Theater

The California Performing Arts Centre, also known as the California Performing Arts Centre for Children, has filed for protection under federal bankruptcy laws.

Citing $298,081 in debts against only $18,163 in assets, center director Martin Gregg said he is reorganizing--not folding--under Chapter 11 provisions of the bankruptcy code.

“We’re $290,000 in the hole,� Gregg said. “It’s not a lot over eight years, but I can’t continue (without protection). The writing’s on the wall.�

His company has presented 24 of its own musical productions since Gregg set up the nonprofit organization. It has produced such shows as “Toby Tyler� and the annual holiday show “Bah Humbug!� at the Spreckels, Fox and North Park theaters.

In 1987, Gregg converted the old Palisades roller rink on University Avenue into an 800-seat theater and has been leasing it for popular music concerts.

Gregg attributed the company’s plight, in part, to a lack of recognition. “We’ve tried to get reviewed for years,� he said. “We’ve been ignored. We’ve created an 800-seat theater . . . and we brought enough attention to the North Park Theatre that the city allocated money (in 1987 to purchase the theater) but we never got any recognition for that.�

More than half of the theater’s $298,081 debt consists of a $75,000 loan from Joel Chambers and $100,000 in back salary for himself, Gregg said. The remainder, he said, is smaller amounts owed to various vendors such as printers, he said.