The next posts that I'll be putting up here are a comprehensive action plan for reviving the Arts in Waco, TX, renovating the Hippodrome Theatre, rejuvenating the Waco Performing Arts Company, restoring a sense of community to the various Arts groups in Waco, and maybe a few other actions that start with "re." We'll see. This is in response to me changing my mind about some of the conclusions that I drew after reflecting on how the current situation in Waco came to pass. You can catch up on my previous thoughts and diagnoses of the problems here.

Since so many musicals have played at the Hippodrome over the years, it seems fitting to start at the very beginning... a very good place to start...

The first step is to define the end goal. Unless you begin with a specific result in mind, no progress will truly be made. This is the root of my dissatisfaction with my previous prescription. It didn't give people anything tangible to get to work on right now. It didn't provide for the Arts in the meantime between now and when a modern PAC is built in Waco. And it wasn't specific enough about what broad participation from various performing groups from around Waco would look like. So here's the first step: we're going to be specific about what the end result will be and then the following steps will be walking through a practical plan towards achieving that goal.

What the Waco Hippodrome needs to become is a home for all of Waco's various performing groups. When people in Waco think about seeing a play, hearing a concert, going to an opera, or seeing an independent film they should think about the Hippodrome. When Waco's children are a part of a performing group, they'll be performing on stage at the Hippodrome. When artists in Waco have a creative vision for a new performing group, they'll debut at the Hippodrome. When local filmmakers finish a new film, it will premiere at the Hippodrome. When Wacoans don't know what to do this weekend, they'll check to see what's playing at the Hippodrome. When people are thinking of a creative date night, they'll head downtown for dinner and a show. That's the end goal.

Of course, as I've already shown, these various groups can't pay to rent the stage. So it needs to be provided for them free of charge. Waco's non-profit Arts organizations will have access to the Hippodrome stage for their programming free of charge. Pre-determined criteria will be established in order to evaluate the various organizations' preparedness in categories such as excellence, financial stability, marketing, audience development, community involvement, use of local resources, and more. Then anyone who meets that definition will be able to schedule their events for public performance on a professional stage with professional support and professional technical assistance.

Creative people who want to try to form a new non-profit Arts organization in Waco need a laboratory to gain some momentum and experience. So every year, applications will be accepted for assistance in producing new works on the Hippodrome stage. They will be walked through the necessary steps and taught how to produce a successful show. The best among them will be welcomed back for future productions and encouraged to form new non-profit organizations.

Since Arts education is constantly facing budget cuts, the schools and after-school programs that teach Performing Arts will need a stage on which to showcase their students' achievements. They will be treated the same way as the local non-profits. A steady diet of recitals, shows, and performances featuring our children will be a regular part of the Hippodrome's programming. They'll enjoy being billed right up alongside professional shows and touring productions.

A 200-mile gap separates Dallas and Austin. There are many cities and communities in between that are closer to Waco than they are to either of those metropoli. Some of them have civic or community theatres and some of them have colleges and universities. Once a year, they should all be invited to present a one-act play in a competition and showcase that stands in the very long tradition of theatrical competition that goes back to the ancient Greeks. This Central Texas theatrical festival will not only provide wonderful entertainment, it will help introduce different organizations' audiences to each other and to new opportunities to enjoy good local theatre.

To house all of this wonderful activity, the Waco Hippodrome Theatre must be fully renovated. That cost is likely to run somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.5 million. The exterior structure must be examined and strengthened. The seating must be replaced. The HVAC must be completely replaced and its ductwork updated. The dressing rooms must be completely renovated. The sound and lighting systems must be updated. The film projection equipment needs to be updated as well. The restroom facilities must be expanded. (Especially for the women!) The ceiling must be replaced. The exterior must be cleaned up and restored. There are also myriad cosmetic and minor fixes that must be made that are too numerous to list here.

The building next door must also be renovated and remodeled. The front of the downstairs must be connected to the Hippodrome to provide expanded lobby space, concessions, merchandise, and restrooms. The back 2/3 of the downstairs needs to be remodeled as rehearsal space. The upstairs in that building needs to be remodeled as office space for rent to the various non-profit organizations who would make the Hippodrome their home, along with appropriate meeting space and technical work area and offices.

Other local performing groups who are not non-profit organizations should also have access to the Hippodrome for a standardized and reasonable rental rate. There will definitely be a hometown discount, and with the multitude of other performances happening in the Hippodrome hopefully it wouldn't be too difficult to draw a good crowd. The facility will also, of course, still be open for rental to out of town and independent tours.

So that's the vision. That's the end result. Imagining it all is step one. Does this sound like a good thing to you? Does this sound desirable? If not, there's no point going any further. But if this sounds like an end worth achieving, then we'll take a look next at the action steps needed to make this dream a reality. And I bet it can be done faster than you all think. Check back in tomorrow for Step Two!