The Artists' Studio facts for kids

The Artists' Studio is a theater in Fishers, Indiana, USA. It's a business that makes money, but it's also a place where the community can get involved in theater. David and Joellyn Young, who used to work on Broadway, started it in January 2003. David worked on famous shows like Camelot and The Music Man. Joellyn played a main role in Evita. The theater used to be a nightclub, but they changed it by adding a stage. Many people in Noblesville also think it's a cool place to visit.

The stage is designed in a classic way, like a picture frame, which is called a proscenium stage. This design lets them change the look of the stage easily. The theater has seats for 220 people. It also has special systems for sound and lights, plus offices and classrooms. Most of the people who work at the theater, like the actors and the crew, are volunteers. They don't get paid for their work.

Theater Shows

Each year, The Artists' Studio usually puts on eight shows. This often includes a special show for the holidays. For several years, they also had a "young artists production" just for actors aged 13 to 25. The young artists performed Grease more than once. The theater season usually finishes in early summer and starts again soon after. In the summer, they often hold auditions for all the shows in the upcoming season. Sometimes, they also have auditions for specific shows. The Artists' Studio traditionally performs Annie around Christmas and The Rocky Horror Show around Halloween.

Popular Shows: Annie and Rocky Horror

Brent Marty played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the theater's show The Rocky Horror Show. The very first time The Artists' Studio performed The Rocky Horror Show in 2003, it was named one of the best shows in Indiana by NUVO magazine.

Annie was the theater's yearly holiday show until 2006, and sometimes after that. Jay Meisenhelder played Daddy Warbucks, a main character, for several years. Annie was the first show at The Artists' Studio to have two groups of child actors, called Cast A and Cast B. This became a common way to do things for all future Annie shows and other plays that needed many child actors.

Family-Friendly Theater

After Annie became very popular and sold more tickets than any other show, the theater started to include more and more children in their plays. They even added children to shows that didn't usually have them, like adding "urchins" (poor children) to Aladdin. Over time, The Artists' Studio put on many shows with children, such as Wizard of Oz, Oliver, Seussical, The Music Man, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The Artists' Studio Kids Programs

Besides offering classes and camps, The Artists' Studio also started putting on shows just for children. This began with Bye Bye Birdie in November 2007, followed by Grease in spring 2008, and many more shows after that. Children usually pay a fee of more than $100 to be in these special productions. This is a bit different from other theaters in the area.

Other Fun Activities

The Artists' Studio also offers classes where kids can learn dancing, acting, and singing. They even host children's birthday parties. Because The Artists' Studio is a for-profit business (meaning it aims to make money), it cannot win awards from the Encore Association for community theaters in Indiana. This is because the Encore Association only gives awards to shows where no performers are paid.