It’s teatime.

Olympic Theatre Arts is hosting a Twelfth Night High Tea party Jan. 9 – 10. Proceeds will go toward building handicap ramps at the theater, one of the last steps in construction before the community theater can reopen to the public.

Amid a great deal of controversy, the OTA building was shut down by the city of Sequim on Feb. 26, 2007, smack-dab in the middle of its three-phase reconstruction project. Since its closure, plays and rehearsals have been held at other community facilities, primarily the Sequim High School Performing Arts Center.

The theater is expected to reopen in September 2009, according to Elaine Caldwell, Olympic Theatre Arts fundraising coordinator, last September.

More than $1.1 million has been put into restoring the 414 N. Sequim Ave. building, including transforming the previous kitchen and bathrooms into a main stage, raising the roof four feet, adding on to the building’s length to increase the amount of backstage space and painting the exterior.

The new main stage room will seat 160 people.

The tea – which is four separate teatimes over a two-day period – is being held at the Dungeness Barn House, a private residence in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley off Marine Drive. Guests must RSVP "yes" to the party to receive directions to the historical barn-home.

"They’ve redecorated it into something really amazing," bragged Caldwell, Olympic Theatre Arts fundraising coordinator about the owners of the Dungeness Barn House, who happen to be fellow board members. "It’s the type of place you walk into and see a carousel horse."

"It’s well worth the ticket price," she promised.

Caldwell vowed to give the community an update on construction progress and the estimated reopening date within the next few weeks.

Raising funds for community theater

Who: Olympic Theatre Arts

What: Twelfth Night High Tea

When: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10

Where: At the Dungeness Barn House, on Marine Drive, in a private setting overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Tickets: $22 per person

Contact: For more information, to purchase tickets or to get detailed directions, call the OTA box office between 1-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 683-7326.