In better times, Central Stage blossomed into an essential outpost for East Bay Iranian cultural expression, serving as a space for a vivid array of performances and activities.
Now, with the United States and Israel seeking to dismantle the Islamic regime, the Richmond theater has taken on another role, hosting weekly gatherings for Bay Area Iranians to share anxieties and information about the war in Iran.
“Communication with people in Iran has been difficult, and many are having trouble reaching their family,” said Behzad Golemohammadi, a member of Central Stage’s board who’s largely responsible for booking the theater, an all-volunteer organization tucked away in a narrow semi-industrial strip by Point Isabel, between the 80 and 580 freeways. “We’ve had people coming out every Thursday for conversations, and it’s been a real rollercoaster.”
Since becoming a nonprofit in 2017, the 75-seat Central Stage has steadily evolved, adapting to community needs. From the outside the building is nondescript, but the well-equipped venue has become a vibrant space for a myriad of creative pursuits.
While often presenting theatrical productions, such as Torange Yeghiazarian’s acclaimed version of the tragedy “Leili and Majnun,” Central Stage “has expanded to include concerts, book readings, birthday parties, you name it. We held my dad’s memorial there,” said Zahra Mahloudji, who runs the administrative side of the theater.
Central Stage theater
What: A volunteer-run nonprofit performing arts theater focused on Persian works
Where: 5221 Central Ave., Richmond
Founded: With roots in Berkeley’s Darvag Theater Group, its founders came to Richmond in 2008. It became a nonprofit in 2017
Next performance: Navabaz: A Musical Stand-Up Experience by Mohammad Khodadadi, on Fri., May 8, 8 p.m.
More info: Visit the Central Stage events page.
“It’s become our community center and a community-based arts and culture organization,” Mahloudji said. “That was our whole idea, to share the work and culture and heritage of Iranian artists, but not be limited to that. We invite everyone to come in and use the space.”
Affordable theater space is always in demand in the East Bay, and as word about Central Stage has spread on the performing arts grapevine the theater has received inquiries from near and far. Recently, the renowned Hindustani vocalist Sanhita Nandi, who lives in New Jersey and New Delhi, gave a classical Indian recital that brought a new audience to the venue.
“All of our events are word-of-mouth,” Golemohammadi said. “We’ve had many Afghan, Kurdish, and Azeri events. Last Sunday we had a recital for 5- to 10-year-old kids, and I was helping out on sound and lights. For a few years we had a Peruvian group rehearsing and performing dance and music.”
The theater’s reputation has reached some of the most acclaimed artists on the international scene. “What’s lovely is that it’s both an accessible community space and go-to performance space for world-class artists who are touring,” said Torange Yeghiazarian. “We’ve had a number of artists perform at (Yerba Buena) or the Cowell Theater and then do a little community performance at Central Stage, like Kayhan Kalhor,” the Iranian-Kurdish master of the kamancheh (spiked fiddle).
The bulk of Central Stage’s Iranian audience hails from Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito and Albany (where parents can send their kids to the Golestan School for Farsi lessons), though people come from as far away as Pleasanton and San Jose, Mahloudji said. Central Stage’s board has been conscious about reaching out to Richmond’s small but growing Persian population, including Iranian-born Richmond City Council member Soheila Bana.
How Richmond became home to Persian cultural center
It was happenstance that Richmond became home to the region’s premiere Persian cultural institution. Central Stage’s antecedent was the Darvag Theater Group, which was founded in Berkeley in 1985 by former Iranian student activists. With the loss of the Adeline Street venue, Darvag’s co-founder, Mansour Taeed, launched the new space with his wife, Afsaneh Taeed, and dancer Shahrzad Khorsandi, which opened as Central Stage in 2008.
The theater ran as a for-profit venue for about a decade, but when the landlord raised the rent, “Mansour wanted to give it up,” Mahloudji recalled. “Behar said, ‘Don’t rush. Don’t close it down.’”
Assembling a team of volunteers in the summer of 2017, they launched a GoFundMe campaign and started the process of registering the organization as a nonprofit. The board of trustees, including Richmond resident Ninva Warda, has divided up responsibilities to keep the venue humming. Volunteers are essential to the operation, with Yeghiazarian handing grant writing.
Support from the Hewlett Foundation, recently renewed for a second two-year term, allowed the theater to make significant upgrades to the sound and lights. Like many theaters, Central Stage is still recovering from the COVID shutdown, but the board’s vision is ambitious.
“We’re hoping to have regular events on a monthly basis,” Mahloudji said. “A lot of time it sits empty, and our goal is to increase rentals. We’re hoping to get more fiscal sponsorship, and that’s a big undertaking. Ultimately we’re looking for grants so we can commission artists.”
All too many arts spaces have shuttered in recent years, unable to sustain themselves after the pandemic. For an Iranian American community buffeted by decades of repression in Iran and a new war with uncertain objectives, Central Stage is more than a venue. It’s a space that welcomes creative endeavors and hard conversations.
The bottom line is that community spaces are a precious and scarce resource, and in bad times and good Central Stage welcomes events to meet the moment.
“Any time the space is needed we open it up,” Golemohammadi said. “We’re all working there for free and we charge a very low rate. We want to make sure the theater stays accessible for all kinds of projects.”
