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New Studio Offers Adult Acting, Dance and Music Classes

A public performing arts training center materializes under the Monorail

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This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.

So you’ve always wanted to be a clown. Or learn to tap dance. Or do improvisational theater. Like they say on reality-TV shows, it’s never too late to pursue your dream! Thanks to The Studios Center for Performing Arts (1801 Fifth Ave.; 206.582.3878; thestudios.org), you can hone that dream to a waking-life skill. Opened in October by local arts supporters Shanna and Ryan Waite (she’s a longtime actress, he’s a senior manager at Amazon), The Studios offers adult classes in acting, dance, music and related fields for both novices and professional performers. Appropriate given the nature of the space, the center is located downtown in the Times Square Building, the flatiron-shaped landmark that housed the editorial offices of The Seattle Times from 1916 to 1930. The Waites worked with Graham Baba Architects, Dovetail General Contractors and Tom Sturge Designs to gut 10,000 square feet of space and create several studios of different sizes, including a dance rehearsal room with 20-foot ceilings and a recording studio in a former bank vault. In addition to the packed lineup of classes taught by local performance pros, The Studios plans to offer public performances, both intentionally (indoors) and incidentally (via the floor-to-ceiling street-level windows). Brush off those ballet slippers and stretch out those vocal cords—your big debut may be just around the corner. Prices range from $18 for a drop-in class to $170 for a 10-class package; union members receive discounts. Stardom not guaranteed.

 

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

Dance, drag, and immersive art collide in an eight-week exploration of our phone-obsessed lives, with a few surprises along the way. 

What do drag queens, smartphone addiction, art installations, and an old luggage shop have in common?  According to longtime Seattle choreographer Alana O’Farrell Rogers, a lot.  “There’s no dead time anymore,” says Rogers, explaining how the proliferation of smartphones fills the empty spaces that once served as time for rest or connection. Where we snuggled…

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Ahead of their performance at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture gala, the hip-hop pioneers talk about creative ownership, connecting with new generations, and the songs that still resonate.

The Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP) will host its annual ICONS of Pop Culture Gala in Seattle on October 22, honoring five artists and institutions whose work has helped shape entertainment and culture.  This year’s honorees are martial arts and film legend Bruce Lee, fashion designer Jeremy Scott, the video game franchise Halo, hip-hop pioneers…

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Drawing on childhood memories, neighborhood history, and salvaged materials, Christopher Paul Jordan’s latest show at Cornish’s Behnke Family Gallery explores how the past stays with us.

Start in the middle. It’s good advice for telling a story, and a way into Christopher Paul Jordan’s paintings. By the time you encounter them, their materials have already been something else, and who knows what they might move on to become. The Tacoma interdisciplinary artist works with salvaged objects, including screens, picture frames, canvas,…

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

WEDDING BELLS I’ve been a bit absent from this column lately, but I think I have a pretty good excuse: I got married! It’s already been three weeks since my September 19 wedding, but I’m still reflecting on the magic of the day. My fiancé, well husband now (I can’t get used to saying it!),…