EagleWing Theatre Co. still looks for a temporary home
Mountain Winery a consideration
By Kara Chalmers
The nonprofit EagleWing Theatre Company, which ultimately wants to manage a performing arts theater in Saratoga Village, said the company is now considering the Mountain Winery as a venue, at least in the short run.
Ken Carter, the founder of the theater company, said the company wants to own property eventually, and that he would prefer it if the property were in Saratoga Village. Specifically, the company is interested in a property on Turkey Track Lane, near the corner of Big Basin Way and Third Street, to use as a 200-or-so seat theater. But the company has been looking for other venues while it waits on the owners of the Turkey Track Lane property to set a price, Carter said.
The president of the Mountain Winery, Nancy Bussani, said that the winery and the theater company would continue with their conversations as the winery moves forward with master planning. EagleWing is specifically interested in the winery building, not the concert bowl. Bussani said EagleWing and the winery would make a good match and that the company would be a delightful group to work with.
For months, the theater company has tried to find a temporary venue so it could start its program. It looked into West Valley College, the Foothill Club and even in Willow Glen at a facility that used to house medical offices. All of these options fell through, Carter said. He knows the Saratoga Village property at best would be the company's long-term solution. He said that if the winery becomes available, he would try to start a season there, since he, too, thinks the winery would be a good fit for the company.
Carter, the director of music at the Saratoga Presbyterian Church, said EagleWing would offer standard theater performances, including musicals and straight performances eight times a week for a season lasting 40 weeks. But he also envisions a program, which he calls, "a Saratoga experience." The program would entail bringing seniors to Saratoga by passenger van, six days a week, to see a play, shop and have a meal at one of the downtown restaurants. The company would market the daytime performances to seniors and church groups, rather than to the general public, although it would not restrict the daytime performances from the general public.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
