This article is sponsored by Nack Development.
Those who know me personally or read my articles know that I have a soft spot for Frisco’s Rail District. I enjoy the boutiques, restaurants, the art… This quaint, historic area of Frisco calls me back again and again.
The people, in particular, have my heart. There’s a strong sense of community amongst the Rail District residents and small business owners, each of whom is dedicated to preserving our town’s history while revitalizing it to become a top-notch family destination.
Live, Work, Play, and PERFORM in the Rail District
By now you’ve likely heard about Nack Development’s role in re-shaping Frisco’s Rail District to be a thriving live/work/play destination. Nack’s various retail, restaurant and residential projects are well underway along Main Street, but there’s another dream project that’s about to become a reality for the youngest members of our community.
The Nack Theatre will soon break ground at Oak and 2nd Streets, bringing a unique entertainment venue to the area — and most importantly, a home for North Texas Performing Arts Frisco.
Formerly referred to as Frisco Youth Theatre, the NTPA-Frisco is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation dedicated to developing the character of youth through quality performing arts education and family entertainment.
I’m fresh off an exhilarating personal experience serving as a “backstage mom” for my daughter’s first role in an NTPA production. I can attest — the troupe’s staff and directors know how to develop and nurture talent in our youth like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
The collaboration between Nack Development and NTPA-Frisco is sure to add another special layer to an already exciting time for the Rail District.
How did Nack Development come to collaborate with NTPA?
The NTPA Board spent almost two years pursuing different rehearsal and performance venues to accommodate the rapid growth of their Frisco troupe. Meanwhile, early in 2018, Nack Development embraced several development opportunities in the downtown Frisco area.
NTPA-Frisco Board Chair Randy Archambault approached CEO and President of Nack Development, Donny Churchman, about his vision for the Rail District and role of a theatre.
Through subsequent collaboration, Randy and the NTPA management team worked through plans and terms over many months. NTPA was eventually selected to be the Resident Company of the Nack Theatre. Randy explains,
The new theatre will allow our youth shows to stage bigger productions, featuring more students, with more opportunities to perform in Frisco. We couldn’t be happier with our partnership with Nack Development to make this happen in the City of Frisco.
Cultivating creativity right at home has been Nack’s vision from the start. There’s a strong appreciation for the arts in Frisco, particularly amongst the younger members of the community. Earlier this year, Donny Churchman described how proud he is of this particular development, saying,
Every project is special. But this one just might be one of our favorites.
Cultivating Creativity in Frisco
North Texas Performing Arts is deeply appreciated by many local families, with troupes not only in Frisco, but also Plano, Dallas, and Fairview.
It began in 1991 when the Plano Children’s Theatre was established by three founding board members. Classes commenced in the spring of 1992 and by the summer there were 175 students. Over time the cities of Fairview, Dallas and Frisco established youth theaters as well and eventually joined together to form North Texas Performing Arts.
The largest private non-profit youth theatre in the country, NTPA has been a part of the Frisco community for half a decade, producing dozens of shows and hundreds of performances each year for students age 5 to 18 years old.
Currently, they host classes, auditions, camps, rehearsals, and productions in each of these cities, and perform in venues all over the North Dallas metroplex. Lindsey Lederer, Managing Director for both NTPA-Frisco and NTPA-Dallas, shared,
Our primary objective is giving our students the opportunity to take the stage. We believe there is no better way to experience the performing arts than being inside, and therefore stage time is central to everything we do.
NTPA Chief Executive Officer Darrell Rodenbaugh, shared,
Frisco is Texas’ sports capital and its families love the performing arts, but there just haven’t been enough stages on which to showcase all of its talent. We’ve been forced to limit our growth in Frisco and to perform in Lewisville, Plano and elsewhere, but the new Nack Theatre will allow us to bring NTPA-Frisco home.
The Vision for The Nack Theater
The Nack Theater will allow NTPA to produce over thirty shows per year in Frisco. All performances will take place on a professional mainstage in a theater that seats hundreds, offering a huge upgrade and more opportunities for students to take the stage.
Students will perform in a proscenium-style, professional theatre environment with state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment. This is also a huge advantage for students wanting to move on to professional or collegiate performing arts careers.
For youth productions, this allows them to stage bigger productions, featuring more students. They’ll also be introducing the award-winning NTPA Repertory Theatre to Frisco, a professional adult theater troupe that will bring “Broadway to the ‘Burbs,” producing high-quality musicals for audiences of all ages. Darrell Rodenbaugh emphasized,
Our experience in our other locations in North Texas and our production plans in Frisco tell us there could be almost 100,000 patrons a year coming through this theatre with a huge positive impact for our merchants and restaurant neighbors in this area.
The theater will feature throwback architecture to look like a historical community theater. And in keeping with the vision for an entertainment destination, it will also host improv and comedy nights, plus a dance theatre for the perfect date night. Donny Churchman explained,
The Arts is such an important fabric to a community. Building a performing arts facility for our youth just made sense. In addition, adding this event space as a place for entertainment in The Rail District fills a much-needed void.
What do the NTPA families say?
Many Frisco parents and supporters volunteer their time each year for productions as their kids take the stage and develop their experience as performers.
From working backstage to selling tickets or helping with costume and set design, parents are often deeply involved right alongside their kids.
With the announcement of the Nack Theater coming to Frisco, these dedicated, passionate NTPA families are thrilled and believe wholeheartedly it will be a positive addition to the community.
We’ve had a WOW experience at NTPA from the start. My son has performed in 3 major productions since his first audition last October. He can’t wait to get to rehearsal every week and has met many new friends and made countless unforgettable memories.
He’s learning how to speak, sing, and dance to a crowd and his confidence is growing measurably as a result. They really do welcome these kids and their parents in like family and let these little people shine and become confident responsible little beings. We’re so excited to be getting a real theater and performance space right here in our hometown of Frisco!
– Kym Loyd Parent Volunteer
We’ve been a part of NTPA for two and a half years and are currently on our 14th show! We absolutely love NTPA because it’s a place where our child can let out all her big, expressive, “over the top” personality and it’s not only celebrated, it’s turned into art.
She has grown so much in her skills through the encouraging professional directors who are fully dedicated to making each child shine to their fullest potential on the stage. I could not recommend NTPA more.
– Melanie Domen Parent Volunteer
What’s the timeline for The Nack Theater?
The North Texas Performing Arts announces a Construction-Start Celebration for its new home at the Nack Theatre on Saturday morning, August 17, 2019, at 11:00 am. Patrons, supporters, and members of the public are welcome to join the celebration and witness a milestone step to what is surely a milestone collaboration between Nack Development and NTPA.
The theatre is expected to open early to mid-2020.
To learn more about becoming involved with North Texas Performing Arts, visit their website or check out the NTPA Give For Frisco page. There’s always a production in motion at one of their locations and they’re always hosting auditions, workshops, and camps.
Fun Fact: Do you remember Maelyn Jarmon who won The Voice earlier this year? She began right here with North Texas Performing Arts!