I’m writing in response to Baron Dickey’s letter of Feb. 8. Summarizing, he questioned whether a Mercer Island Center for the Arts building was necessary, when Island events could be held at the high school performing arts center.

As Executive Director for Youth Theatre Northwest, I have traveled every mile in the long and exhaustive journey to identify a location for a new home. I’m very informed on this issue and happy to discuss this further and thoughtfully with Islanders.

Before YTN’s building was torn down, we had also hoped to use the beautiful 500-plus seat PAC theater. After careful consideration, we discovered many challenges that broke down into two distinct areas: usefulness and availability.

With respect to usefulness, YTN’s mission is two-fold: provide opportunities for young artists to perform and introduce the youngest of audience members to the magic of live theatre. The PAC stage was built to showcase talents of young adults for largely adult audiences. YTN’s shows frequently feature much younger children and are often targeted to younger children. A wee 7-year-old body is easily diminished on that very large stage, young voices may barely be heard throughout the entire hall and the sightlines to the stage are poor for little audience members. Though I would love to sell 500 tickets for each performance, our shows don’t sell to that capacity. Our smaller audiences would be dwarfed in such a big space. YTN’s facility needs are greater than just performance venues. We need offices and ongoing, predictable access to classrooms, storage and rehearsal spaces. None of those would be available for YTN at the PAC.

Availability is the real obstruction. The PAC is the Mercer Island School District’s primary auditorium and used extensively for their performances, classes, rehearsals and other school related gatherings. There is simply no time in their calendar for YTN. If you attempt to schedule the PAC for even one three-week YTN performance with the necessary added time for set load-in and technical rehearsals, you would find that is not possible within the school year. And please know that YTN produces not one, but at a minimum, six productions during the school year. Currently, YTN uses the PAC during the summer when school is out. We are deeply grateful to MISD for this opportunity but we can’t ask for more because there’s isn’t more for them to give.

This problem is not new or unique to Mercer Island. In the 1990’s, many King County school districts added community performing art centers to impending school bonds to attract voters. However, after the centers were built, many faced the same scheduling problems. My arts colleagues have grumbled about this for decades. Bottom line, each center’s primary tenant is the school district. In conclusion, though I appreciate the help, Mr. Dickey’s suggestion has no legs and is not sustainable. I’d be happy to discuss this further with anyone. Please contact me at the YTN office, 206-232-4145 (ext.101). I appreciate the desire to find alternate solutions for YTN’s dilemma. However, after years of research and many rabbit holes, we are convinced that MICA offers the only viable option that would provide YTN a permanent home.

Manuel R. Cawaling

Executive Director, Youth Theatre Northwest