Gilroy
– This weekend, Pintello Comedy Theater will say farewell – but
not for good.
The community-based theater company will wrap up its two-year
stay at 8531 Church St. with its final performance there, and begin
the search for another permanent home in Gilroy.
Gilroy – This weekend, Pintello Comedy Theater will say farewell – but not for good.
The community-based theater company will wrap up its two-year stay at 8531 Church St. with its final performance there, and begin the search for another permanent home in Gilroy.
“This has been a a great spot, but it’s time to pack it up, move on and go somewhere else,” said Rod Pintello, co-owner of the theater company along with wife Marion Pintello.
Since its debut in January 2003, Pintello Comedy Theater has occupied a 2,800-square-foot space in a building that is part of Calvary Chapel. Over the years, a number of different tenants have shared the space.
The first several months of renting were relatively problem-free, Rod Pintello said. But as the theater company grew and acquired more equipment such as furniture, sets and props, keeping track of all its possessions has become an exercise in patience. Coordinating schedules with the building’s other tenants and making sure the space is kept clean also has become more difficult.
So, the Pintellos have begun their quest for a 3,000- to 4,000-foot space to hold rehearsals and perform shows, preferably a spot in downtown Gilroy.
“Ideally, we’d like to be downtown, because we really like that area. It would be a great location and it would bring theater to downtown, which is always a nice thing to have in a downtown,” Rod Pintello said.
But the Pintellos aren’t limiting their options. Any commercial space they can find – for a reasonable price – will suffice, Rod Pintello said, and they’re not ruling out the possibility of again co-renting.
“Sharing space with another tenant would be OK, just not five or six tenants,” he said. “We’d rather keep it fairly simple. If some other business could use the space during the day, like a dance studio or something else that could use a stage, that would be ideal. We have to find the right blend.”
Finding the right blend two years ago happened quite by chance. After searching for years for a seed location, the Pintellos ran across Calvary Chapel’s space-for-rent ad in the local classifieds. They surveyed the spot, did a little creative re-arranging and called the place home.
“We’re confident the right space will come up just like this one did a few years ago,” Rod Pintello said. “We just have to be patient.”
In the meantime, the theater company will continue to perform shows in other locations, perhaps in conjunction with restaurants or other local facilities such as The Strand in downtown Gilroy. Already the Pintellos are reading six possible scripts for their next production.
“We’ll temporarily have to work out of a suitcase, so we’re having to look at portability: a smaller cast, smaller stage, something we can set up, take down and move out,” Rod Pintello said.
Adapting to portability is something the company already has some experience in, as it has produced two shows at Rosso’s Furniture in Gilroy and Morgan Hill and another one in a pumpkin patch in San Martin.
Rhoda Bress, founder and board member of the local Odyssey Theatre Co., has worked with the Pintellos often over the past two years. She said she hopes the community will support the theater company while it searches for a new home, as the Pintellos provide a unique flavor to Gilroy’s artistic arena.
“They operate a top-notch comedy theater company, and wherever they go, people will come,” Bress said. “They’ve started something really great here, and they undertook this as a labor of love. Anyone who knows the Pintellos knows that comedy is their real love.”
With a mailing list of more than 1,300 active patrons, the Pintellos said they’re not worried whether their fans will follow.
“We don’t need a place that has high visibility or grabs a lot of walk-in business,” Pintello said. “We’ve developed a strong, solid following and a specific audience that we know will come to us.”
Over its two-year span, the company has performed 10 productions with 50 cast members drawn from South Santa Clara County. Saturday’s performance of Neil Simon’s “Fools,” the company’s current production and last on Church Street, will be its 97th show.
Leaving their current location is bittersweet for the Pintellos.
“Everything we do in our production now, we realize it’s the last time we’ll do it in this location,” Rod Pintello said. “We’ve become very, very attached to this place. This was our first place, and it’s like home to us and to so many other people.”
