What's in a Name?
Community leaders may have acted in haste nine years ago when they christened the theater complex on the site of the old high school on 4th Ave North as the Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA).
In retrospect, the facility could have been named the Center for Interactive Theater, Concerts, Comedy, Travel Information, Community Outreach and Enterprising Entrepreneurs.
That probably would have made for an awkward-looking marquee.
“It’s true, many people think of art as something that hangs on the wall,” said Tina Stryker, the director of marketing and business development for the Edmonds Center. The director smiled for a moment and then added, “And we do have a gallery of work by local artists on the second floor.”
Stryker said the ECA is committed to bringing an array of outstanding performing artists from around the world to Edmonds, as well as provide space, production management and technical expertise for a variety of community partners and rental clients. Stryker said the theater complex serves more than 65,000 patrons every year.
The public performances, she said, are booked to meet the diverse interests of the community. The first half of the 2015-16 season included screenings of the popular movies, “The Princess Bride” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for exuberant audiences in costume who shouted out phrases along with the film. The center also opened its stage doors to the acclaimed AXIS Dance Company that featured performers with and without disabilities in addition to the Grammy Award-winning comedy cowboys, Riders in the Sky, performing their musical tribute to Roy Rogers.
Ranger Doug, a member of the country/western comedy troop, enjoyed his second visit to the Edmonds center in February, describing the staff and crew as “exceptional to work with.”
“Our show was on a Saturday afternoon at three, so we had no idea of what to expect,” said Ranger Doug in his Tennessee twang. “The house was almost full. The audience was a little on the grey side, but incredibly enthusiastic.”
He admitted that his affection for Edmonds has to do with the availability of local seafood.
“It’s a lot better than the fish we have in Tennessee,” he said.
Outreach programs
The non-profit organization contracted to operate the Center for the Arts by the Edmonds Public Facilities District facility also rents the facility more than 100 times every year for business meetings and commercial enterprises. The private bookings include travel programs hosted by local resident Rick Steves. His latest showcase highlighted the retro styles of tourism in Cuba.
The impact of the center on the community also goes beyond the doors of the theater. Every Monday morning the center offers programs designed for people with dementia and memory issues, their families and caregivers.
Gillian Jones, the director of programming and outreach for ECA, said the weekly programs are designed to offer a safe environment for people with memory issues and provide respite for their caregivers. Programs include screenings of classic movies that help them recall songs and pleasant memories from their youth.
“One of the most successful programs involves improvisation,” Jones said with a smile. “It seems like a reach. But creativity does not require memory.”
The first event for March was the screening of the Disney movie “Peter Pan.”
The memory loss/dementia programs have gone beyond the confines of the theater complex. Jones said workshops at the senior center have featured song and story writing sessions in addition to games that do not require retention. Many of the outreach sessions are done in cooperation with the Aegis retirement communities and veterans from the American Legion.
First class
The two-acre site of the ECA has been at the heart of the community for more than a century. Construction on the original Edmonds High School was endorsed after voters approved a bond in 1909 for the outlandish sum of $30,000. Graduation ceremonies for school’s first class of seniors took place in the nearly finished school building the following spring.
An auditorium and gymnasium were added in 1939 with funds from a federal grant. The campus became a junior high in 1957 when the new Edmonds High School opened near Holmes Corner. The public school was closed in 1975 and sold to Puget Sound Christian College two years later. The structure was added to the Washington Heritage Register in 1986, fifteen years before the college moved away.
The timing of the college’s departure inspired the Edmonds City Council to create the Public Facilities District (PFD). The PFD purchased the site and designated the school’s auditorium as the site for a city center for the arts. The plan included the demolition of school buildings built in 1909, 1921 and 1969 to create parking for the proposed center.
Groundbreaking for the ECA took place in 2005. The center hosted its first performance in December of the following year.
Music and comedy
The Second City improvisational comedy troupe kicked off the second half of the current season at the Edmonds Center with an uproarious interactive show on Feb. 13. Performances scheduled for March begin with classical arrangements from the Boston Brass on March 4 with a show of innovative arrangements of jazz standards and music written especially for the brass quintet. That will be followed by inspirational Irish folk songs performed by the band Altan on March 24.
Grammy Award winner Loudon Wainwright III will be under the spotlight on April 1 when he performs selections from his collection of traditional folk songs. American artist, singer and actress Patti LuPone is scheduled to perform at the center on April 21.
The two-time Grammy Award and Tony Award winner will be followed two days later by Portuguese fado singer Ana Moura. The international star has provided her contemporary sound to recordings by rock-and-roll icons The Rolling Stones and Prince.
The center stage doors will open to the “live-action graphic novel” Target Earth performed by The Intergalactic Nemesis on April 29. Portions of the show have been featured during guest appearances on the television shows “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The 2015-16 season will conclude on May 13 with an energetic evening of Latin Jazz featuring Grammy Award winner Poncho Sanchez. The conga player was awarded his Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2000.
Tickets for the balance of the season are available at the center’s box office or online at http://www.edmondscenterforthearts.org/tickets-events.
Dan Aznoff was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the toxic waste crisis. He is now a freelance writer living in Mukilteo dedicated to capturing the cherished stories of our lifetime so they can be preserved for future generations. He can be contacted directly at da@dajournalist.com.
