Community at the Heart: The Diamond Head Theatre Story

As the United States’ 3^rd oldest continuously running community theatre, Hawai’i’s ​“Broadway of the Pacific” holds a rich legacy of creating a sense of belonging for artists and audiences that has shaped its cultural significance and its path into the future. The strength, vision, and collaborative nature of the Diamond Head Theatre community shines in the story of how their new facilities came into existence.

In 1952, the organization, then known as Honolulu Community Theatre, moved into a 1920s movie house, Fort Ruger Theatre, that originally served the Army base previously on the site. Its intimate auditorium held countless productions throughout the years, serving as the creative home for Honolulu’s theatre community and a place where young actors such as Bette Midler and Carol Burnett honed their craft. The building’s history was cherished, but the vision of the future for the organization outgrew Fort Ruger’s capabilities as a theatre for live productions. 

During strategic planning in 2007, the theatre’s board found that the facility was hindering the organization’s growth and that building a new theatre would be more financially viable than modernizing the existing structure. It would be another 15 years before the doors of the new theatre would open to the public, with the board of committed members navigating fundraising efforts, COVID supply chain issues, and community design restrictions. 

Diamond Head Theatre engaged Schuler Shook in 2011 to provide theatre consulting services for the project. The team, led by Partner Jack Hagler, worked directly with the board to plan the new facilities, create a spatial program, and select the architects for the project. Studio RED Architects was brought on to collaborate as the project’s architect. They incorporated Schuler Shook’s program and concepts to create a final design, and a multi-phase project timeline was adopted. Phase I would be construction of the new auditorium, to be built directly next to the existing theatre, allowing theatrical productions to continue during construction. Phase II would follow shortly after, with the demolition of Fort Ruger Theatre and renovation of the adjacent 1983 Theatrical Arts building that housed the theatre’s costume shop, rehearsal spaces, and offices. 

Years of focused fundraising efforts by the theatre’s board preceded the construction of the new facility and the second phase renovation of the Theatrical Arts building. With a committed vision and community support, the theatre raised the near $23 million the new center needed to become a reality. During this time planning was conducted to ensure a smooth construction process. 

Continuity was important to the process. Practically speaking, the theatre needed to maintain an uninterrupted and financially viable theatre production calendar during the project. From an emotional perspective, they needed that continuity to help carry the legacy and sense of place provided by the much-loved existing building into the new space. To accomplish this would require successfully addressing the changes that time had brought to the geography around Diamond Head Theatre.

While the site was once on an Army base, a residential community known as Diamond Head Special District grew up around the theatre over the years, bringing design guidelines that needed to be incorporated into the design of the new theatre. 

The Community Impact Process informed the siting of the new building on the property and the materials used in the construction of the new theatre. The goals were to be minimally invasive to wildlife, strong enough to withstand the weather of the island, and to fulfill the extra layer of design requirements due to its location in the Diamond Head Special District. One such requirement was that the exterior needed to be a neutral color, solved with the use of concrete masonry units that met the district’s exterior color needs. The concrete masonry also provided the strength to withstand the elements and contained properties that would enhance the auditorium’s acoustics. Using this locally produced material also allowed construction to continue during the supply chain shortages of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The theatre desired a fly tower that would allow for large-scale productions, but the district required a low building height to ensure minimal interference with the views of the landscape. The two-part solution included lowering the theatre into the side of the hill and utilizing a catwalk system in the fly tower, significantly decreasing the height of the tower, and making it more cost-effective.

The fly loft is just one example of contemporary theatre technologies designed for the new building. In the old building community artists would climb ladders to hang lights and scenery. With the new fly and catwalk system, Schuler Shook provided training to allow the community artists a simpler and safer way to install and maintain theatrical elements. 

Another effort to maintain the theatre’s sense of place is the incorporation of the surrounding environment into the design of the new theatre center. A lanai, or covered veranda, connects two parallel buildings and creates an open-air lobby with a view of Diamond Head. The lanai is also the space through which costumes need to be transported between the parallel-positioned Theatrical Arts building and the new Diamond Head auditorium, a task that would typically occur out of public view. The solution was to create a visual and security barrier that could be moved to section off the lanai, providing a private crossover between the two buildings during public events. This barrier temporarily impedes the view of the ocean for the public during an event, but the addition of a small garden park on the site of the old theatre building provides landscape for the enjoyment of theatregoers despite the temporary visual barrier in the lanai. 

The connection to Diamond Head’s surrounding environment is also maintained behind the scenes, with a scene shop that looks toward Waikiki Beach. Due to the slope of the theatre’s property, the former scene shop was located about twenty feet above the parking lot, providing incredible views of the landscape but also necessitating the use of a forklift when goods were delivered to the loading dock. As a part of the project, the scene shop was relocated to the new building and positioned at a higher grade eliminating the need for lifting materials into the shop and maintaining views of the ocean. The result is a more functional workshop with unparalleled views of the outdoors – a one-of-a-kind workspace for artists and technicians. 

The new 500-seat auditorium maintains the intimate atmosphere so cherished in the similarly sized old theatre, with the idea of shared experience at the center of its design. But now, audiences enjoy more leg room, wider seats, and better sightlines. Other, often-noted design enhancements are the doubled capacity of restroom facilities as well as a new built-in bar and concession stand.

Construction on the theatre began in November 2020, amid COVID-19, which presented a set of unforeseen challenges that followed years of fundraising efforts and planning. Financial concerns as well as supply chain disruptions slowed construction, but the vision of the Diamond Head Theatre board and community, as well as the determination of the project team ensured that the new theatre opened its doors in January of 2023 in a celebration for the community. Diamond Head Theatre has always been about community, in the truest sense of the word, and its new chapter continues to bring people together.