The Best
Show In Town

The
Curtain
Rises

It was a year and a half before “STOMP” would take the stage, and OPAS Executive Director Anne Black was already preparing. The organization’s program advisory committee, composed of community members and Texas A&M students on OPAS’ board of directors, was discussing shows for its 2022-23 50th anniversary season, and Black was busy attending conferences and checking tour schedules for booking availability. “Every season begins with putting together a wish list,” Black said, “and it’s a balance between audience interests and touring logistics.”

The intricate planning at the start of each season harks back to OPAS’ beginnings. In 1970, the local community was growing, with Texas A&M attendance totaling 14,200 and Bryan-College Station boasting a combined population of 51,000. However, the area still lacked an organization dedicated to presenting professional fine arts programs. Memorial Student Center (MSC) Director J. Wayne Stark ’39 was determined to change that. “In those days, Texas A&M students were largely from rural Texas and had never seen a ballet, opera or play,” Black explained. “Stark wanted to provide that.”

In 1972, the planned opening of the new Rudder Theatre Complex provided the extra push needed to achieve Stark’s vision. He organized a small group of university and community leaders to form the Opera and Performing Arts Society as a committee within the MSC Town Hall student organization. The group soon expanded into its own MSC organization and a true town and gown affair, with 200 members from all walks of life with both university and community members serving on its board of directors.

On Nov. 3, 1973, all the preparation paid off when classical guitarist Christopher Parkening took to the Rudder Theatre stage as OPAS’ first performer for an audience of 800. The first season was an instant success, and subsequent years filled the Rudder stage with opera, music and other classical performances. As the community continued to grow and audience interests evolved, OPAS expanded to additional variety performances and began adding Broadway shows to its repertoire in season 15. “Through the years, we’ve tried to meet the community’s requests and do more to serve a broader audience,” Black said.

Saving the Show

It was seven months before “STOMP” would wow Aggieland and only five months until OPAS’ 50th season began when Black’s phone rang. Bad news came from the other end: The tour of “Waitress” scheduled to come to College Station in March 2023 was canceled. But OPAS had already announced its season schedule and printed brochures advertising the Broadway musical as part of the lineup. With no time to lose, Black turned to her Broadway connections, asking if anyone had a show with open tour dates in the same timeframe. One responded with “Legally Blonde,” and just like that, things were back on track. “It’s all about having relationships so that when you send an email like that to somebody, they respond,” Black said.

Unexpected schedule snags are only one challenge OPAS has weathered through the years. In an industry so reliant on in-person attendance, anything from a downturn in the economy to a nearby hurricane can negatively affect ticket sales.

Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a massive shakeup, forcing OPAS to cancel its remaining season 47 shows in the middle of the year and completely skip over an official season 48. “We’ve been surprised at how quickly we bounced back,” Black said. “We thought we might have a couple of negative years because of COVID, but luckily, we haven’t. That’s partly due to the university. We kept our jobs, but many of my colleagues in private theater nonprofits didn’t.”

Perhaps the most disheartening downturn came in the late 1980s. When an increased oil supply drove the decade’s oil bust, it also dried up the funds OPAS received from the Texas Commission on the Arts that had helped supplement ticket sales. “When we didn’t have that money coming in to subsidize, we went through some really tough years,” Black recalled.

In OPAS’ moment of need, the community stepped in by creating a $100,000 endowment through the Texas A&M Foundation to permanently support the group. In 2002, additional donors grew the endowment to $1 million, ensuring OPAS could keep presenting top-quality programs even when sales were down. “Looking back, it’s amazing to think OPAS is funding itself because it wasn’t for a long time,” Black said. “Before, it was not uncommon to lose $200,000 in a season and try to make it up the next year.”

With a current annual budget of $2.3 million, covering all the costs is no small feat. But thanks to ticket sales, playbill ads, sponsorships and donors’ consistent generosity, OPAS continues to present 25 events each year, including mainstage shows in the 2,500-seat Rudder Auditorium, Intimate Gathering shows in the smaller 750-seat Rudder Theatre, one-night Singular Sensations, and multiple programs for children and local schools.

A Standing Ovation

It was an hour and a half since “STOMP” first swept onto the stage, and the show was nearing an end. Following a booming number with trash can lids, the performers began clapping out a rhythm, encouraging the audience to copy the beat. The claps were slow at first but intensified as the audience got the hang of it. Soon, the crowd had become an inextricable part of the performance, providing the underlying rhythm as one member accented it with his swishing broom.

By drawing the audience into the performance, the moment also encapsulated OPAS’ secret to success for all these years: community support. From donating and volunteering to buying tickets and telling friends, everyone who supports the organization has a hand in its impact on Aggieland. Since it began, OPAS has sold more than 1 million tickets, not only providing entertainment and enrichment to students and community members alike but also giving Texas A&M a name in the arts world.

“OPAS creates this center of art in what is typically considered a technical and agricultural-focused university,” observed theater producer Stephen Gabriel. “What Anne has built with OPAS has stood the test of time. I always want to support it because it’s so important to have organizations like this that serve as the backbone of touring theater in the country.”

“The arts are central to life and learning,” Black added. “They nurture, entertain, inspire and enlighten, and students and the community need that.”

This season, OPAS celebrated its history and the impact of art by looking back and looking forward. “STOMP,” which first graced the Rudder stage during its original U.S. tour in 1994, points to shows from seasons past, while “Anastasia,” a new Broadway show, promises good things to come. And OPAS has plenty to look forward to—most notably the planned construction of a new Performing Arts Center on campus that could host future shows. “I hope the new center becomes a destination for people across Central Texas,” Black shared. “I believe OPAS' future is bright.”

But more than a center, it’s the dedicated individuals in the organization that make OPAS shine like a spotlight on a dark stage. As audience members file out of Rudder Auditorium on that chilly November night after “STOMP,” buzzing about the show, a few volunteers remain, cleaning up and discussing anything that could make the next event even smoother. And in the dark theater, the standing ovation the show received still echoes, not only for the performers but also for the staff, students and community members who transformed a room full of strangers into a united group as they laughed, clapped and made music together.