May 17, 2010 -- Walk up Fourth Street in Downtown Santa Monica and take a sharp right just before hitting Wilshire Boulevard. Go through the open doorway and you will enter the small village of entertainment and education that is the Santa Monica Playhouse.

The inviting outdoor courtyard is rarely a quiet place. In one corner, children are getting their first taste of theatre at a birthday celebration, while in another area actors prepare for performances at one of two intimate stages. Meanwhile, students are learning about the craft.

“We provide a source of culture, a source of education for the community,” says Chris DeCarlo, the theater's co-artistic director along with his wife, Evelyn Rudie. The couple has headed the theatre since 1973.

The Playhouse is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Since its founding by European immigrant actor Ted Roter in 1960, more than 500 productions and thousands of students have been a part of its history.

The Playhouse's longevity can be attributed to a focus on original productions, DeCarlo says. “It’s organically grown and based on themes in the community.”

Rudie adds, “We are always trying to walk the double road of giving the audiences what they want, while at the same time exploring themes and issues that are important to us as human beings. And the combination seems to work well.”

DeCarlo calls the Playhouse “an anchor for the Downtown.” He proudly recalls a study done in the 1990s that found that for every $1 spent at the theater, $13 was put into the Downtown economy. With an estimated 25,000 people attending performances each year, this translates to a significant cash flow, De Carlo says.

“We provide a great service to the merchants and all of the services here,” he says. “When people come here, they park their car, they get gas, they shop, they go to the movies. There’s a big crossover. So supporting the arts in Santa Monica is a great investment because you are assured of getting people to come into your place of business.”

Like any other nonprofit, the Playhouse is in “constant survival mode,” DeCarlo explains.

Community support through ticket purchases, education fees and donations is essential to keeping the theatre going. So Playhouse officials must promote the value the theatre provides.

Most importantly, the Playhouse provides a sense of humanity, DeCarlo says. And that is crucial for a Vietnam veteran who saw people lose their sense of humanity. Upon his return to the United States, DeCarlo promised himself that he would only participate in actions that celebrate the human spirit.

“Our humanity has to come first,” DeCarlo says. “We have to recognize and not surrender our humanity, no matter how tense, no matter how competitive things become. If we forget our humanity, we lose it. In the arts, we get to unconditionally explore the human condition. There’s no limit to what we can explore.”

In addition to being a theatre, the Playhouse is a place of learning. Several successful performing artists received their initial lessons there, including Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel and Jason Segal. But artistic recognition is not the only measure of the Playhouse's contribution.

“We had one student who was getting Ds at schools and within a semester here he began getting As and Bs,” DeCarlo says. “We hear that story over and over again with students who are really shy and then come out of themselves and go on to take on projects and situations in their lives where they have excelled.”

The Playhouse is celebrating its 50th anniversary with two years of special performances. The Actors’ Repertory Theatre is performing a double-bill of “The Boor,” Anton Chekhov’s farce about libertine men and liberated women and “The Bald Soprano,” Eugene Ionesco’s comedy of mishaps and manners through May 28 on Fridays at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for all seats, $12.50 for students, teachers, seniors and members of the military and $10 for groups of 10 or more.

As part of the Jewish Heritage Series, “Backstreet,” a musical about Jewish “working girls” in early 20th century New York City is being performed through June 20 on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include a coffee and dessert buffet at intermission. Discounts are available for students, teachers, seniors and groups of eight or more.

Through June 20, an original Family Theatre Musical performance of “Beauty & The Beast” is on stage on Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 for adults and $10.50 for children ages 12 and under. For more information, visit www.santamonicaplayhouse.com.

"We provide a source of culture, a source of education for the community,"

The Playhouse's longevity can be attributed to a focus on original productions,

It’s organically grown and based on themes in the community.”        Chris DeCarlo