From Crosscut: “Relatively speaking, the theater business is small potatoes in King County and Seattle. Ticket revenues for 2014 clocked in at $211 million county-wide, with areas much smaller and less capital-drenched bringing in the same or more. That isn’t to mention Broadway.
“But for those trying to make a living in the business, there is an option, a portion of the industry absolutely flush with cash. Speaking with an avid thespian recently, she told me that her various on-the-side retail jobs were being superseded over time by her theatrical pursuits. How was she paying the rent?
“Two words, she said: “Children’s theatre.”
“Children’s theatre in King County — putting on shows for kids, and training them in the arts — is huge business. In fact, Seattle has the second largest theater for young audiences in North America, Seattle Children’s Theater (SCT), which has an annual operating budget of over $6 million.
There are successful arts organizations, but not necessarily successful artists. In this context, the corporations often charged with pricing artists out of the area become not threatening, but part of the same business partnership.
“this phenomenon that led me to the facilities of Studio East in Kirkland. Both its website and façade make Studio East seem unassuming. From the outside, it looks like another drab block of offices on the Eastside, a drop of water in the ocean of parking lots. Inside, though, I’m listening to Education Director Kristina Sutherland Rowell describe the company’s ridiculously extensive offerings. We’ve passed through offices, a kitchen, a room for preschool classes, and a dance room with sprung parquet floors. We aren’t even halfway through the building.” Click here for more.