Encore Stage & Studio is moving its operations to the Ballston area.
The nonprofit theater troupe for young performers has announced plans to move into a new 4,000-square-foot administration and rehearsal space to be co-located with First Presbyterian Church of Arlington.
“It will feature a dedicated rehearsal room, dance classroom, box office and administrative offices. The rehearsal room will transform into a ‘little theatre’ for student performances and design classes,” said Sara Duke, the organization’s executive director.
Over the years, Encore has had office and classroom space in several locations. In an email to supporters, Duke said the Ballston property provides a number of advantages.
“We are excited to be in the heart of Arlington, on transit and just a little more than a mile from our primary performance space, Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre,” she said. “There is ample parking and space for safe pickup and dropoff of students.”
The troupe will move in once renovations are completed next year.
The new home will host theater classes and mini-camps, and serve as a rehearsal space for larger productions that will continue to be held at both Thomas Jefferson and Gunston arts centers.
Encore Stage & Studio dates back to the mid-1960s, when, as the Children’s Theatre of Arlington, it was a program of the county government’s recreation department.
The troupe’s first production is considered to be “A Pocketful of Preposterous Poems,” a locally written show that was presented in the summer of 1966 at Lubber Run Amphitheatre.
At some point in the 1970s, the organization spun off from the county government to become a volunteer-run nonprofit. It later added professional staff. Today, Encore puts on multiple productions throughout the year and maintains a growing roster of outreach programming.
