BRIGHT AND SHINY GRAND OPENING–The Carpenter Family Theatre has opened at Westlake High School. The facility had its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thurs., May 27 and performances by Richard Carpenter and fine arts students at WHS, including the choir, instrumental musicians and thespians. The Carpenter Family Theatre at Westlake High School was opened to the public after a reception and ribbon-cutting on Thurs., May 27.

The first program in the newly renovated theater followed at 8 p.m. and included presentations from all of the school’s performing arts programs— choir, instrumental music and drama—and a performance by Richard Carpenter.

Proceeds from the sold-out event went toward the upkeep and maintenance of the new space.

The theater was named for arts philanthropists Richard and Mary Carpenter. They’re sponsors for the annual Richard Carpenter Scholarship through the Alliance for the Arts and have also donated to other programs at Westlake High School.

The Westlake High School Theater was constructed at the time the school was built in the late 1970s as a small, black box theater.

It didn’t have the seating capacity or the additional enhancements that were included in the performing arts centers that were constructed at Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks High Schools in the late 1990s.

The Carpenters approached the staff at Westlake High and the Conejo Valley Unified School District about expanding and renovating the theater. They offered a contribution to jumpstart the project and were involved in its design and planning. The donation was made through the Conejo Schools Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising organization for the school district.

Construction on the $4-million facility began in June 2009 and was supported by the Car- penters’ donation, school district Measure R bond and state modernization grant funds.

The expansion and renovation included additional seating and improved audience sight lines, state-of-the-art lighting, audio and video capabilities, enhanced acoustics and all-new interior surfaces and finishes.