In debt, Northwest Actors Studio closes

After more than three decades of putting on shows, the Northwest Actors Studio made its final curtain call Thursday. The Capitol Hill nonprofit is closing, its founder said, after falling $35,000 in debt.

The small theater is one of the few Seattle venues where low-budget fringe companies could rent performing spaces for as little as $100 a night.

NWAS also offered acting classes and workshops, but the nonprofit had fallen five months behind its rent and couldn't pay its teachers or even its phone bills, said Ann Graham, the 79-year-old founder and artistic director.

Graham said she will give 14 students who had paid $1,200 in tuition some props, set pieces and period costumes, since she can't afford to refund the tuition. Remaining props and valuables will go on sale in the coming weeks, she said.

The NWAS spent its first three years in Pioneer Square and the last 26 years in the heart of Capitol Hill on East Pike Street, renting out its 99-seat theater and 50-seat cabaret to small troupes.

The nonprofit didn't raise rent for actors because Graham said they couldn't afford to pay. But in recent months, Graham said the strain became too much.

"The stress of raising money, of not having any help — it's just been very difficult," said Graham, who hopes to still teach and direct.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com