Touring the theatres with Darrell Jamieson: Erickson Theater

Erickson Theater is Seattle Central College’s Little Theatre Off Broadway. It has an unbeatable location in the heart of Seattle’s bustling Capitol Hill neighborhood. This intimate “black box” performance space is perfect for small performances and can easily adapt to host poetry readings, dance performances, plays, stand-up comedy, and more. But what goes on inside? What’s the story behind the name? It looks like it’s time to bother Darrell Jamieson again for another “Touring the Theatres” feafure. Darrell Jamieson is the rental agent/manager of the Erickson Theater, which became a rental facility in 1998.

Erickson Theater is one of three theaters on campus, the others being Broadway Performance Hall (BPH) and SIFF Cinema Egyptian Theater. The primary function of the Erickson is to be a classroom for the students of the drama program and the Associates in Tech Theater course. A majority of the events that come to the Erickson are dance groups. 

Initially, the drama department was at the BPH, but their classes often clashed with the space rental schedule. Hence, they decided to construct a theater with the main purpose of teaching and named it the Little Theater Off Broadway, which soon came to be called the Erickson Theater, after Dr. Ed K. Erickson, who was a big shaper of the Seattle College system and a big supporter of the arts.

Now, let’s get into the history of the Erickson. It was originally an automobile shop that was converted into a theater. Seattle Colleges bought the automobile shop and altered it to be a theater. “That’s why the loading dock door is way up there,” stated Jamieson. They pushed the floor down by six feet, added chairs, and left the lobby area at its original height. And voilà-the theater was ready. Half of the shop became the stage and backstage, while the rest was the chairs and lobby area. The backstage area was very cramped with the costumes, props, green room, etc., so the college knew they had to expand.

In 1996, the college bought the Masonic Temple, which is now called the Fine Arts Building. Their goal was to level the Erickson and the Fine Arts building, so they dug down over six feet at the Masonic temple to even it. 

Purchasing the Fine Arts Building was perfect for them as they could now shift the dressing rooms, the green room, costume, and prop shops to the Fine Arts area, which had been cramped up earlier in the workshop behind the theater. 

It took two years to construct the Erickson building that stands in front of the main Broadway building. During this time, the drama department worked solely in the dance studio. They even did shows in the limited space of the dance studio. Speaking of dance, “the dance community loved this space after it was made, as it is such an intimate seating. So, you’re in it, the connection of the audience and performers is like no other,” Jamieson said.

Now, let’s get to the story of sharing the Erickson Theater with the Intiman Theater. This dates back to five years ago, just before COVID. Intiman Theatre is a professional theater company founded in Seattle in 1972. It has won the 2006 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the 2018 Gregory Award for Outstanding Musical, and a 2019 Mayor’s Award. It was originally founded to do Scandinavian classics. They were constantly on the move until they found solace at the Erickson Theater. Then, they started with the area where the Seattle Convention Center is currently located (called the second stage), and followed by Cornish Playhouse (formerly Intiman Playhouse). Eventually, they wound up at the BPH for two years, and then moved into the old Seattle Rep space. “Finally, they had the idea to move into the Seattle Colleges system, start a Technical Theater program, and have a home – all at the same time,” concluded Jamieson.

Of course, there are a lot of pros, “there were no good Technical Theater programs until the Intiman Theater moved in with a structured TTSJ,” Jamieson emphasized. Jamieson, in fact, teaches one of the first levels of this program, which is linked to the Seattle Colleges and the Intiman program. “The program works very well in getting the skills out there for about 20 graduates per year,” stated Jamieson. The only problem faced is scheduling, especially in spring. “Everyone wants to do a show in Spring,” said Jamieson.

“It is a fun and versatile space that is molded up to the whims and fancies of the renters. It is also getting better technically. The two theaters–Broadway Performance Hall and Erickson–are like night and day. Both are extremely special,” stated Jamieson. “The best part about the Erickson is that it is a teaching facility that works better for all classes that were supposed to be at the Broadway Performance Hall,” concluded Jamieson.

Although Erickson may not have had a history as interesting as the BPH, one thing is certain: few people knew it was originally an automobile shop. Kudos to the Seattle Colleges team for their amazing vision, which has transformed so many buildings into what we see today.