The Complex

One of the best indie improv shows in the city happens at the Hammerstone Theater (6470 Santa Monica Blvd) every Tuesday night at 8:00. It’s called Long Hard Tuesdays — and features some veteran improvisers from yay!, Ratthroat, Big Yellow Taxi, and all-​star guest teams. The show is free (donation based).
For those that have never seen improv before, it’s like stand up but 1,000 more interesting, as no one knows what will happen until the teams take the stage.

Wish there were places like this in San Diego. Nice. Clean. Perfect size. Like the girl of my dreams. And nice seats! Just like the…

My writing partner and I hosted a staged reading of our feature length script here and it was lovely. It was so easy to set up a space rental and payment was very reasonably priced and easy to exchange. They provided us with all the chairs and tables, and it went very smooth! Highly recommend.

I have been producing my play, HAIRitage, The Journey of Sistahs with Their Hiar at The Complex for the past few months and I couldn’t be happier. The venue, the staff, the pricing… all great. If you are looking for a place to put on a production, reading, screening (heck there’s even a church that rents the space for services) The Complex is the perfect venue. Matt, Monica and John are the best and more helpful than you could hope for. There are 3 main stages of 55 seats, and several other rehearsal rooms that are designed like theatres themselves. A true gem of spaces on Theatre Row.

Went to see Equis this past Saturday afternoon and enjoyed the 4 member cast. It was funny and sad.
Play ran about 1 hour and 45 minutes. This place has multiple theaters but this play was using the floor theater to the right as you walk in.
Small theater but very intimate. Maybe one day I will return and check out another play.
Street parking is limited to one hour on Santa Monica Blvd but you get two hour parking on the side streets without a meter.
They sell snacks and drinks inside, but there is a small liquor store at the corner in case you want to bring your own. No drinks or snacks inside the theater but you can take in water… Shhh, I had M&Ms and a soda inside.

Monica and John were both wonderful to work with. I put on a staged reading — didn’t really know what I was doing — but they made it a night to remember. The space is fantastic and the rental was extremely reasonable! Thank you!

Monica, Matt and Jon are so easy to work with and as accommodating as possible. As a venue I would be fortunate to work with them all the time. The theaters are good sized for smaller productions or ensembles with unto perhaps 10 performers. It’s the hollywood 99, seat theater thing. It’s a great place to be everyone is friendly and the energy is so creative and fun. We rent studio space pretty regularly and they make the whole process so easy. Of course there are hit and miss performances but the venue is TOP-​NOTCH!

Matt & Monica of The Complex are true beings of the theatre. They are a reflection of what community theatre is all about. It was an honor to present my first production HerSheMe at The Complex. The space was truth and brought me back to the days of just good olé theatre. A community theatre house that everyone can come and enjoy a variety of shows. GO!

The place itself needs work but, the performances are what make it or break it. Sometimes both theaters have shows scheduled so, the lobby may get crowded. I found this to be a good thing since, the view was nice (wink wink). However, this can be a negative thing when it comes to the restroom since, there’s only one for each sex in the back. Parking is located around the corner and free. Show prices vary but, for the most part stay around movie ticket prices. Producers decide if drinks will be available so, this varies each time also. They don’t have a liquor license so, follow the Vegas motto and also be ready to pay cash.

Intimate 49 seat theater. Came here on account of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Good experience overall. The restroom in not in the theater but next door.

Nice little spaces to see some provocative & new work. A theater enthusiast will not be disappointed in the reasonable priced tickets & it feels great knowing it’s going to productions that highlight new talent!

We watched the worst movie ever I think … And it was fun… It was on a Sat night … It was a great experience and really cheap.
There was wine in the lobby for a donation ;) so josh and I kept on donating till we got pretty tipsy! ;) I’m sure we had a bottle each lol.
The theater was a great size and the crowd was fun… I think that’s what makes it worth your while.
They had a guest at the end of the movie… someone that I guess worked on the film. =)
We will for sure come back ;)

Stars and Review for the venue only! Great clean space small not a bad seat in the house… The show «what is art» sucked monkey balls!!! The acting was actually very good but the story was horrible it was basically a 2 hour man bitch fest about 3 male friends who were on their period and fresh out of midol. but once again great acting skills and wonderful venue with $ 5 valet. However, beware the valet is a lazy lil thing I had to get out of my car and hand him my keys and when I came out of the theater he pointed to my car and said it’s right there do I need to bring it to you lmao no tip for him but it’s totally worth the $ 5 not to have to find street parking on santa monica blvd!

A little shady; and the production we saw was hardly esthetical.
However, the management says they are in the middle of renovations, so the place will look better soon. Also, there are a number of production companies under the same roof, so perhaps you will be more lucky with what you see.

Nice little mid-​sized theatre in Theatre Row. Mid-​sized, as in 40 to 99 seats. This is not The Nokia.
Several spaces for classes, readings, rehearsals and of course, performances. As a patron, it’s pretty easy to see a show here. Those who’ve rented the place have had a decent experience, from what I’ve heard. I considered booking a show here, and would still consider it. David S. at The Complex is a knowledgable theatre guy as well as a good guy, too.

A show that I wrote is currently being produced here and I’ve loved nearly every second of it. I’ve been really surprised by the generally middling to poor reviews found here. It seems that most of the complaints have related to poor customer service. This is not the fault of The Complex.
Part of what makes The Complex such a great place to present is that they provide the artist with a lot of freedom. Basically, if you can pay the rental fee to present the material, they’ll allow you to do pretty much whatever you want. But, like that old dude said in that spider thing, «With great power comes great responsibility and stuff.» So while they provide you that freedom it’s your job to provide the concessions and staff the ticket box, snack stand, etc. So if you encountered jerks working the booth or lobby blame the show, not The Complex.
Also, that freedom means that the quality of the shows presented can vary quite a bit. Do your research before seeing a show and you’ll have a great time.

Okay. I saw a good show tonight. But I didn’t know the venue was so dinky.
It has two stages. The one I went into had maybe 7 rows?
And I don’t know if the people who were working there and helped us were people from the show I saw («Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes Love»), or from the theater, but they were FREAKING RUDE.
Theater people in LA are high-​nosed, pretentious, hipster-​wannabe, late 20s, I-know-art-and-you-don’t, kind of people. That got to me and my friend pretty bad, so it took a while to enjoy the actual show. Yeah, that’s right. I hated the crowd.

Came here to see a friend in a production of «Sex, Lies & the IRS».
I stopped at the liquor store next door to use the ATM (valet parking isn’t free) and grab a bottle of water. Turns out they were selling drinks and snacks in the theater, but I needed to break a $ 20 anyway.
The seats were comfy enough. Small venue, at least the one stage I where the show was (I think they have another theater inside, or at least some kind of performance space).
The place is great… clean restrooms, nice seats, and you can take snacks inside the theater. Lots of business cards in the lobby for headshot photographers and acting classes.

I was here for Horrible Movie Night (HMN): «Hidden in bargain bins and dusty warehouses, the worst movies on the planet lurk forgotten and unwatched. Horrible Movie Night exhumes these cinematic disasters, and invites your biting barbs & witty rejoinders. And if that’s not enough, our improv group takes the stage to mock the film even further. Don’t let these movies die alone.»
Jesus, I couldn’t have had more fun with a pile of dildos and a big tube of lube.
Imagine a room full of 40 fun-​loving barb-​throwing jokesters aspiring to be the wittiest joker in the bunch. The prize? On this night the best one-​liners were awarded with a gummy rat. My friendster won for yelling «Glory Hole!» at an opportune moment in the film.
Somehow, the acoustics in this place allow everyone using their «big-​boy voice» to be heard. It’s a very small venue, so whatever the show/​movie you attend, you’re sure to have a great seat. How I *heart* the myriad events in the city of Los Angeles!

I came here last night for some good times. This is a review about the venue itself, and not the performance.
Things worth noting:
1. Well… there’s valet parking. That’s neat. I didn’t take advantage of that because the theater was within walking distance
2. The theater was cozy. The theater didn’t seat much… making it a very intimate experience. Fortunately the seats and the arm rests were padded. There was also pretty ample leg room.
3. Drinks. When I was there they were serving a variety of sodas and 2 different kinds of wine. Red one or white one.
4. Casual vibe. It is pretty low key, which is the type of environment I prefer.
I can’t say I was super impressed or disappointed either. I feel as though I would need to return a few times to catch the other shows to properly gauge this place. For now I would half to say, it was a-​ok and nothing more.