The Players Theatre next week reveals the lineup for its 87th season on stage, but this week bears banner news of a different sort, with the announcement of the incoming Arnold Simonsen Players Studio, a state-of-the-art facility currently in construction in the Rosemary Square development on Boulevard of the Arts, which will become the new home of The Players’ educational endeavours and workshop program.

Now in its 20th year, The Players Performing Arts Studio has been “bursting at the seams,” according to Managing Director Michelle Bianchi Pingel, training more than 300 students of all ages, as well as hosting summer camps and outreach groups. Within the expanded halls of the planned Arnold Simonsen Players Studio and under its new name, Pingel hopes to raise the number of weekly classes from 29 to near 50 and introduce comprehensive certificate programs, such as for musical theater.

Available courses currently cover near everything a budding performer could need, ranging from the expected—dance, acting, vocal training, playwriting—to more niche offerings such as stage make-up, but enrolling in a program puts the performer through a curated curriculum of required courses covering all aspects of, for example, musical theater performance or dramatic acting, culminating in a certificate of completion and an audition in front of Players Artistic Director Jeffery Kin and two other directors.

In addition, Pingel said the new space will allow the comeback of competitive events among students, such as dance-offs, and the educational program expansion will include annual trips to New York City, where students can participate in open mic events and even audition on Broadway.

“It’s the best-kept secret in town,” said Pingel of The Players’ educational program. “We’re the foundation—where it all starts.”

Made possible through the help of longtime Players supporter Arnold Simonsen, the studio that will bear his name will be ready to accept students by September 2016.