a variety of functions, like entertainment. This building had a bowling alley in the basement, a disco, and a tailor shop at one time. It was a place for entertainment and retail opportunities for people in the military.”

Johnson pointed out that all restoration at Liberty Station is done with historical authenticity in mind. “Any time we re-purpose a building at Liberty Station, we have to paint it its original color which we loving call ‘Liberty Station tan,’” she noted.

Besides preserving historical authenticity, great attention has also been paid to detail, pointed out Murray. “Everything behind the public working space, we kept the original flooring, the original beams,” he said adding, “We’re trying to keep the feeling of the original building so that the essence of that building is still here somehow.”

Murray discussed the actual use of the new theatre building itself. “If you look you’ll see that these archways go all the length of Liberty Station and that that visual corridor is realigned, which is pretty fabulous,” he said. Later, gesturing toward a rehearsal room space to be utilized by both building theatres, Murray added, “The roof is entirely new. All of this (looking down) is original flooring.”

Moving to an interior building doorway, Murray pointed out one of many innovations: “Once the doors are all closed – it’s dead silent,” he said adding that, acoustically, “Every part of this building and the roof is a double skin, and all of the building’s air conditioning is hanging on pads so that they don’t vibrate. All the doors have gaskets on them that keep them from slamming shut: It’s pretty startling when you come in here.”

For more information on The Joan, visit building178.org.

THE JOAN

The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center in historic Naval Building 178 in Liberty Station will include a 289-seat proscenium theatre and a 150-seat flexible studio space, as well as state-of-the-art back-of-house support spaces such as dressing rooms, two green rooms, a costume shop, and dedicated rehearsal and orchestra spaces. The new center will also feature indoor and outdoor lobby spaces, two refreshment areas, industry-leading ADA accessibility, and a premier location near some of Liberty Station’s foremost dining and retail destinations.

Both theatre spaces will feature elements of flexible seating to allow for a variety of productions, as well as acoustical elements for optimal sound quality and amplification. To enhance the patron experience, there will be several elements that will mitigate external noise from lobbies, the exterior, and especially plane flyover due to proximity to the San Diego International Airport, including a specially-designed roof on the proscenium theatre, noiseless door fixtures, HVAC shock absorbers and more.