Lauren Teller and Vanessa Vacanti are pictured at Main Street Studios located in Fredonia. The studio will host the Fredonia Playground Drama Camp, a five-week program.

In 2018, the vacant warehouse at 50 W. Main St. in Fredonia was set to be renovated into a theatrical performance center at the hands of Ted Sharon and the Fredonia Technology Incubator with help from a $450,000 grant through New York Community Homes and Renewals.

Now, in just a few days time, those plans will come to fruition.

On Monday, July 12, Main Street Studios will be up and operational, hosting the Fredonia Playground Drama Camp. The camp is a five-week program that will be five separate weeks of classes for students of all ages, depending on the specific week. In addition, Main Street Studios will also have performances of Shakespeare’s The Tempest as part of their Summer Kickoff, performed by professional actors, that will also have opportunities for kids participating in the camp to perform in the show.

The purpose of Main Street Studios is to cultivate more of a connection between the State University of New York at Fredonia and the surrounding communities. Because SUNY Fredonia is known as an artistic school, tying more opportunities to the surrounding community is a logical step. And although Main Street Studios is not directly tied to the college, the interns provided by the Fredonia Technology Incubator are.

“The Fredonia Technology Incubator allowed me to take on four interns,” Sharon said. “It gives meaningful work and a reason to stay in Fredonia for the summer. And they get to be involved on the ground level of building something brand new, and they get resources from the Incubator as well.”

Those four interns, Jong Sang Rehu, Vanessa Vacanti, Lauren Teller, and Matthew Cullen, all in different stages of their schooling, are doing their best to make Main Street Studios that bridge to the community from SUNY Fredonia.

Main Street Studios encompasses four different studio rooms that are available to students, professionals, and people in the community looking to host their own classes. The two upstairs studios will be mainly used for yoga and filming opportunities, while the storefront in the building can also be used as a studio, though it is currently an Art Gallery. In addition, the Warehouse studio, which is the largest studio at the facility, is mostly used for MMA and will also serve as the largest stage. Ultimately, the building will cater to artists and performers, but can also be used for corporate events.

It’s also clear that Main Street Studios is not just a summer business. While the details are still being worked out, in the fall, classes will still be taught and will include Showcase NYC, combat classes, acting and singing classes, and holiday shows are also in the works. In addition, there will be a cafe on the bottom floor, available for people who want to come in and support the business but without taking the classes.

Overall, the goal of Main Street Studios to create an environment where professionals, students, and community members can come together for artistic endeavors will soon get underway, and will provide Fredonia and all of Western New York for that space to help grow the arts in the community.

All programming at Main Street Studios is produced by Play On Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which employs students, alumni, and professionals.