Young people around the Waco area with a thirst for the arts will find new options and outlets this fall in addition to what’s offered in school with three groups launching new programs. At the Performing Arts Community Center, which makes its downtown Waco debut in a few weeks, 19 classes in theater, art, dance and sign language are part of an expansive schedule that includes 26 performances and 18 workshops. At the Waco Civic Theatre, a Rising Stars Academy aimed at kids from pre-K to 12th grade starts operation, its classes an extension of the theater’s summer camps and performances.
Then there’s “A Beautiful Message,” a mural-painting and mentorship program led by Waco artist Vincent Thomas, where a small group of students ages 14 to 20 will work with Thomas in painting two Waco murals while learning about the business of art. David Corkill, director of the soon-to-open Performing Arts Community Center, said the multipurpose space should help rehearsal and performance needs for Waco arts groups and performers. The new center at 924 Austin Ave.
formally opens Sept. 6. For PACC director David Corkill, the classes for young people and adults make up only one component of the multi-faceted arts space he’s opening at 924 Austin Ave.
, whose multiple rooms will host rehearsals, post- and pre-rehearsal relaxation, visual arts, music, a dance space with wall mirrors, a 28-by-16-foot stage for practice and performances with room for audiences, and a concession area available whenever the center is open. The flexible space not only will provide a performing venue, but a rehearsal one as well, a need for many youth arts groups and homeschoolers, said the 36-year-old La Grange native, who moved back to Waco with his wife about two years ago to realize their PACC vision. Corkill grew up with a love for multiple performing arts when a school student.
“I love band. I love choir. I love theater,” he said, noting that he led choirs and band while a teenager.
After graduating from Baylor University in 2011 with degrees in education and music, Corkill taught social studies, music and theater at Rapoport Academy for four years. He moved to Corpus Christi for a position with Annapolis Christian Academy where he could teach choir, theater and band for students from second to 12th grade. The pandemic forced a shift in classes and group activities, and organizing alternative spaces for school and community groups planted a seed that sprouted as the PACC.
His previous work at Waco Civic Theatre, where he acted in productions of “Les Misérables” and “Shrek,” plus his time at Rapoport persuaded him that several arts groups in Waco needed a place to call home, both for performances and rehearsals. It’s that mix of performance and practice that characterizes his PACC. Corkill already is working with groups such as the Wild Imaginings theater company, Silent House Theatre Company, Rogue Media Network and the Waco Independent Film Festival.
Rooms at the front of the Performing Arts Community Center provide space for relaxing and art making. David Corkill shows a well-stocked green room for actors' pre-performance preparation. A color-coded calendar on the wall of Corkill’s blue office outlines the months ahead: performances written in blue, rehearsals in purple, workshops in red, classes in light green, events in dark green and pink for camps.
Already, it’s a busy calendar, with performances ranging from a rock band show and a magic show to a play by a Christian homeschool group. Classes and workshops span acting, dance, music theater, poetry, sign language and podcasting. “We work all year round,” Corkill said.
The center formally opens with a Sept. 6 ribbon cutting, and the director is optimistic that it will facilitate a creative synergy for Waco arts and audiences. “I think Waco is primed for a performing arts revival,” he said.
Those looking for more information can contact the center through its website, paccwaco.com , by emailing [email protected] or by calling 254-300-4447.
The new Performing Arts Community Center takes over an Austin Avenue location previously occupied by Stumpy's Hatchet House. Rising Stars Academy Despite growth in the Waco Civic Theatre’s youth theater program in recent years, WCT director Kelly MacGregor and Petra Williams felt there were untapped pools of Waco-area children and youth that were interested or could benefit from theater training during the school year. Much of the WCT’s youth theater offerings, as well as those by other local children’s theater groups, centered on performances during the year and summer camps.
A growing number of homeschooling parents as well as parents of young children were interested in theater classes and training provided during the fall and spring, noted Williams, while some kids in summer camps wished for more theater options after school began. “No one entity can meet the demand,” said Williams, who also serves as artistic director for the Heart of Texas Children’s Theatre, which presents professionally staffed theatrical productions to young audiences. Waco Civic Theatre executive director Kelly MacGregor, left, and Rising Stars Academy director Petra Williams say the new academy will address a rising demand for youth theater training in Waco.
Williams will direct WCT’s Rising Stars Academy, which will offer classes in acting, voice training, choreography, music theater, improv, theater tech and more to young people from pre-K to 12th grade. The academy will emphasize small group and individual instruction with all instructors having stage experience or training. Classes are designed with attention to age and scheduling, with performance showcases at the end of each class sequence.
Productions planned for the fall include “Disney’s Alice in Wonderland,” “Anne of Green Gables,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman.” For information and registration, email the theater at [email protected] , visit the link here or call 254-776-1591.
‘A Beautiful Message’ Waco artist Vincent Thomas acknowledges the role of mentors and role models in establishing his art career and wants to pay it forward in his mural painting project “A Beautiful Message.” The project, modeled after Creative Waco’s ArtPrenticeship program, will pair six to 10 students ages 14 to 20 with Thomas in designing and painting murals for the Jockey Club, 815 Elm Ave., and the Mary Chase Life Center, 2020 Richter Ave.
At the close of the project, students will showcase their works in an Oct. 10 show at Art Center Waco. Much of the work will be done on three consecutive Saturdays in September with Thomas also meeting with students in between to talk about leadership, advice on creating an art business and building one’s self-confidence.
Waco artist Vincent Thomas wants to encourage young artists through mural painting in his “A Beautiful Message” project. The 27-year-old artist, a Waco native and graduate of Texas State Technical College and St. Edward’s University, said his mother’s example in drawing as an artistic outlet inspired him to go into art as a career.
On the way, contact and conversations with other artists, such as Waco’s Kermit Oliver, encouraged him to find his voice as an artist. Thomas and fellow Waco artist Cade Kegerreis created the sprawling “Tree of Life” mural on the TFNB bank building in East Waco three years ago, and that experience will inform the design process and work on “A Beautiful Message,” he said. Art experience is not a prerequisite for those interested in the program, and a small stipend will be paid for art supplies and other expenses, he said.
Those interested can register at Thomas’ website, v7homas.com , with a deadline of Aug. 23.
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