The AT&T Performing Arts Center and the Dallas Theater Center announced a merger this week. The hope is that by combining the organizations, a new, more financially solid arts group will emerge, but it also means layoffs of up to 12% of their staff including DTC executive director Kevin Moriarty, who's been with the company for 19 years.
Jerome Weeks, former KERA arts reporter and theater critic for the Dallas Morning News, joined NTX Now's Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning to talk through what all these changes mean for the two arts groups.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the 'listen' button above.
DTC's hallowed history
The Dallas Theater Center started in 1960, in a building designed by famous architect Frank Loyd Wright. Weeks said it reached its peak in the 80s under the leadership of Adrian Hall, who employed a repertory company of actors.
"The reason that's significant, is that meant actors could stay here, actors could work here, actors could live here," he said. "Normally, Texas is kind of a giant conduit from UT Austin and Baylor and they just stay here a year or two, get some stage experience, and then they're off to New York or L.A. But in the 80s, we had things like Dallas the TV show, so people actually could make a living here for a while."
Weeks said that these days, if actors are living and working in the North Texas area, it's more often than not doing voiceover work for animated productions.
NEA grant funding cuts
When asked what led the two arts organizations to come together, Weeks pointed to the Trump administration withdrawing hundreds of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Last year, the Center was awarded $25,000 for their production of Shane. When their funding was terminated, the theater was left with a $25,000 hole in its budget. Executive director Kevin Moriarty told KERA News the theater did not plan to apply for NEA funding this year given the new policy changes.
“We don't have the power in this situation,” he said.
Layoffs
An estimated 10-12% employees will lose their jobs because of this merger, and Weeks said it'll likely be local artists.
"When people see, 'oh, it's just front of house, it's the ticket sellers and it's ushers,' well, actually, many of those are actors," he said. "That's one way they stay employed, to stay at the theater center. If those jobs are gone, then they've got to find something else temporary that allows them to act on stage when they can."
The unknowns
It's still unclear how the AT&T Performing Arts Center will fold DTC in with its other dance, music, and theater performances.
"When you're doing a brand new play by a local playwright no one's ever heard of, how does that fit in when AT&T is bringing in Hades Town, Six, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, that kind of thing?" Weeks said. "That's a real issue and it's facing companies like this around the country."
He said getting audience members to show post-merge will also pose a unique challenge, since the North Texas audience is so spread out.
"How do you get someone to drive 45 minutes across the metroplex to see a show?" he posed.
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
