For William Alejandro Virchis, the artistic director of Teatro Máscara Mágica, finding a venue to call home has been a long-time dream.
The multicultural theater company is known for its production of the Christmas Shepard’s Play and has performed for decades in San Diego County without a permanent venue.
It’s an example of a South Bay performing arts group that runs high on passion and survives on limited support and investment.
“You know the Shepherds Play, the 'pastorela' is a metaphor for us. It’s an analogy. It’s like we’re the same shepherds looking for a home. We’ve been looking for a home forever and ever and ever,” Virchis said.
He also said putting on a play can be expensive.
“How can you afford it? Light, sound. You see, look, this is an animal that breathes 24 hours a day,” Virchis added.
Virchis' love for the performing arts began when he was nine years old after an audition at the Old Globe Theater.
“I was speaking Shakespeare before I was speaking English,” Virchis recalled.
Virchis said he receives some grant funding, but it has been friends, volunteers and his board of directors that have helped Teatro Máscara Mágica survive. The Chula Vista resident and native wants new generations to experience the performing arts and hopes to find a permanent venue in the South Bay.
“And we have to show these kids the passion. Without exposure, people won't know any better. If you have never seen a ballet, you'll never miss it. If you've never seen an opera, you'll never miss it,” Virchis said.
The issue with finding space isn't unique to Teatro Máscara Mágica. Other nonprofits in the South Bay face similar challenges.
In National City, PASACAT, a Philippine performing arts company runs as if it had a full time staff, but it doesn't.
Executive Director Anamaria Labao Cabato, at the helm since 1987 and one of the group's original dancers since 1970, said the nonprofit doesn’t have the means to support full-time employees.
“I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but we become resourceful and make do with what we have. And we find joy to continue what we like doing," Cabato said. "And we've never skipped a beat. We've never skipped a junior concert 36 years in a row.”
The dance group owns a building in National City that's used mostly for rehearsals and storage. But Cabato said the building needs repairs, and it's hard to secure funds.
“When you're passionate about something that drives you," she said. "That lights the fire under you to keep moving, to keep going on striving for better.”
Cabato’s passion for the performing arts goes back to her parents who wanted the family to embrace their culture.
“Philippine dance is a way to learn about the various cultures of the 7,100-plus islands of the Republic of the Philippines," Cabato said. "The movements, the posture, the placement of arms, hands and feet through which we try to explain the reason for each of those movements in the context of each dance.”
Along with some grant funding, Cabato credits a small team of contracted employees, a board of directors and PASACAT’s alumni for helping the organization survive and provide a family to generations of Filipino Americans.
“It boils down to becoming family and that’s the foundation of, I think, the secret sauce for PASACAT’s longevity,” Cabato said.
In Chula Vista, Christine Brady, a resident of 25 years, is advocating for more investment in the arts. Brady once served on the board of Chula Vista’s OnStage Playhouse, where she remembers meeting many artists searching to rent out cheap venues.
“Within just one week we would have three producers of productions come and want to rent the space," she said. "But there was an in-house group that wanted to use the space. And there was basically nothing available.”
Brady, who studied ballet professionally, proposes creating an affordable arts venue on the west side of Chula Vista.
But that takes money.
Some experts say cities already face several financial constraints, and the arts often fall by the wayside. This fiscal year, most cities in the South Bay allocated less than 2% of their budget to the arts.
But money for a new venue is just one part of the solution. Experts say the venue has to be financially sustainable, while also affordable to local artists.
Brady feels optimistic. The city has a new mayor and city council, and at a recent meeting, some leaders expressed support for the arts.
"I am very interested in the public’s interest in the performing arts and the arts. I've looked at or started to examine the master plan for the arts," Deputy Mayor Jose Preciado said during a meeting on June 6. "One of the things I’m hoping to do is work with others that I know are interested in the performing arts to see if there’s energy or synergy that we could bring together."
Brady hopes that support will lead to investment.
“They need protection. Their value needs to be recognized,” she said.
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