For New Braunfels Performing Arts, a new building means more than more seats and more space. It means seeing a dream Sherry Bettersworth first had in 2012 finally take shape.
Over the years, Sherry and her team have made the most of their black box theater off Wald Road. It may be small, but the shows happening inside have been anything but. Audiences kept coming, performances kept selling out, and people have been traveling from all over the Hill Country to see what was happening on that little stage.
“This is a small black box, and we still sell out our shows because people are excited to come see what we're doing,” Sherry says.
That excitement helped pave the way for the next chapter: a new, state-of-the-art theater with about 350 seats, along with expanded classrooms, a dance studio, additional voice rooms, and a recording studio.
For Sherry, the new theater opens the door to productions the organization simply could not fit into its current space. Shows like Willy Wonka, Alice in Wonderland, Spamalot, and Beauty and the Beast require larger sets and more room to bring the story to life.
“I’m most excited because we're going to have this new space that is going to allow us to do things that we have been limited and not being able to do,” Sherry says.
Garrett Bettersworth, Sherry’s son, has also brought his theater experience back to New Braunfels after spending several years in Los Angeles working in the performing arts. Together, the two have continued building on what New Braunfels Performing Arts has already established, with an emphasis on giving students and performers meaningful opportunities to grow.
The new building will simply give them more room to do it.
“Since the space is ours, we'll be able to invest more in the show and the product itself,” Garrett says. “We'll be able to bring higher quality shows, higher quality productions, and give it back to the artists performing in them.”
And the plans reach well beyond musical theater. The new facility will create room for more classes, community art displays, music performances, and opportunities for emerging artists. With more classrooms, New Braunfels Performing Arts can welcome more students and teachers, giving young performers more chances to learn and grow.
That investment in people has always been at the heart of what Sherry does. Former students have gone on to college programs, scholarships, and professional careers, then returned to share their experience with the next generation.
For Garrett, there is one person who deserves a little more credit than she usually gives herself.
“She really is the heart and soul of this thing,” he says of his mom. “She kept this thing alive and thriving.”
Sherry, meanwhile, is quick to turn the gratitude back toward the community. She is thankful for the families who fill the seats, the volunteers who give their time, the students who keep coming back, and the performers who have stuck with the organization through every stage of its growth.
And when the doors to the new theater finally open, she wants those same people to feel like it belongs to them.
“The one big goal we have in moving to this new building is to make sure it's affordable for the people we love to come to the show,” Sherry says.
After all, the new building may be bigger, but the heart behind it has been there all along.
Pull Quote Options:
“I’m so excited that all of these people who have supported us are going to get to go to a state-of-the-art, brand-new facility.” - Sherry
“Everyone in the community has been willing to come on this ride with me.” - Sherry
“There’s something different about seeing live performances. It’s just an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life.” - Garrett