Studio C (1997)

Studio C (1997) is a stage format that was installed in Chuck E. Cheese's locations from 1997-2002 and 2015. it was the first widely installed stage to have just 1 main animatronic character, having Chuck E. Cheese by himself, with some extra moving things by him. It was also the very first stage to have the "Studio C" name, even though this is the only "studio" themed stage. The Studio C Alpha is currently the second least common Studio C stage, with 41 left as of December 2022.

Corman & Associates
Corman & Associates' one of many concepts presented the concept as a "Talent Show", with Chuck E. getting a suit and glasses. The rest of the band were strictly on screens, as CEC wanted to move the audience's attention away from a show with multiple characters, to a show with a more interactive experience. As the concept became revised, Corman settled on a Late Night talk show i.e Tonight show, David Letterman. This concept kept features like the Chroma Key and lighting.

Finalization
The first prototype stage began construction at Corman in 1997 and was installed in Showbiz Pizza Time's Entertainment Department shortly after, being revealed to a select few of managers on October 3, 1997. The first locations to have Studio "C" were the Dallas, TX (13125 Montfort Dr) and Brookfield, WI (19125 W Blue Mound Rd) locations, Brookfield being the first to open with the show in December 1997, and the North Dallas, TX store being the first to have replaced an existing show.

Even after the concept was finalized minor improvements were done to keep Studio "C" a low maintenance attraction. This included but not limited to: bluescreen revisions, Interactive console revisions, and the removal of effects.

Overview
As the previous stage concept introduced a single animatronic, Studio C would follow in it's footsteps. Chuck E. is featured as a Late Night talk show host and again, his friends are put onto monitors around the showroom. In Chuck E.'s area, he's seen with a new partner, Bird, he is used to interact with Chuck E. directly and to announce shows, later on he would also take up back up vocals during songs.

Features
The stage is designed to be as interactive as possible, having a live Chroma Key and various animated props such as a Pizza Phone, Clock, and Boom-Mic.

Front and center of the stage show was the Interactive Console, a computer with various elements and activities such as Spy-Cams, sound effect buttons, and a computer running windows with special software created for CEC.

For a select few locations, there was a coin operated Karaoke system with kiddie songs called the "Chuck E.'s Star Search" located in the Bluescreen area. This was a short lasted feature as it was only available from 1999 to 2000, and ended support in 2001.

Technical

 * The shows originally ran off of laserdisc but when it was proven that DVD is more efficient they eventually switched over to it in 1999.
 * The chroma key feature for Studio C was constructed by Garner Holt Productions.

Animatronics Used

 * Chuck E. Cheese 32M (Studio C)
 * Bird (Animatronic)
 * Pizza Phone (Animatronic)

Current Studio C Alphas
Current Total Remaining: 41