Waco Theatre Takes Center Stage as Downtown's Creative Hub

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Community theater is a staple in cities big and small across Central Texas.

Volunteers gather in old theaters and performance halls to find escape and bask in the spotlight.

This thirst for the performing arts has placed a new Waco theater “center stage” in a leading role.

The curtain rises on a new space in downtown Waco.

The Performing Arts Community Center (PACC) is a downtown creative hub, located directly on Austin Avenue.

PACC offers many classes and workshops for all ages and skill levels.

“Our mission and vision is simply to provide a vibrant, uplifting, caring and positive community in downtown Waco for the performing arts, all performing arts,” said David Corkill, executive director, founder and owner of PACC.

The theater offers sessions on music, drama, film, American Sign Language and more.

It is also a space where traveling groups, like the Silent House Theatre Company, can perform since they have traveled to many different locations in the community.

“We decided to create Silent House and pretty soon all these theaters started popping up,” said Bradyn Braziel, co-founder of Silent House Theatre Co. “I think people are inspired right now to bring their own work to town. So it’s really a renaissance of the arts that’s happening in Waco.”

Many in the theatre community say a full-fledged space like the PACC would not have been necessary a decade ago.

“The landscape has completely changed,” Corkill said. “The number of bands has quadrupled and there are some really good theater shows, really good concerts and really good dancing here.”

Another newer group is the Young Festival Stage, made up of Baylor University faculty and longtime community members.

Michael Sullivan arrived on the Waco theater scene in the 1990s and says it has changed.

“There were only a handful of organizations compared to today,” said Michael Sullivan, associate professor of theater in scenic design and production design at Baylor University. “Now there are a large handful of professional groups that are emerging.”

The band says that with more spaces comes more opportunities to perform.

“Are we a hub today? Are we becoming one? Have we always been one? I don’t know, but I know that on any given weekend, whether it’s at the Waco Civic Theatre, Baylor or PACC, you’re going to find quality theater. There’s no shortage of opportunities right now,” said Jason MacGregor, associate professor of accounting at Baylor University’s School of Business and director of development for Young Festival Stage.

Young Festival Stage is also a think tank that organizes performances for the community.

“Our research tells us that people understand that stories are important,” said Guilherme Almeida, an assistant professor of musical theater at Baylor University. “They want to hear more and be more interested in stories.”

Being interested in stories told on stage is not only for artists and audiences, but can also be used in everyday life.

“If you’re giving a presentation, you’re an actor for a few moments, if you’re a businessman and you’re making your sales pitch, you’re an artist,” MacGregor said. “Theatre is one of the hearts of an entire community, because whether you’re an accountant or a lawyer, if you’re telling a story, you need what theatre has to offer.”

A community staple for storytelling, the Waco Civic Theatre is celebrating its 100th season this year, and Executive Director Kelly MacGregor says she is excited about the growth the theater community is experiencing.

As Waco Civic Theatre celebrates its 100th season, it has been amazing to witness the growth and expansion of the local live production scene with long-standing theaters like Waco Children’s Theatre and Brazos Theatre, as well as new groups like Wild Imaginings, Silent House Theatre, Far Cast Theatre, and the Real Theatre Company; many of whom we have built great partnerships with over the years. The live production scene in Waco is thriving and we are here for it!

The presence of Waco’s first small stage option at PACC creates new opportunities for new playwrights, experimental shows, small-cast productions, and expanded rehearsal options. Is Waco ready for a black box, limited-stage offering? Absolutely! Theatre people can stage shows in all sorts of settings, in all genres, and the potential is inspiring. While we at WCT do not have a direct partnership with PACC, we are thrilled that they are creating a space for these works and look forward to the future!

Creative Waco aims to create an environment for the performing arts, from education to industry, from preschool to Broadway.

New spaces like the PACC help expand these opportunities.

“The biggest factor currently limiting the proliferation of our talent is the lack of space to rehearse and perform, so having new spaces to do so is huge for our community,” said Fiona Bond, Founding CEO of Creative Waco.

A healthy performing arts environment brings people from outside Waco to see shows and brings artists into town to audition.

“The economic impact of the arts and culture sector in our community is over $72 million per year, that’s the non-profit arts and culture sector,” Bond said.

With nine theater companies in Waco, Bond is thrilled that PACC is a performance space in the heart of downtown.

Across town, there’s another new space with the Waco High School Theatre Department.

The new high school will have an entire wing dedicated to the arts

“The fact that in education we are prioritizing the performing arts and the visual arts is incredibly powerful and it’s going to be a richer educational experience for our community as a whole,” Bond said.

Currently, students are rehearsing one of the last musicals before moving into the new building.

“These students come to us after school or throughout the day, ready to do what they love, and it motivates them to continue to work hard to maintain their grades and attendance and be present throughout the school community,” said Liz Vermeulenwise, Waco High School theater director. “Once we find where we belong and where we want to be, we’re going to work hard in every other facet of our lives to make sure we can get there.”

The “No Pass, No Play” rule doesn’t just apply to student-athletes; it’s also applied in the fine arts.

Students strive to get the grades needed to participate and be surrounded by people they believe are like-minded.

“I really wanted to be in a place where I was surrounded by better people, because not all circles in high school are good for me,” said Claire Prather, a senior at Waco High School. “So it’s important to find people who are hardworking, motivated and want to succeed.”

“It carries over into other aspects of your life, like I want to do my best, I want to strive for excellence and that’s a big thing they teach us from day one,” said Sarah Townsend, a senior at Waco High School.

Not only are students striving for excellence, but this high school theater department has become a safe space for students.

“When they find that community and that place where they exist and they can exist as themselves, they suddenly become much more open and you can see these students go from being very closed off and not willing to engage and be a part of something when they come and they find that family, you see them blossom,” Vermeulenwise said.

Theatre allows artists to come out of their shell and can teach them life skills.

“There’s a lot to be learned in being able to read people’s body language, facial expressions and moods and being able to move with them in those moments and I think theatre really teaches us how to offer that to the other person through active listening and paying attention to the other person’s body language,” said Dr. Kristy Donaldson, owner of Premier Neurofeedback and Counseling Services.

Theatre also gives actors the ability to identify problems and solve them.

“Developmentally, if we are encouraged to be creative, if we are courageous when we are creative, we develop problem-solving skills,” Almeida said. “Mental health issues often arise when we feel exhausted in our problem-solving abilities. We don’t know how to cope or how to process an experience or how to resolve a problem or conflict. Theatre, visual arts, music and film offer opportunities from role-playing to storytelling. So what would it be like if the story unfolded this way?”

The theatre community can last a lifetime and PACC is just another space where you can find family and a support group.

“In theater, we attract the outsiders, we attract the outcasts and people who join theater, music and like-minded groups find their place and find their personality, they help find who they are and they blossom and come alive, they find themselves,” Corkill said. “Performing arts is a transformative medium for students who otherwise wouldn’t be found and who otherwise wouldn’t be seen.”

“Any child or adult who wants to work on their speaking skills, their social skills, or any type of job interview, knows that people don’t want to take acting classes because they don’t want to be in a play,” Braziel said. “It’s not just for putting on plays, it’s not just for people who need to be in the spotlight. We can do a lot of inner work, we can do a lot of self-discovery through theater.”

The PACC opened its doors Friday, offering a preview of the new space with a performance featuring music, dance and ASL.

The official opening presented the PACC as a welcoming artistic venue for all ages.

“Our motto is ‘come one, come one,’ and we mean it,” Corkill said. “We want everyone to come and be a part of this project, come and create, come and perform, come and sing, come and play, everything, come one, come one, because there’s always something going on at PACC.”

This fall is literally packed with 19 classes, 18 workshops and 26 different performances.