Tacoma Arts Live

MISSION:

Energizing community through live performance.

VISION:

A South Sound community that honors all cultures and enjoys shared prosperity.

VALUES:

• Openness: staying transparent and eager to collaborate
• Joy: celebrating our humanity
• Courage: smart risk-taking, learning, changing
• Diversity: reflecting our community onstage and off
• Inclusiveness: inviting broad access, building strong relationships
• Stewardship: honoring the legacy we inherit, nurturing the future

Tacoma Arts Live owns and operates Tacoma Armory. Photo September 2023

For more than four decades, Tacoma Arts Live has been the cornerstone for arts and culture programming in the South Sound. Founded in 1979 as Broadway Center for the Performing Arts,[2] the organization has hosted numerous world-class artists over the years, ranging from David Sedaris and Pink Martini to Tony Bennett, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, and numerous others.

2018 brought a rebrand to Tacoma Arts Live, a better reflection of the passion and commitment to providing the community with the best of live entertainment. That year also saw the reopening of the historic Pantages Theater, after a $30 million renovation and restoration spearheaded by Tacoma Arts Live.

Tacoma Arts Live is led by CEO David Fischer,[3] a leader in the field who has been at the helm of the organization since 2006. Under Fischer’s direction, Tacoma Arts Live has strengthened its service and dedication to the community through essential education programs, microenterprise development, professional theater production, and world-class entertainment and events.

Tacoma Arts Live presents and produces programs across the region, at venues including Pantages Theater downtown, Federal Way Performing Arts & Events Center, Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia, Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, and Tacoma Armory.

Tacoma Arts Live is located at Tacoma Armory. Photo April 2023

Tacoma Arts Live operates on the traditional homelands of the Puyallup and Nisqually Tribes, and on lands with deep significance to other Coast Salish tribes. Coast Salish people have lived on and stewarded these lands since time immemorial and continue to do so today.

Tacoma Armory is located on South Yakima Avenue in the historic Hilltop, Tacoma neighborhood. Built in 1908 and opened in 1909, Tacoma Armory was historically used for military training purposes, and eventually graduations, dances, concerts, and sporting events.[4][5]

The armory was declared a Tacoma historic landmark in 1976. The Washington National Guard closed the facility in 2011 and it was purchased in 2013 by Fred R. Roberson (1929-2022), a developer who had successfully redeveloped other historic properties.[6]

In 2021 Tacoma Arts Live moved from offices at the downtown theaters to Tacoma Armory. The following year, they were gifted Tacoma Armory by the late Fred Roberson and his family. Tacoma Arts Live was chosen specifically for their unique ability to fulfill Roberson’s wish that this special building become a dynamic cultural venue for the community to enjoy.[7] Its 20,000+ square foot open framework is immensely configurable and there is no space like it in the Pacific Northwest.

With this new space, Tacoma Arts Live has presented immersive experiences, large-scale community events, and launched Accelerating Creative Enterprise (ACE), a small business incubator for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)-owned and women-owned enterprises.[8]

Tacoma Arts Live offers a variety of live shows, events, and exhibits throughout the season. The box office is located at Tacoma Armory, 1001 S. Yakima Ave, Suite 1, Tacoma, WA 98405. Box Office hours of operation are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 2 hours prior to most ticketed events. Tickets may be purchased over the phone, in person, or online. Group rates are available for most events. Discounts are available for students, military, or community partner organizations.

The LENS (Learning Empathy, Negotiation, and Sense of Self) Project is a violence prevention program focused primarily on social emotional learning supported by the arts, through after school curriculum, family arts series, and LENS Storytellers for service members and veterans.

Civil Rights Legacy Tour Photo January 2020Photo by Lisa Monet Photography

For more than 10 years, Tacoma Arts Live has presented original touring productions that honor the legacy of civil rights leaders and encourage civic responsibility among young learners. These touring shows have reached over 150,000 youth at schools throughout Pierce, King, South Kitsap, and Thurston Counties. This series of theatrical works explore the on-going story of civil rights through the experiences of diverse Americans, such as the stories of Martin Luther King Jr and Ruby Bridges, immigration rights, and Japanese American internment during WWII. Bringing to life both history and civics concepts, each play is accompanied by study guides for K-12 students. All productions fulfill the requirements for the January Good Citizen/Temperance recognition.

Tacoma Arts Live partners with Tacoma Public School’s Expanded Learning Opportunities and the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation to provide exciting arts programming to students (ages and grades) outside of school time. Our programs provide students with opportunities for creative self-expression, social growth through group activities, and arts-based skill building. These activities reinforce life skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. Tacoma Arts Live Teaching Artists bring a diversity of art forms such as Ballet Folklórico, World Drumming, Ukulele, Creative Drama, STEP, and Creative Movement.

Youth Camps and Conservatory programs offer students ages 8 and over participation in professional-level arts experiences. Through Conservatory programs, students gain professional-level experience in the theater-making process, including auditions, casting, table reads, rehearsal, production, and performance.

As a Kennedy Center Partner in Education, Tacoma Arts Live offers theater and learning experiences to students. School time matinee shows are linked to Washington State’s Learning Requirements and have education guides for classroom preparation and reflections.

ACE Partners gather to attend a workshop with Artist Trust. Photo April 2023

Community Engagement programs and partnerships represent a diverse array of arts and culture initiatives, utilizing the power of the arts as a catalyst for collective impact, informed by the priorities of the community. Community Engagement programs like Accelerating Creative Enterprise (ACE), a small business incubator, are activating Tacoma Armory in new ways.

Theater Northwest is Tacoma Arts Live’s regional theater program. Theater Northwest is a community of theater artists – actors, directors, playwrights, theorists, and designers – sharing work that explores the human condition. The company has produced more than 25 shows since 2009. Past works include August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, TRIBES by Nina Raine, Grounded by George Brant, and two original works, Baldwin vs Buckley scripted by Brett Carr, and STILL, devised by a team lead by Michael Kula and Maria-Tania Bandes Becerra Weingarden.

All stage work is performed by employees that are represented by IATSE, Local #15