By Helen Harlan

Walking down 28th Street in the Newton Booth neighborhood of Sacramento, you might miss The Ooley Theatre. The nonprofit, multi-use venue is next to a convenience store, across the street from some apartments, and not far from the freeway, which hums just a few blocks south. 

But if you take a second to check out the flyers in its windows or go inside to chat with Elise Hodge, The Ooley’s creative director, you’ll find that the 35-seat black box theater is one of Sacramento’s best-kept secrets for live performance.

“People are starting to realize that there’s a theater here,” Hodge says as she sits in the audience facing the stage with Cricket, her rescue pup. “There’s something for you to come see here. There’s a place for you to be exposed to the arts. And it’s not just going to be a play; it’s going to be all kinds of different things.”

Hodge’s inaugural season in charge of The Ooley ran in 2024. It included the scripted drama “Radium Girls” and a run of “Heathers: The Musical.” Buddy Rahming’s “Comedy Night with Funny Bidness,” an evening of stand-up comedy, was also a regular fall 2024 occupant of the proscenium stage.

The Ooley’s most enterprising offer to the Sacramento performance community might be its live-streaming capabilities. Hodge runs a three-camera set-up behind a curtain along stage right, ready to beam to anyone who wants to tune in from the comfort of their couch. 

“I’m trying to find other ways to utilize what I’m doing here. I’m reaching out to musicians and solo artists and other kinds of more small-venue-type artistry to come here and utilize this space with the hope that they will utilize the live streaming capability,” Hodge says. “The stage is yours, and so is the livestream.”

Hodge grew up down south in Loma Linda in San Bernardino County. She attended Sacramento State and got a degree in interior design, but eventually got bit by the acting bug. After working in the L.A. theater scene, Hodge relocated to Sacramento, where she began producing theater 12 years ago. She took over The Ooley lease in 2023 from Gerald Ooley, who had previously owned the space for around two decades. Hodge’s commitment to helping artists is evident in her passion and dedication, and stems from her personal experiences in the theater. 

“When someone brings in an idea for a show, I say “OK? What do you need? Do you need a stage manager? Do you need someone to run your lights and sound? And then we put together a package,” Hodge says. “I wish someone had done that for me when I started.”

This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento Observer and Univision 19. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.