Downtown venue The Beverly outlines film, music, literary vision

The two-story performance space and film house under construction in downtown Las Vegas has specified its programming categories as Lit, Live and Film. The venue backed by The Rogers Foundation, a non-profit headed up by Beverly Rogers, sits next to The Writer’s Block independent bookstore at The Lucy at 515 S. 6th Street.

Plans are for the arts fortress to be open by the end of the year, with a more formal opening in the weeks following.

Get Lit

Lit is the venue’s storytelling concept, inviting honest, original monologue performances. Creative Director Kip Kelly is working in “harmonious partnership,” as he says, with Scott Seeley and Drew Cohen, owners of the Writer’s Block independent bookstore

The Beverly is billed as the ultimate place for honest storytelling scenes. Look for book readings, poetry slams, live script readings, author workshops, author/director Q&A’s, conspired creativity and more programming in the theater.

Doin’ it Live

The Live designation is a nod to live entertainment. The Beverly’s concert setting is designed for live music of a variety of genres. Tour stops, regional acts, Vegas artists, production shows and performance artists are in play.

“Our live presentations will be unique and meaningful to the artist and our fans. Vegas musicians will be able to utilize our state-of-the-art tech to produce concerts in a unique way, while touring bands and other indie acts will finally have a stage that reaches the Las Vegas market and not just our visiting economy,” Kelly says. “We might do one a month, we might do 10 a month. The program will not be about filling a calendar but rather filling the community with intentional live performances we think work for the theater and our mission.”

Film for all

The Film vision caters to independent film fans. As The Beverly’s description outlines, the venue is honing in on first-run independent projects, revivals, festivals, video battles, shorts and documentaries, dance parties, trivia nights, genre nights, celebrity presentations, socially conscience and impactful pop culture presentations, and roundtable talks with filmmakers, cast and crew.

“Beverly Film will present first-run indies, revivals, fests, and mondo moods,” Kelly said. “We want to give you a chance to revisit the classics with your friends and catch the opening of a great new film that isn’t getting the screen time in Vegas it deserves. Live cinema and experiential moments will also inhabit our film program. But like the ending of a good film, you won’t see it coming.”

The building update

Construction on The Beverly Theater is more than 75 percent complete, on target for a winter completion. The 14,306-square-foot film house and performance theater will feature the main theater, terrace (to be called Segue open for “loose” programming, including jazz bands) and courtyard. The Beverly Theater will have an on-site box office, retail and concession space, fully loaded green room (named The Teddy, named for one of Rogers’ dogs, as is the The Lucy), catering kitchen and educational work spaces.

The main theater will feature raked seating of about 150 seats on a retractable platform allowing for expanded standing-room capacity. It can be quickly converted into a multipurpose, black-box theater through an automated system.

Multiple lighting plots will allow the theater to be used for a variety of events and can be staged in multiple directions. For film-watching, the 360-square-foot screen is coupled with a motorized cinema masking system and has been designed to maximize viewing angles from every seat.

The terrace is also wired for audio and sound, designed for intimate performances, secondary cinema screening and social events. The courtyard provides a more intimate space for book clubs, educational gatherings, reading, working and coffee confabs.

“The theater can give filmgoers an authentic film watching experience and within hours, also give fans a true theatrical presentation of their favorite band or performer,” Kelly says. “There’s additional area purposefully designed for intimate author and literary experiences. It’s uncommon to have this much versatility in an arthouse theater.”

Cool Hang Alert

“The Fitzy & Friends” comedy show is set for 9 p.m. (doors at 8 p.m.) Friday at Backstage Bar & Billiards, 601 E. Fremont St. on Fremont East. Shawn “Fitzy” Fitzsimmons hosts with comics Adam Dominguez, Alex “Kool Aid” Ansel, Brandon “Gooch” Hahn and Carlos Anthony are on the bill. Cost is $10 (a mere pittance), go to backstagebarlv.com for the keys to this comedy.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.