These creatives express how the unique opportunities and challenges in Fort Worth along with a tight-knit community of artists make it the perfect place to prosper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFort Worth has an incredible pool of creatives and actors. It\u2019s just insane,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cI realized how much my skills and how much I had experienced could be a contribution to the community. We need advocacy here. We need the talent here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Venues provide diverse opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n Fort Worth\u2019s live theater scene has experienced several periods of growth and development, dating to the prominent theaters<\/a> of the early 1900s, such as the Palace, Worth and Hollywood in downtown. The venues hosted live performances, operas and plays, before transitioning to screening movies.\u00a0<\/p>\n The opening of Casa Ma\u00f1ana<\/a> in 1958 brought Broadway musicals and live theater performances to what is now the Cultural District. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the diversity of performing arts venues grew with spaces like Stage West Theatre, Jubilee Theatre and Circle Theatre. Other performing arts venues, including Amphibian Stage, leaped up in the early 2000s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Reyes said each theater in the city has its \u201cown niche,\u201d giving actors a variety of production types to choose from. Jubilee Theatre, located in Sundance Square, highlights the Black American experience, Hip Pocket Theatre in far west Fort Worth focuses on experimental shows in a rustic, outdoor setting while Near Southside\u2019s black box theater Amphibian features sometimes contemporary plays and even comics.<\/p>\n North Texas theater actress Debbie Brown, who has performed locally<\/a> at Casa Ma\u00f1ana since the 1980s, including as Mrs. Claus in the world premiere of \u201cSanta Claus: A New Musical,\u201d echoed Reyes\u2019 sentiment, adding there are \u201cmany more opportunities\u201d than when she began acting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFrom traditional companies to those doing brand-new works, readings, cabarets, there are endless chances to hone one\u2019s skills, in whatever medium you want to pursue,\u201d she said via email.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to the East Coast and New York City being very expensive places to live, Brown described them as having an \u201coverblown population of aspiring actors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToo many performers, not enough shows to accommodate them,\u201d she said. \u201cI know many young performers who have gone to NYC or LA and not gotten to actually work at their craft onstage for months and even years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Joe Brown, chair of theater at Texas Wesleyan University, has watched the live theater community evolve in Tarrant County for nearly 50 years. He said a supportive theater community makes Fort Worth appealing to area talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLike a small town, (theaters) support each other in sharing talent resources and sharing places to find props and designer resources,\u201d he said. \u201cDallas is not quite as supportive of other theaters within their territory of square miles.\u201d<\/p>\n The small Fort Worth community also creates a tighter bond between the local theatrical performers, Reyes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re an actor, you\u2019re also a dramaturge, you\u2019re also studying, you\u2019re also going to see other shows and support your friends,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone has each other\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocating to keep creativity alive<\/strong><\/p>\n Even with the diverse opportunities, it isn\u2019t always easy for performers to pursue their careers full time, Reyes said. Several actors have to work in traditional jobs to be able to dedicate time on the weekends for productions.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to pay the bills to get my passion out. I\u2019m constantly working when I\u2019m in a show,\u201d Reyes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fort Worth actress Christina Cranshaw, who starred in \u201cJunie B. Jones is Not a Crook\u201d at Casa Ma\u00f1ana<\/a> in 2023 and \u201cArcadia Darling\u201d at Hip Pocket in 2019, frequently advocates for livable wages for performers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere needs to be enough to have artists not have to be in hustle mode, but to allow them to breathe and take a break when necessary,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s when creativity dies, when you\u2019re just constantly in survival mode.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A decrease in the number of people attending live theater performances since the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for some actors to thrive, Cranshaw said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2017, about 9.4% of American adults attended a nonmusical stage play. Attendance dropped 52% in 2022, according to surveys by the National Endowment for the Arts<\/a> and U.S. Census Bureau.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of theater companies have had to resort to having smaller casts and smaller production values in order to compensate and really save money,\u201d Cranshaw said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reyes hopes to see local performing arts venues continue to advocate for their talent and push more people to fill in seats.\u00a0<\/p>\n She\u2019s optimistic that those who choose to experience a live production for the first time will have their lives changed forever \u2014 the same way the art form changed hers all those years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTheater provokes empathy. It literally changes our brain chemistry and stirs the soul,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is theater out there that is accessible, and it\u2019s going to give you something that no screen can.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_7409.jpg\")
Amanda Reyes starred as the only cast member of \u201cDestroying David\u201d at Circle Theatre in February 2025. The show told the story of an art restorer who takes a group of people on a private tour of the Galleria dell\u2019Accademia in Florence, with the intention of destroying Michelangelo\u2019s David statue. (Courtesy photo | Taylor Staniforth)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/FB_IMG_1743714533368.jpg\")
Christina Cranshaw, left, rehearses at Hip Pocket Theatre for its production of \u201cPinocchio Commedia.\u201d (Courtesy photo | Christina Cranshaw)<\/p>\n
![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1750614464_36_cc-by-nd-4.0.png\"\/)
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