Studio East Training for the Performing Arts Programs
StoryBook Theater, our adult professional touring company, introduces young children to live theater through original musicals written specifically for 3-10 year olds. For many children, a StoryBook performance is their first experience with live theater. StoryBook Theater tours throughout the Puget Sound area, and is seen by 50,000 people each year in Kirkland, Seattle, Everett, Edmonds, Renton, Federal Way and Olympia.
ArtReach brings the performing arts to children at their own school. In partnership with PTSAs, Studio East provides professional directors, music directors, and technical support to produce an after-school musical production that is open to all interested students, regardless of experience, ability or special needs, and is performed for the entire school and for the public. We work with 14 elementary schools and 4 junior high schools each year.
Theater Training Programs, taught throughout the year at our Kirkland home, provide formal instruction in various aspects of the performing arts for children from 4 - 19 years old. Students may explore all aspects of performing through our comprehensive schedule of after-school classes, home school programs, school break camps, and extensive schedule of summer drama camps.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
After 15 years in a dark, cramped space in downtown Kirkland, we moved to a much larger facility in Totem Lake in 2010. Since our move, we have increased the number of students we are able to serve by 15%, our audiences by 20%, and have created new programs to serve the demand for our services. More children and families are learning about theater and participating in the performing arts thanks to our better location and more spacious facility.
We are proud of our 20 year history of stable management, conservative budgeting, and strong financial oversight and controls.
Our most pressing need is operational funding to allow us to hire more support staff for our growing programs. There are many more children and schools that would like to be involved in our programs, but we do not have the staff to support additional projects. General operational support will give us the ability to better meet the growing demand, and provide more arts education for the children in our community.