Photos by Patricia Marroquin
It seems fitting that on a day honoring love, UCSB’s Hatlen Theater held its Open House. On Valentine’s Day, the Department of Theater & Dance welcomed the public for a sneak peek of its recently renovated proscenium-style theatrical venue, work made possible by a generous gift in 2011 from Jon and Lillian Lovelace.
Eric Mills, Senior Public Events Manager for the Department of Theater & Dance, told the GradPost that this major capital project entailed improving and adding new conduits for lighting, sound and communications/data in the stage area and into the catwalk and ceiling.
Other work in the 13,064-gross-square-foot, 340-seat theater, Mills said, included asbestos tile abatement, interior painting, aisle and house lighting, new carpet and new “squeak-free” seats.
Donor Jon Lovelace recently passed away, but together with 
his wife, their generosity lives on in the Theater & Dance department. The couple have supported significant productions and capital projects for many years. The Lovelaces’ ongoing contributions provided the financial foundation for Santa Barbara Dance Theater from 1991 to 2011.
Mills announced that the refurbished theater will host the world premiere of “Entangled” by Lila Rose Kaplan March 1-10.
In 2010, Kaplan was the first Playwright-in-Residence at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara.
Kaplan teaches and is an Artist-in-Residence at UCSB and Westmont College.
For more information about the LAUNCH PAD Production of “Entangled,” visit the event page at http://www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu/events_publicD.php?PerformanceID=385.
