Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, San Jose’s 3Below Theaters has pivoted many times in hopes of attracting audiences back to the downtown venue.
Husband-and-wife partners Scott and Shannon Guggenheim staged outdoor movies on their parking garage roof, produced a season of live theater, tried competing with the big multiplexes on blockbusters, pushed smaller Oscar-praised indie flicks and programmed Hollywood classics. They even started a subscription-style membership program.
Scott Guggenheim, co-creative director of 3Below Theaters, works on a custom puzzle of the downtown theater in its lobby on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. 3Below has launched a new effort, The Big Screen Project, with 18 movies series for the remainder of the year. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)Those efforts managed to keep 3Below alive, but none of it brought back audiences to pre-pandemic levels. The Guggenheims hope their newest initiative, “The Big Screen Project,” gives people a reason to get out of the house and come back to the theater. For the rest of the year, 3Below is putting live theater productions on hold and instead will offer a smorgasbord of more than 200 movies and events divided into 18 entertaining and thought-provoking series.
“The whole point is to give people a shared space where they can enjoy something together, to laugh or cry or be moved,” 3Below co-creative director Scott Guggenheim said. “But you need audiences to be together to make that happen.”
The project launches June 11 with an opening night screening of “Summer of Soul,” Questlove’s 2021 documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969. Of course, there will still be singalongs for favorites like “Grease” and “The Sound of Music” — this is 3Below, after all — and anniversary showings of classics like “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “GoodFellas” and “Rebel Without a Cause.”
But the lineup also includes movies about food and sports, documentaries about art, music and social justice. The “Reel Pride” series showcases queer cinema, while “Synthetic Cinema” puts the spotlight on movies about the interaction of robots and humanity like Steven Spielberg’s “A.I.” and Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis.” And they’re partnering with local organizations and people wherever they can to provide context to the movies being shown — whether it’s about the space program or Miles Davis.
You can get the full lineup and tickets at 3belowtheaters.com/the-big-screen-project.
ART FOR A CAUSE: It’s far from unusual to see an art exhibition in downtown San Jose, but the one taking place at Open San Jose on Saturday is pretty special. That’s because “Home Is Where the Art Is” is a showcase of 100 art pieces — paintings, collages and prints — created by 45 residents during artmaking workshops offered by HomeFirst at four housing sites.
Two professional artists served as instructors for the residents as they explore their creativity and work with each other — all while trying to find permanent housing.
Jennifer Kopp, who participated in an eight-week art workshop at a HomeFirst housing site, poses with her painting, "Artichoke," which will be on display and available for bid at "Home Is Where the Art Is," a showcase taking place at Open San Jose in downtown San Jose on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Fiona Brodie/HomeFirst)Jennifer Kopp, one of the featured artists, is a HomeFirst client who was on the streets for a year before moving into an emergency interim housing site. She grew herbs and vegetables at her housing site’s garden but hadn’t explored painting before the eight-week workshop. Three of her pieces will be on display at Saturday’s event.
The showcase takes place from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Open San Jose, 38 S. Second St., with remarks from HomeFirst CEO Rene Ramirez, art instructor Reyes Magos and Kopp. Everything will be up for bid, and the sales will directly support the participating artists. You can get more information and RSVP to the free event at www.homefirstscc.org/home-is-where-the-art-is.
CURTAIN CALL: Sunday’s “España” performance at the California Theatre wasn’t just the last show of Symphony San Jose’s season, it was the last show for Nick Nichols, who is retiring as the symphony’s director of operations — capping a long career with several South Bay theater companies. Nichols had leadership roles with the San Jose Rep and Tabard Theatre, as well as working for Ballet San Jose and the Civic Light Opera.
Nichols was responsible for making sure the symphony’s concerts went smoothly, production-wise, and that included working with visiting artists like guitarist Rafael Aguirre. After performing Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” to a long ovation from the audience, Aguirre returned for an encore of Ennio Morricone’s “Gabriel’s Oboe,” which he dedicated to Nichols. Bravo!
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