Last Christmas, Dan Beach, KC Internal Auditor, informed Raymond Caldwell, the Texas Shakespeare Festival artistic director and his assistant, John Dodd, that they had to move Festival storage out of the Technical Vocational building which was slated for remodeling.
Then Beach told them that he had a location in mind that might serve their needs for at least the next two years.
The Region VII Education Service Center building, located on the corner of East Main Street and Choice Street, has been almost completely vacant for more than 6 years. Other departments of KC have been offered the building, but upon viewing the interior, determined it insufficient for their needs. Caldwell knew immediately that this would be more than perfect for TSF.
“We thought we were getting a costume shop and he (Dan Beach) said, ‘Wait, let me show you – we may have some storage space back here. We walked around the back and saw that and we thought “My gosh” and then we went upstairs and thought, “O my gosh! It just keeps going!” Caldwell said.
TSF has borrowed the band hall, the dance studio, the gymnasium, the Fine Arts Building and the Wesley Foundation in the past. After 24 years of being spread across campus, TSF has been granted a location to call home.
“We’ve never had a place of our own,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell said this new location should save some money for the college considering they would be cooling only two buildings as opposed to the six they had been previously.
“The inside was musty and dank; the carpet was stained and torn; the ceiling tiles were falling; the fluorescent lights were missing; clutter was everywhere and the odor of mildew and mold was pervasive – but the space is big!” Caldwell said.
The building features 15,000 square feet that Beach assures Caldwell will be ready for them to move into by April.
“After a good cleaning, it would make a wonderful costume shop. The college has agreed to tear out the carpet, sand the concrete floor, replace the tiles and lights, remove all of the clutter and paint some walls,” Caldwell said.
The building will accommodate office space for Dodd, the designers, directors and stage managers, the costume shop, the costume storage, a breakfast room, the prop shop, the mail room, a break room, combat and dance rehearsal area and a spacious rehearsal hall.
“We couldn’t ask for anything more … but we probably will,” Caldwell said with a laugh.