Jeff Cotta, owner of the Tenth Avenue Arts Center (By Harley Jay)
Arts, East Village
Jeff Cotta Talks About His East Village Arts Hub and the Paranormal Surveyors It Attracts
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
What started out as a chapel in 1930 to the First Baptist Church of San Diego has ultimately evolved into the multi-level Tenth Avenue Arts Center, thanks to the daring vision of artist and real estate investor Jeff Cotta.
The Del Cerro resident and his wife, Pamela, purchased the East Village structure in 1997 and rented it out to two different church organizations as well as a dot-com company before transforming it into a neighborhood hub for theater companies, independent artists, musical and comedy performers, party planners, and more.
Though financially self-sustaining, “the Tenth” as it is otherwise called, still sits under the radar to some, which gives it an exclusive feel to those in the know. And as Cotta pointed out in our conversation, the property offers further intrigue because of its ghostly residents.
Downtown Condo Guys: When did you actually open the Tenth Avenue Arts Center?
Cotta: After renting out the building for a while, it was in 2007 that I finally thought we should give this a shot. In doing so, we teamed up with Sledgehammer Theatre and Eveoke Dance Company to help with renovations.
Downtown Condo Guys: What were some of those renovations?
Cotta: Eveoke went through the process of leveling the main stage area with a wood-sprung floor that is very forgiving for dancers. They also helped install a light grid, and they were instrumental to procure seats and lighting equipment. Sledgehammer offered up grunt work and helped with promotional efforts.
Then a large room was converted into a box office on one side plus brand new ADA compliant restrooms on the other. We’ve upgraded to LED lighting and installed an HVAC system for the comfort of our audiences and casting crews.
Downtown Condo Guys: What kind of spaces currently exist inside?
Cotta: We have four interior floors, plus a 3,000-square-foot outdoor space on the roof, which we call “Top of the Tenth.” The areas on all levels are available for rent.
On the first floor is our Main Stage Theater, which seats up to 130. The second floor is a lounge. Think of it as a mini version of the mezzanine at the Civic Theatre. The third floor features a rehearsal hall, and also an art gallery where artists can hold private receptions and showings. On the fourth floor we have a little 40-seat theater called The Forum Theater and some small art studios for rent.
Downtown Condo Guys: How much did you invest overall in bringing the arts center to where it stands today?
Cotta: We invested a significant amount of time and money in some unknown amount of which I can’t even guess.
Downtown Condo Guys: What is your personal connection to the arts?
Cotta: I paint in watercolors and acrylic, and work in plaster casting. I’m also a playwright with about three or four plays in the works right now. My mom and dad were involved in theater in my hometown (Porterville, CA), and I would help out as much as I could. I think it’s genetic that I became involved in theater.
My dad also owned a couple of radio stations when I was growing up, so I was in radio as a disc jockey and sports play-by-play [announcer] throughout my college years in Central California and in Oklahoma.
Downtown Condo Guys: What did you study?
Cotta: I did my undergraduate work in psychology at the University of Oklahoma, and I got my masters degree in sports psychology at United States International University (now Alliant University.)
Downtown Condo Guys: Is running The Tenth your sole occupation?
Cotta: Managing our residential and commercial properties is the main thing that I do. The arts center is the other part of my life. If it couldn’t support itself, we wouldn’t be doing this. Art is a tough business.
Downtown Condo Guys: How many live theater productions do you present each year?
Cotta: There are approximately eight full-run productions per year on the Main Stage. In between, I create pockets of week-long events. In the Forum Theater we have about four full-run productions each year, plus magic and comedy shows and the annual GamerCon.
The majority of our productions are not from San Diego playwrights, but rather from established productions performed by local theater groups. Although currently on stage (until Dec. 10) there is a play titled The October Night of Johnny Zero by local playwright, Francis Gercke. Other exceptions include some of my own original works that will start in 2024. We encourage local playwrights to come to us and get some eyes and ears on their stuff.
Downtown Condo Guys: What have been some of the most well-attended, successful productions at The Tenth?
Cotta: Early on we had independent groups from L.A. that brought original works to San Diego such as Game of Thrones: The Musical and It’s the Housewives. We also had a local company do Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog.
Our crowning production is Evil Dead-The Musical written by George Reinblatt. It’s a spoof on the Evil Dead Series that features a splatter zone with people getting showered with fake blood and zombie guts. It was produced by our in-house production team, Casual Company. We’ve been doing two-week runs of it every October for the past nine years. We already have the rights to do it again next year. It’s a total blast.
Downtown Condo Guys: So tell us about the rumor that The Tenth is haunted.
Cotta: Over the past six years we’ve had paranormal studies done on the building by groups that study old buildings for paranormal activities. They come in with their devices to register them. One researcher, Alex Matsuo, wrote about the ghosts that supposedly live here in a book called ‘The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater.’ I’ve personally seen objects move that I can’t explain, but it doesn’t freak me out.
Downtown Condo Guys: Assuming those ghosts don’t conflict with operations, what are your future goals for The Tenth?
Cotta: A big goal is to get our Forum Theater to the same level as The Main Stage as far as the schedule goes. We would also like to utilize the rooftop to a greater degree, to increase its usage for comedy shows, fundraisers, catered food events, movie screenings, etc. We’re on 10th Avenue, a half block from Broadway, in a prime East Village location. So we want this to be a go-to place for people who live and work downtown for their entertainment and nightlife.
