I hope that these posts are proving helpful for anyone curious about the situation with and history of the Waco Performing Arts Company. I also hope that they provide some context for the difficult situation of growing, nurturing, and managing the Arts in Waco. It is certainly my hope that there is not only a future for the Arts in Waco, but a bright one and one that will surprise and please everyone there.

Some good news came out last Friday: The remaining three shows that are on the WPAC schedule will go on as planned. The problem that put them in jeopardy is the same that led to the cancellation of One Night of Queen, there wasn't enough money to pay for the shows. The way the business works is that a deposit is put down either at the signing of the contract or a designated date before the show day and the remainder is due immediately before the show goes on stage. That's because the touring companies know that ticket sales are needed in order to pay the fee. But the contract is such that their total fee is due no matter what. If the theatre cancels for any reason, they touring company is still due their total contract fee. So why didn't One Night of Queen go on? It's pretty simple: if the theatre can't pay the fee, they can't allow the show to load in and go on stage as if they could pay. Such action could be interpreted as fraud. What's different with the upcoming three shows is that Board members have been working ever since they had to lay off the staff to negotiate reduced fees for some of the shows, consolidated dates for one, and additional sponsorship dollars to help make sure they can pay the fees for the remaining three shows.

I tell that story as a lead-in to this post about the Board of Directors. In case you missed the action in the paragraph above, it was all handled by the Board of Directors. There is no Executive Director for the WPAC right now, so all of the action above from evaluating the theatre's ability to pay the show, to cancelling the show, to laying off the staff, to speaking with the press, to calling and notifying the remaining shows, to negotiating with them to continue their performance, to coordinating logistics for executing those shows, to raising money, to getting word out to the press again was handled by the Board of Directors. Remember that as I talk about who the Board members are.

For a non-profit organization in general and the WPAC in specific, the Board of Directors is a group of volunteers. They serve a variety of functions and different Board members are recruited for different reasons. Remember, no one owns a non-profit organization. The Board provides governance and oversight, and the staff manages the day-to-day operations. These Board members serve because they love the organization, they love the cause, they love their community, or all three. They all have different backgrounds and different strengths. Some of them have management experience, some have financial expertise, some know about theatrical programming, some are good volunteer recruiters, some are good fundraisers, some provide legal advice, etc. But there are tons of people like that all over the community. What distinguishes these people from others is their willingness to volunteer.

Think about a Board member who is a full-time teacher. She goes to work in our schools for 8-9 hours before coming to a Board meeting for another 2 hours. Or think about the accountant who volunteers to do what he get paid deservedly well for all day long. Think about the businessman who closes down his shop an extra half-hour for lunch to come to the theatre to sign checks or look over paperwork. There's no glamor to it. It's lots of time and lots of work.

So what has been their thanks lately? They've gotten badmouthed by a bunch of anonymous cowardly thugs on internet message boards. There are ignorant fools out there saying that somehow the Board is responsible for the theatre's closing and for "mismanaging" the organization and it's finances. Before I go into a rational, logical, and sensible explanation of why such accusations are nonsense, please permit me an emotional outburst: Any moron who tries to lay the blame for the Hippodrome's closure on the Board of Directors has abdicated their right to claim an informed or useful opinion. Any idiot who would say such things should immediately be dismissed and I'd recommend putting a few miles between yourself and said imbecile just in case stupidity is catching. Give such a person a few rocks to play with and get them outside of the city limits in an effort to raise the collective intelligence levels of Waco.

Okay, outburst over. The truth is not that the Board is responsible for closing the theatre, it's that they are responsible for keeping it open as long as it was. See, a Board of Directors can't change facts. They can only work with them and try to bring the best results from them. The facts that the Board has been dealing with are that the organization's debt has been growing ever since the Tuna fiasco, the facility is falling apart, and patrons are not responding well to this season's programming. They have been operating the theatre as best they can for the past three months without an Executive Director. And remember, this is a group of volunteers who all have other commitments. And their organizational structure is a disadvantage in this situation. The appropriate order of responsibility is that the Board of Directors invests the Executive Director with the responsibility of running the daily operations of the theatre. But without and ED, they must make all decisions together. One Board member can't just begin making executive decisions without the input of the others. That separation of power is necessary according to the Texas Non-Profit Act, and usually it is a very good thing. In this case it probably slowed down some decisions, but I'm not convinced outcomes would have changed if an executive officer were in charge.

These Board members didn't mismanage the organization's finances. They stretched each dollar as far as it would go. And when it could go no further, they did their duty and ceased operations. Remember, they're not serving their own financial interests in any way here. If anything, membership on the Board costs them money. They are serving the financial interests of the Waco Performing Arts Organization on behalf of the people of Waco. When someone would allege that they mismanaged finances, ask yourself, "To what end?" What possible motivation could they have for mismanaging finances that benefit them in no way and, if done, would hurt an organization that they love enough to pour their time, money, and talent into it? The answer of course, is that there is no such motivation and such an allegation is completely false. The theatre stayed open as long as it did because of the loving care, attention, and effort of these devoted volunteers.

My question to the critics, (as if it does any good to engage in conversation with people so incapable of abstract or complex thought... sorry... I guess I had one more outburst in me...), is, "Where were you when they asked for help?" Maybe you didn't have money to give, but could you have given of your talents and time the way they were? If you're so sure that they screwed up, I assume you have some solutions? Where were you to offer them?

I've stopped short many times of placing blame for the closure of the Hippodrome, but I do have some that I'll place right here. The closure of the Hippodrome is the fault of every person in Waco who had a good idea and failed to offer it. It is the fault of every person in Waco who claims to love the Arts but failed to buy tickets to something new or different. It is the fault of every person who allowed things like weather or television stand between them and live theatre. It is the fault of every person who loved theatre but failed to volunteer to help with a performance or serve on a committee. It is the fault of every business who could have filled a need that was made widely known by the WPAC but decided not to. It is the fault of every person who decided that a recession was a good excuse to neglect the Arts. In other words, it is the fault of everyone who chose to do nothing. Guess who that doesn't include? The people who did the absolute most of everyone in Waco to preserve and promote the Arts: The Board of Directors.

If you know any of them, thank them. Shake their hands, give them hugs, and offer to do whatever you can. Even though they don't bear the responsibility for the Hippodrome's closure, they are shouldering a lot of its weight due to their prominently demonstrated love.

Again, I apologize if I struck a less-than-professional tone with this post. Nobody knows better than I do how hard these people work and how deserving of praise and thanks they are. Tomorrow I'm going to do a little non-profit math to lay the foundation for my final post in this series about the future of the WPAC and the Hippodrome. I hope you are all off to a good week.