Studio C Alpha

Studio "C" in Plano, TX (1999/2000)

The Studio C (1997) stage (also known as Studio C Alpha by fans) is a stage format that was installed in Chuck E. Cheese's locations from 1997-2002, 2012 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 least common Studio C stage, with 13 left as of July 2024.

History

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.

Prototyping

The first prototype was created by Corman & Associates for the Showbiz Pizza Time's Entertainment Department in 1997. The prototype had an acute difference in appearance to the standard stage, with an entirely different cityscape, desk, chroma key area, and Interactive console area.

Chuck E.'s area had two additional shelves with books, statues, artifacts; and curtains over the window leading to the cityscape. The desk lights were all solid colors instead of a gradient and the desk itself was all one color.

The main monitor opted for individual bulbs as opposed to tube lighting. Directly under it was the Interactive Console, which when it made it to the first 5 initial locations, had Fred Flintstones Memory Match before getting its own dedicated software. Next to the monitor area was the chroma key stage, which initially a stage with a larger camera, and a green screen.

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.

Nomenclature

The community refers to the show as "Studio C Alpha" -- the origin of the community name was coined by Jenn Waitt using the Greek "Alpha" to insinuate "the first".

What one of the designers from Corman and Associates who has done work creating a majority of the Studio 'C' stages has said in response to the question on whether Studio 'C' Stages had names or not has been a point of debate.

"To my knowledge there were no specific names assigned to each revision. Once "Studio C" name was established, we used it for the duration and each revision was mainly identified by date of revision. Even after production began there were revisions based on function, cost, etc."

It's theorized that Corman may have been more closely related in in the planning states than exacted, as "Stage 2002", an internal name used on the installation documents for this show made it on to the building plans for the stage much after it was out of the testing phase.

Design

Overview

As the previous stage concept introduced a single animatronic, Studio C would follow in its 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 backup 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 "Chuck E.'s Star Search" located in the Bluescreen area. This was a short lived feature as it was only available from 1999 to 2000, and ended support in July 2001.

Another feature was displaying the birthday star's name and age on the TVs, lasting until around early 2009.

Gallery

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  Desk lighting (1997 Prototype)

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  Monitor and Interactive Console (1997 Prototype)

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  Chuck E.'s Stage (1997 Prototype)

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  Chroma Key (1997 Prototype)

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  Full view (1997 Prototype)

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  1997 Concept Art

Animatronics Used

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

Current Studio C Alphas

Current Total Remaining: 13

Store	Address	Installed / Year Opened	Current Condition
Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States	19125 W Bluemound Rd	December 1997	Operational. Good Condition. Currently wearing Rockstar outfit. Last Alpha in Wisconsin, Oldest Studio C location as of 2022. First ever Studio C location to open-opening in December 1997.
Kent, Washington, United States		May 1998	First Alpha in Washington State. 2nd Oldest Alpha.
Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States		March 1999	Last Alpha in South Carolina
Burbank, California, United States		December 1999
Redwood City, California, United States		December 1999
Warwick, Rhode Island, United States	650 Bald Hill Rd	March 2000	Only CEC in Rhode Island.
Spokane, Washington, United States		March 2000
Maple Grove, Minnesota, United States		June 2000	Last Alpha in Minnesota
Methuen, Massachusetts, United States	90 Pleasant Valley St	August 2000	Operational. Decent condition. Currently wearing Avenger outfit. Only Alpha in Massachusetts.
Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States		October 2000	Last Alpha in Illinois.
Wyomissing / Reading, Pennsylvania, United States		December 2000
Mayfield Heights, Ohio, United States		April 2001	Last Studio C Alpha in Ohio
Whitby, Ontario, Canada	75 Consumers Dr Bldg. J	October 2001	Operational. Good condition. Currently wearing Rockstar outfit with Shoes. Only Studio C Alpha in Canada and only outside of the United States.