The SCV Space is a fledgling blackbox theater that is slowly gaining recognition in a city where the artistic culture is a bit scattered.  

Its goal is simple: give Santa Clarita artists an accessible venue to exercise their craft. Sounds like a sweet deal, but the problem has been reaching the community.  

The SCV Space plans to change that this Saturday, when it announces the upcoming schedule for its Southwestern Entertainment Theatre Group. The SET Group also owns and operates the theater, which opened in February.  

“To build awareness of this new theater space in the Santa Clarita Valley, we decided to host this event,” said Jon Ross, Managing Director of SET Group. “We want everyone in the community to know what it is, who are, what we’re doing and more importantly, what you can do in the space.”  

What Ross is referring to is his team’s open invitation to other stage and comedy troupes.  

Whereas the Canyon Theatre Guild and the Repertory East Playhouse primarily showcase their own productions, Ross envisions the SCV Space as hosting multiple independent groups.  

Through the SCV Space, Ross is extending an olive branch to all those students, inexperienced actors, comedy lovers and theater enthusiasts who don’t want to travel to Hollywood.  

“The problem we ran into was that going to Hollywood can be very expensive. We found that all the people that came to see one of our shows (in Hollywood) were all from Santa Clarita,” said Ross.  

The SET Group also teaches classes on directing, acting and improvisation, seeing it through to their students’ own productions.  

“We have a lot of improv troupes and a lot of kids that don’t have a place to go out here in Santa Clarita. It’s a place for the people that want to act, but they’re not quite ready to go into the professional world. They need a bit of out-of-school experience.”  

Ross understands the transformation from infant theater to cherished venue will take some time, and that’s why the SCV Space is inviting the public on Saturday.  

From 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. the theater will provide food, wine and information for everyone in attendance at this free event.  

SCV Space is located at 27600 Bouquet Canyon Road #120, Santa Clarita, next to La Rumba Latin Mix restaurant. Visit their website or call (661) 263-3733 for more information.