Director Megan Garcia paces in front of the stage. Third- through fifth-grade students move swiftly around her in a whirlwind of chaos and excitement. The shuffling of tennis shoes, clicking of heels, and chatter from the last-minute run-through of lines fill the auditorium. Seven different Alices and a Mad Hatter periodically traverse rows of brown metal folding chairs. The lighting and sound crews, made up of students, go over their cues. In the bathrooms, PTA moms apply lipstick to two Queens of Hearts and carefully paint whiskers on a Cheshire Cat.

Garcia is a teaching artist with Seattle Children’s Theatre, which aims to transform young people’s lives through theater and theater education—a task that has taken on greater importance amid funding cuts to arts programs in schools. 

The organization is celebrating its 50th-anniversary season and doing so in style: by putting the finishing touches on a years-long remodel of its theater at Seattle Center focused on creating a more welcoming space, both physically and spiritually.

“As an organization, we have prioritized as many different versions of access and belonging as we can,” says Kevin Malgesini, managing director at SCT. “[We are] thinking about all sorts of different needs in the community.”

The once-iconic gigantic, near-spiral staircase was replaced with a straight stairway, with natural wood railings. Auditoriums became more spacious, making additional room for wheelchairs and an area for neurodivergent children who find comfort in standing or sitting on the floor. Wider seating options, handrails running down every aisle, updated HVAC systems—all the touches to create a welcoming space.

“We wanted to be able to open the 50th-anniversary season with a refreshed space that says this place is for you,” says Malgesini. “That at our core, we are here for the community.”

That means both opening its doors to the community at home and seeking it out in places like Greenwood Elementary School, where Garcia is directing Alice in Wonderland.  

After the show, 38 third-through-fifth graders line up on the stage in front of a sea of family members: grandparents attempting to take nonblurry images, siblings wildly cheering, and even some teary-eyed parents. The production has been in rehearsal for months, with practices once a week for more than two hours. The commitment and hard work have all paid off.  

“It’s so important that students feel seen, that they feel safe taking risks, that they know it’s OK to be creative and to also fail and learn from that,” says Tiffany Maltos, director of education and engagement at SCT. “And then if they have that positive association to theater as they continue to grow up, they become the artists that fuel the work that we do.”