Magic happens at the Northshore Performing Arts Center

By Kate Lunceford

Northshore Performing Arts Center
Photo by Vicki Zoller

When the lights go down in The Northshore Performing Arts Center I take a little breath and wait for the magic to start. I’ve heard throat singers from Mongolia; listened to The Former Large Animal Veterinarian tell stories and listened to music sent aloft in this room built to nourish sound. I’ve even stood up to dance.

Interior, Northshore Performing Arts Center
Photo courtesy NPAC

When I looked around for a place to lend a hand I found a group of persistent Northshore citizens who’d begun to imagine and work to create this world-class theatre. The Northshore Performing Arts Center Foundation (NPACF) is the not-for-profit group that conceived the idea in 1995 and worked to build the center in partnership with the Northshore School District. 

NPACF’s inaugural season was December 2005 when the foundation hosted the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra. NPACF raised 2.5 million dollars within the Northshore communities to make the theater a state-of-the-art facility.

Northshore Performing Arts Center exterior
Photo courtesy NPAC

Since then this feisty board of directors has stood in the face of the worst economy in my lifetime to keep bringing breathtaking performances to the Northshore. 

The foundation is an all-volunteer board with no salaried employees. And NPACF is in the black. The performers’ contracts, ticketing, fundraising, front of the house operations and Green Room are operated by volunteers. Some of the volunteers are from the group I joined: the small but mighty Northshore Theatre Guild. (You can join us too. Just write us)

Theatre-goers in the lobby at a recent performance.
Photo courtesy NPAC

Part of NPACF’s vision is to reach the young people in our community with performance programs that educate, reinforce curriculum, develop confidence and talent and a life-long love of the performing arts. To date NPACF has:

• hosted a competition for 2 young vocalists to win the opportunity to sing duets from The Phantom of the Opera, onstage during the Franc D’Ambrosio’s Broadway concert at NPAC. There were 60 candidates from around Washington. Mr. D’Ambrosio also conducted a master class with contest finalists the day before the show. The winning pair each won two season tickets to the season of shows.
• invited Greta Matassa , a nationally known jazz singer from this area to hold a master clinic before her show giving 2 students the chance to sings solos at her performance that night.
• arranged for Kenichi Ebina and Company, a mime, hip hop dance company to hold a dance workshop before the public performance. We targeted low income and disadvantaged youth to attend both the workshop and show.

NPAC t-shirt
Photo courtesy NPACF

NPACF continues to present a place to share imagination in our northshore community. Please join us this season for the our next great performance:

The Nutcracker (see previous story)

December 10 and 11 at 2:00 pm

And see all our coming events at the NPAC website    

Northshore Performing Arts Center

18125 92nd Ave. NE

Bothell, WA 98011

The theatre is located on the campus of Bothell High School.

Directions