It has been quite some time since I've put virtual pen to paper, as it were, but my circumstances have changed quite a bit lately, and writing has been more on my mind, so I'd like to get some of these thoughts out into the great beyond that is the Internet.
A few months ago, my company closed its entire outlet store division. With this decision, I was suddenly without work. I cannot remember a time from when I was sixteen and taking groceries to cars at Albertson's that I was not employed in some way. However, the true privilege of receiving unemployment has allowed for me to really explore what I want to do without worrying about how I will exist in the meantime. It is from this semi-floundering state that the idea for SMART Theatre was born.
When I moved to San Marcos, TX in July 2010, I knew almost no one in town. My first instinct to get involved in the community and meet new people was to find the community theatre and dive in however I could, whether it was auditioning and performing or helping backstage and painting sets. This was how I had spent a lot of time in my hometown both before and after grad school out of state in Oklahoma. After a lot of searching, I turned up nothing. Nothing! Not only was there no community theatre in town, but the closest ones were half an hour away or more. San Marcos is actually a city with many varied and thriving arts programs, so it was more than a little surprising to me that a community theatre program wasn't already in place. Through some consulting with my sister, who is a technical theatre wizard, and a longtime friend who has served on many theatre boards and directed and acted in countless productions, I made the commitment: I was starting a theatre in San Marcos.
Two of my dearest friends have also founded arts organizations in the last few years: SMART Orchestra was founded by Chris, and SMART Opera was founded by his wife, Erin. They are the first people I contacted when I had the idea to start a community theatre in San Marcos because, for one thing, I loved the idea of having three different facets of the performing arts represented, and for another, I wanted to be sure I could use their name. They were as excited as I was and gave their blessing to add SMART Theatre to the growing SMART Family of Arts Organizations. Especially in these early stages of getting the theatre off the ground, their recent endeavors have made them ideal advisors and I rely on them more than they probably know.
I am continually reaffirmed that yes, people in the area are interested in performing and being a part of a community theatre and yes, this is the right path for me, but it has been a little slow going. Raising the money is tough, and just trying to muddle through all of the personnel, logistical, marketing, and motivational challenges is proving to be no small task. This blog is going to be my little chronicle of this journey and, quite possibly, just my corner of the Internet to shout at the air. With any luck, someone will read about my struggles and find out how best to handle their own, whether it is about starting a theatre, being a woman in 2015 trying to do something great, or just learning to stick with a worthy cause and see it through.
So, here I am; planting a theatre in San Marcos, TX and trying to get it to grow.
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