Summer Policies and FAQ

Summer camps are live for registration right now! Visit our Registration page to view all offerings and register for camps. If you are having trouble navigating the online registration process, please call the Studio East office for assistance during business hours (9:30am-5:30pm) at 425.820.1800. View full camp schedule.

You can sign your student up for the waitlist and we will notify you if space becomes available. If you wish to also register in another camp to be assured of a spot in one of our camps, we can put your student on the waitlist for the full camp and accept a registration for another session.

Full tuition is due at the time of registration. There is a nonrefundable registration fee of $50 per child per camp for reservations canceled up to 2 weeks prior to the start of camp. Switching between camps is allowed, based on availability. There is a switching fee of $25 per switch. There is no refund or credit if you cancel your registration within 2 weeks of the start of camp.

Switching between programs is allowed up to 3 weeks before the first day of camp at no cost, based on availability. Switching between programs less than 3 weeks before the first day of your camp will result in an Admin Fee of $25. Please see our full Payment, Refund, and Switching policy above.

We understand that choosing the right camp option for your student is a highly personal decision and we support whatever choice you feel is appropriate for your family. Please contact the main office if you’d like to cancel your student’s registration.  Refunds or credits will be applied as outlined above. You can also choose to apply prepaid tuition to your account as a credit for future use or donate it back to Studio East. 

Summer Camps are held at various locations in Kirkland at schools, churches, community centers, and in our space downtown. Note: If you need wheelchair access to a camp venue please contact our office for any special instructions. View our venues here.

Studio East runs over 40 camps each summer and we typically start 4-6 camps each week. We know parents often like to have their children in camp during the same weeks, so we have structured our programs with staggered start and end times to facilitate drop off and pick up. We also stagger performance times so that parents can attend up to three different performances on the final Friday of camp.

Find photos and biographies of our faculty here. All of our instructors are passionate about working with young people and sharing their expertise in the performing arts. Most of our instructors have been teaching for more than five years, many have Master’s degrees and/or teaching certificates, and all are Teaching Artists – active performers as well as teachers. We run Washington State background checks on all of our staff, and all of our Camp Instructors are trained in first aid and CPR.

We will spend at least 30 minutes outside each day, and we will have activities on grass, dirt and/or wood chips, so please prepare your student accordingly. We do not supply or apply sunscreen. Comfortable clothing is a must for our campers; jeans or shorts, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes work very well. Please, no bare feet or flip-flops. We encourage girls to wear shorts under skirts or dresses. We will be doing a lot of active, messy things and we would hate to see a favorite outfit ruined. It helps if campers bring a backpack to keep all their belongings safe and organized. Prized possessions should be left at home.

Prized possessions, especially electronic devices, should not be brought to camp. The campers will be so busy with fun activities that they won’t have time to play video games or check their text messages!

Yes, children should be toilet trained. We do keep pull-ups at Little Players camps and suggest that families send an extra set of clothes in case an accident happens.

Studio East Instructors are usually able to create ways for children with special needs to succeed. Please write down all medications, physical, emotional or behavioral challenges your child may have on your student’s Medical Information Form, and discuss them with the Education Director prior to the first day of camp. This information will make our instruction more effective and your child’s experience more rewarding. All staff and instructors follow the Studio’s Confidentiality Policy, so your privacy will be protected. Please note that staff members cannot monitor or administer medications and that Studio East is unable to provide aides for individual student needs. Should your student require an aide, please contact the Education Director to discuss providing your own assistance.

Studio East wants to create a safe and comfortable environment for all our students and parents. We have found that students often participate more freely when parents are not there to watch camp, so we try to limit parent observation to the first 20 minutes of the first day of camp.

We expect all students to be in camp every day, arriving and departing on time.  If you foresee a conflict with a portion of camp, please contact the Education Director in advance to talk through options in order to ensure a successful experience for your student, as well as their classmates.  Missing more than one day of camp could hinder the process for all of the campers and staff, so please check your calendar carefully.  If something comes up at the last minute, such as illness, please call our office as soon as possible so that we can notify the Instructors of your child’s absence and allow them make any necessary adjustments for the day. Our office will be open during the summer from 8:30AM-5:30PM. If you call outside of office hours, please leave a message.

We are pleased to offer Extended Care for all of our Little Players, TaleSpinners, Drama Medley, Summer Stage and Playmakers camp sessions.  Due to our varied camp venues and staffing needs, we are unable to offer extended care for our other camps. Early drop off is available at 8:30 at no additional cost for all camps located at LWUMC and Studio East.

We understand that not all families can afford full tuition for our programs. Studio East has a Scholarship Fund which allows us to give partial scholarships to students in need. If your family will require financial assistance to participate in our classes, please the main office as soon as possible and before submitting registration.

Students age 12 and older may also be able to earn Work Study for Studio East programs by assisting with classes and camps. Limited Work Study opportunities are also available to parents who can offer administrative and transportation assistance during Summer Camps.

Contact the Education Director for more information.

All items left at camp will be taken to Studio East at the end of each week. We hold these items for one week only, and then donate them to charity. You are welcome to come to the office between 8:30am and 5:30pm Monday through Friday to look through our lost and found collection.

Summer camps are live for registration right now! Visit the Summer Program Registration webpage to learn how to register. Due to COVID-19 closures, our current operations are running with limited hours and limited staff. We are experiencing some delays in processing and are only able to take online registrations at this time. Once our organization is back up and running, we will re-open mail and phone registrations. If you need assistance with online registration, please email info@studio-east.org. View full camp schedule.

We will put your student on a waitlist and notify you if space becomes available. If you wish to also register in another camp to be assured of a spot in one of our camps, we can put your student on the waitlist for the full camp and accept a registration for another session. If you are offered a spot in the camp for which you were waitlisted and you decide to switch, you will be charged the standard $25 switching fee. Please see next question.

Switching between programs is allowed up to 3 weeks before the first day of camp at no cost, based on availability. Switching between programs less than 3 weeks before the first day of your camp will result in an Admin Fee of $25. Please see our full Payment, Refund, and Switching policy above.

We understand that choosing the right camp option for your student is a highly personal decision and we support whatever choice you feel is appropriate for your family. We are happy to offer no-hassle refunds from now 3 weeks prior to the first day of your camp if you’d like to withdraw your student.  Prepaid tuition may also be applied to your account as a credit for future use or donated to Studio East. All refunds will be issued by check. If you wish to cancel your student’s registration, please fill out our Summer Camp Refund Request Form. 

Camps scheduled for July 20 – August 28th will be held in-person if we are permitted to do so by WA State and King County health guidelines, if the facilities are available, and if we feel that we can provide a safe environment and experience for our campers and staff. Summer camps that move forward in person will follow all social distancing guidelines as outlined by local and state authorities and the CDC. This will likely include daily screenings of campers at drop-off, additional cleaning procedures, use of face masks, and smaller group sizes at a minimum.

The format for Summer Camps July 20 – July 31 will be announced on June 22nd.

The format for Summer Camps in August will be announced on July 6th.

All original camp titles beginning before July 15th are still being offered as online options at this time. We have shortened Little Players and TaleSpinners camps to 3 hours each day, and have added Camp-In-A-Box options for our 4 years-2nd grade campers which will include activities, supplies, and access to pre-recorded experiences that you and your young person can do on your own time at home. 

All camps will utilize a combination of online video conferencing for interactive theater games and rehearsal experiences, and independent at-home activities that will be provided for you by Studio East.  Campers will never be online for more than 90 minutes consecutively, and for no more than 4 total hours per day (fewer for our younger students).  

In order to help families manage the technical logistics of online camp, students will be able to stay logged in to the video conference for the duration of the camp day, but may be muted or have their video disabled during breaks and at-home activity times.

We expect all students to be logged in for camp every day, but we also recognize and understand the added complications of online learning. At-home activities are all optional, but supplement your student’s camp experience and some at-home activities will be incorporated into final performance videos. If you foresee a conflict with a portion of camp or your student is struggling with the online format, please contact the Education Director to talk through options in order to ensure a successful experience for your student, as well as their classmates.  Missing more than one day of camp could hinder the process for all of the campers and staff, so please check your calendar carefully.  If something comes up at the last minute, such as illness, please call our office as soon as possible so that we can notify the Instructors of your child’s absence and allow them make any necessary adjustments for the day. At this time our office hopes to be open during the summer from 8:30AM-5:30PM. If you call outside of office hours, please leave a message.

There will be no Extended Care offered for online programming.

Our same amazing teaching staff will lead all of our online and in person Summer Camps. Find photos and biographies of our faculty here. All of our instructors are passionate about working with young people and sharing their expertise in the performing arts. Most of our instructors have been teaching for more than five years, many have Master’s degrees and/or teaching certificates, and all are Teaching Artists – active performers as well as teachers. We run Washington State background checks on all of our staff, and all of our Camp Instructors are trained in first aid and CPR.

Studio East Instructors are usually able to create ways for children with special needs to succeed. Please write down all medications, physical, emotional or behavioral challenges your child may have on your student’s Medical Information Form, and discuss them with the Education Director prior to the first day of camp. This information will make our instruction more effective and your child’s experience more rewarding. All staff and instructors follow the Studio’s Confidentiality Policy, so your privacy will be protected. Please note that staff members cannot monitor or administer medications.

We understand that not all families can afford full tuition for our programs. Studio East has a Scholarship Fund which allows us to give partial scholarships to a limited number of deserving students. Financial Aid forms are available on our website, via email and fax and in person at our office. If your family will require financial assistance to participate in our classes, please submit your completed Financial Aid Form to the front office as soon as possible.

Students age 12 and older may be able to earn Tuition Credits for Studio East programs by assisting classes and camps. Skilled teen dancers with an inclination to choreograph may also earn Tuition Credits as Intern Choreographers with our elementary school ArtReach! program. Limited Tuition Credit opportunities are also available to parents who can offer administrative and transportation assistance during Summer Camps.

Contact Education Director for more information.