Planning Commission OKs running acting workshops out of house

By Jean Reid Norman

Thursday, July 16, 2009 | 3:30 a.m.

A Boulder City resident received permission to operate acting workshops out of her home on Chestnut Street from the Boulder City Planning Commission Wednesday night.

Kristine Sader was given a conditional use permit for six months to run The Acting Workshop in the living room of her three-bedroom home. The business provides theater summer day camp and acting workshops for children from preschoolers through high school and senior citizens. She also provides tutoring after school.

The commission voted 4-1 over the opposition of two residents, who were concerned about parking and traffic that would come with the workshops. Commissioner Cokie Booth was opposed and Bill Bruninga abstained. Commissioner Brad Benson was absent.

Sader said she plans to have five to 10 children at a time and that most would be dropped off by parents, so parking requirements would be minimal.

She has eight students and said that is not enough to rent space in the business district. She would need 20 students to move the business out of her home, she said.

“The last thing she wanted to do was to have this in our home,” her mother, Jean Sader said. “It was finances.”

Commissioner Charles Peterson noted that, despite the opposition, the application included a petition of support from 15 neighbors.

Kristine Sader has a degree in theater arts from Los Angeles Valley College and has acted in amateur theatrical productions. In addition, she said, she was a teacher for four years at Grace Christian Academy.

The workshops include improvisational games, warmup exercises and working on scenes from plays, she said.

“I hope it grows so I can rent space,” Kristine Sader said.

The Planning Commission will review its decision in January.