Okay, this post is going to be a bit of a confusing one. So far I've kept pretty clear concise topics such as the facility, Tuna, this season, booking music acts, marketing, and the Board of Directors. But here I'm just going to lay out some fundamental issues related to non-profit Arts in Waco. This is a precursor that is necessary to lay some groundwork before I post tomorrow's vision for the future of the Hippodrome. This post may seem a bit pessimistic, but that's just because the realities of the situation are difficult. But most things worth doing are difficult. So let's dive in.

First off, we've already taken a look at the difficult math of one-night-only performances in the Hippodrome. In the Hippodrome there are 929 seats. But 174 of those are in the balcony which is very cramped and usually either too hot or too cold. Yes, seats up there will sell when there are no other seats available, but no one is happy with them. It's not that those seats have a bad view of the stage or that you can't hear the actors from there, it's just a matter of comfort. Although I can't confirm this with 100% certainty, my best theory for why it was constructed like that is that it used to be the "colored section." That's right. The uncomfortable balcony is also probably a link to Waco's racist past. But that's a bit beside the point for this discussion. If you take away those balcony seats, you are left with 755 decent seats. The reason that number is important is where it puts the Hippodrome in terms of capacity when compared with other venues around town. The Waco ISD performance hall seats around 350. The Midway ISD performance hall is just a bit larger than the Hippodrome, seating 1,100. However its use is devoted to MISD activities, as it should be. The Texas theatre between 3rd and 4th St. on the I-35 access road seats about 200. The Waco Civic Theatre seats about 250. Waco Hall seats over 2000. So if you need a venue between 300 and 2000, there is only one such venue in Waco: The Hippodrome.

Facility rental is a huge issue for non-profits. There is a serious dearth of performance venues for our Arts organizations. The Civic Theatre is the only organization fortunate enough to own its own venue. Everyone else has to work out a rental agreement with one of the above mentioned venues. The Waco Children's Theatre is a perfect example of this. They have bounced around from the Civic Theatre to the Waco ISD hall to the Hippodrome and back again to the first two a number of times. The Waco Jazz Orchestra is another good example. Use a bit of the math from my breakdown of seating capacity and ticket price to see some problems here. Let's say that rental of one of the 300 seat venues costs $750 per day. That's a guess, and a pretty reasonable number even if I suspect it's low. Selling out a 300 seat venue at $10 per ticket, (which is probably reasonable for a local performance organization), minus the rental fee means that if they sell out the show they make $2250. From that you have to still deduct marketing costs, the costs of printing programs, the staff salaries, the costs of lights and props and settings and costumes, and any other ancillary costs. Do we really think that $2250 can adequately cover those expenses? I don't.

And there's also Baylor University to consider. Let me say this, and I know that it may not be a popular statement with people incapable of broad thinking: Waco cannot survive and will not thrive without Baylor University. And Baylor University needs a growing and thriving Waco in order to succeed in its ultimate vision for itself. The two entities need each other. Waco ignores Baylor at its own peril. That said, Baylor University also has a facility crunch. Waco Hall stays booked and active most days of the year. So do the two larger theatre facilities in the theatre department whose seating capacities do not exceed 350. Jones Hall in the school of music seats 976, but stays pretty booked and is not an acceptable facility for theatrical presentation of any kind. There is dire need for more performance space for the various Arts organizations there. The Baylor Jazz Ensemble, the Baylor Film Department, the Baylor Opera, the Baylor Theatre Graduate Studies Department, and student recitals are always in need of available performance space. There's also a philosophical reason that they may want to move off campus. The Arts are one of the best ways that a university can reach out to and involve itself in a community, and by situating itself off campus and into that community they move one step closer to bridging that gap.

There are also occasional organizations that need a performance space. These are groups that don't have an explicit performance-oriented operation, but do from time to time offer public productions. These are groups like KWBU which occasionally screens documentaries, the Waco Library which shows films to accompany readings, the Junior League which hold fundraisers and organization-wide forums, and the City of Waco which offers lectures and meetings that would best be held in an auditorium setting.

It should be obvious to see by this time that there is a huge need for a facility like the Hippodrome. It should also be obvious that it is difficult for Waco's small Arts organizations to afford to rent such spaces, much less own them. But aside from the organizations that I've already mentioned, there are a number of other groups that would love to be able to use a large performance space but just can't. These are organizations such as dance schools, school choirs, and school drama programs. And there are also organizations that are trying to form or are on the verge of forming such as a film society and a civic chorus that would need performance space as well. Waco also lacks groups that other cities its size enjoy such as a small professional theatre company, a chamber orchestra, a ballet, and a light opera company. Those organizations would need a performance venue in order to be viable, and since none of them currently exist, quite a bit of fundraising would be needed before they could be ready for their inception and introduction.

Is there anyone out there who wouldn't want for all of the organizations that I mentioned above to have a robust performance schedule? Or to simply exist? Is there anyone out there who doesn't think that having those various performing groups operating year-round would make Waco a better place in which to live? Is there anyone out there who wants fewer options of what to see and do in Waco? I don't think so. I think this is something that we all want. We all want to have diverse Arts in our cities. We all want to have opportunities to introduce our children to such variety. We want those options.

But keep in mind all of the people that it took to run the Hippodrome. And remember that the Hippodrome closed primarily due to financial difficulties. Each of these Arts groups needs funding to stay in existence. I think I've pretty conclusively demonstrated that ticket sales alone aren't enough for any non-profit organization to survive. That's the reason there are so few for-profit theatre organizations in the country and most of them are on Broadway. For the rest of us, by definition we are making something available at below market value because we believe it makes the community better. No Arts organization in Waco can just "sink or swim" on its own without philanthropy, private donations, foundation assistance, grants, and government funding as well. And that's the toughest part of non-profit Arts math.

So the question Waco is left to ponder is, "Are you willing to do what it takes to have the kind of Arts a city like Waco deserves?" It's not an easy question. And I believe it is not the kind of question that only a few people in the city can answer on behalf of everyone. After all, that's how the Hippodrome got into such deep trouble: a hard-working generous few were left to shoulder the responsibility that should have been borne by the many. This is a conversation that needs to bring all of Waco together to decide. In my next post, I'll lay out my vision for the future of the Arts and the Hippodrome in Waco. I hope to hear from you in response to what I've written here as I prepare my thoughts for tomorrow. What other kinds of Arts would you like to see in Waco?