Small-Town Studio C

The Studio C Cappa is a stage format that was installed in Chuck E. Cheese's locations between 2003 and 2006. It is the third revision of the Studio C concept downsized and redesigned for smaller locations that opened during that timeframe. A few existing locations would go on to replace their existing stages with Cappas, however this was an uncommon practice. Approximately 64 Cappas were installed and, as of October 2022, only 31 remain in operation.

History
In 2002, Chuck E. Cheese's opened three new locations testing a new store format known officially as "small-town stores". This was the beginning of an initiative by CEC Entertainment to expand into smaller, centralized markets such as inside shopping malls and low-density markets. The three stores as part of this test market were located in Waco, TX, Lake Jackson, TX and Dover, DE. Among changes to the standard Chuck E. Cheese's business model such as a buffet and an increased presence of the Chuck E. Cheese walk-around character was a bot-less Studio C esque show featuring three CRT monitors crudely placed atop a rectangular blue screen. Not much is known about this prototype stage concept however it would end up being the foundation for a new stage type that would debut shortly thereafter.

Beginning in 2003, a revised version of the small-town store concept would debut with the Joplin, MO location, which opened its doors on July 22nd. Most of the experimental aspects of the 2002 test locations were removed in favor of a scaled-down variant of the business model seen in existing Chuck E. Cheese's locations, however the stage concept evolved into what we know today as the Studio C Cappa. Known on official documents as Studio C Smalltown, this was, in essence, a Studio C Beta condensed into a smaller form factor. On the left side of the stage was a 16 movement Chuck E. Cheese animatronic identical to those installed with Betas since February 2003. He sat atop an angular, trapezoidal stage with no curtains or flood lights. Behind Chuck E. was a backdrop with rope lights strung about; three different variations were installed during the stage's 3-year run. Next to Chuck E. was a large platform which all of the elements of the Studio C Beta were condensed into; up top were three 24" rear projection monitors lined up evenly next to each other and below that was a small but wide blue screen with a trapezoidal carpet mat on the floor. Between the monitors and the blue screen was another set of light strips. The only additional lights on this stage were Chuck E.'s spotlight, a Gemini, and singular live flood, green flood and red flood lights. Absent on earlier Cappas were the On the Air and Applause signs standard to every Studio C stage up to that point, however later Cappas would have these re-implemented along with other Beta elements.

The name "Studio C Cappa", like the names "Studio C Alpha" and "Studio C Beta", is not officially recognized by CEC Entertainment and was coined by early fandom members in the mid-to-late 2000s. While the specific origin of the term is unknown, it is thought to be derived from a derogatory nickname given to Studio C stage by CEC fans of the time: "Studio Crap" or "Studio Crappa". The latter term was associated with this stage type presumably due to its stripped-down effects being unpopular with fans, however the name stuck and eventually lost its meaning as a derogatory insult. It is believed that the alphabetical ordering of the fan-made names (Alpha, Beta and Cappa) combined with the coincidental order of release, caused this naming scheme to catch on with the rapidly evolving online community over the years.

The peak year of the small-town store would be 2004. Of the 28 stores opened that year, 21 of them were small-town stores with Studio C Cappas. In 2005 however, CEC discontinued the opening of new small-town stores following the Leominster, MA locations. This could be because these smaller stores weren't doing well enough in sales to justify the opening of new ones or the markets selected hadn't caught on as well as they had hoped. Nonetheless, CEC began opening standard full-size locations with Studio C Cappa stages and eventually they would install stages that combined the platform of the Cappa with the stage layout of the Beta. These revised stages would be unofficially recognized as "Beta/Cappa Mixes" by some members of the online fandom. While not confirmed, this could have been an effort by CEC and manufacturer Garner-Holt Productions to install any and all unused Cappa props until they ran out of stock. The final new Studio C Cappa would open with the New Hartford, NY location on October 30th, 2006.

The Studio C Cappa would re-emerge in an unexpected way in 2012 with the installation of the last few Studio C Betas produced prior to the rollout of the Circles of Light concept. While recognized as Studio C Betas, these stages used a center platform identical to that seen on Cappas albeit with the blue screen replaced with a unique front cover. This was most likely another instance of using up remaining stock as quickly as possible. The first of these stages was installed at the Independence, MO location in May 2012 and the final was installed at the Concepcion, Chile location on August 18th, 2012.

Early Versions (Waco)
This design was the first to come out, with the stage design being different, having a mirror backdrop, and at the Waco location, a different panel without a Blue Screen, and CEC in the middle, the others got a Blue Screen panel like the second design. There were only 7 of this design installed, and only 4 are left.

Standard
This design was the second to come out, with some minor changes with the backdrop, it was changed from a mirror, to a spiral shape with lights in it that extends to the wall next to it on the right. The Blue Screen panel has a couple of lights in it also. There are no curtains on this stage as they may have been thinking of phasing them out at the time (they didn't phase them out until 2005, but Studio C's were allowed to reenable them in 2008). This design was used from late 2003- late 2004.

Beta features
This design was the third, and final, design for the Cappa, this got rid of the old Cappa stage, and replaced it with a stage from a Studio C Beta, complete with lights and backdrop and curtains, but the old Blue Screen panel was kept. This design was used from late 2004 until production ended sometime in 2006.

Trivia And Other Info

 * As of October 2022, there are 31 Studio C Cappas
 * Texas currently has the most Studio C Cappas with 7 Cappas.
 * The 34th last Studio C Cappa was the Bowling Green Kentucky (2625 Scottsville Rd) location
 * The very first Cappa was either Joplin, Missouri, or Waco, Texas
 * Waco, Texas, Lake Jackson, Texas, and Dover, Delaware, opened with no animatronic stage and a buffet, they all later received Studio C Cappas, Waco in 2003, Lake Jackson in either 2005 or 2006, and Dover in 2005.
 * Some people call the "V3" Cappa a Studio C Beta/Cappa Mix, which is since the stage the Chuck E. animatronic stands on is from a Studio C Beta, even if the store never had a Studio C Beta.
 * A few locations have converted to Studio C Betas, such as Cincinnati (Eastgate), Ohio, and Decatur, Alabama
 * Some locations have removed the Blue Screen and replaced it with a mural of Avenger Chuck and the Avenger versions of MMBB.
 * Others have removed the Blue Screen, like Dothan, Alabama, Albany, Georgia, and Johnson City, Tennessee.