Amber Bolden has already had a number of roles in her life. She’s a business entrepreneur several times over, a mom and stepmom to five kids ages 4 to 18, a community performer and leader and a brand-new public-school teacher.
But her debut in a leading role as executive director of Far-Cast Theatre may be her most challenging yet: Creating a diverse theatre company from the ground up with limited resources and funding and stepping into the director’s shoes for the first time after years as a performer.
“Far-Cast is not a Black theatre per se, but with our mission of inclusivity, we want to present thoughtful, insightful theatrical productions and opportunities for all cultures and communities,” said Bolden. The fledgling organization has presented one theatre production and held a summer improv workshop for youth and will produce another play in November — with more to come as it grows and finds its footing in the local arts community.
Wacoan writer Susan Bean Aycock sat down with Bolden recently in between training sessions for her new job as theatre teacher at G.W. Carver Middle School to talk about turning passion into possibility, jumping into opportunity with both feet and trying to balance it all.
So, there’s a newcomer to the arts community of Waco. What is Far-Cast Theatre and what niche does it hope to fill?
Far-Cast Theatre is a proud, local nonprofit theatre that we hope will add diverse influence to the dramatic arts scene in Waco. We’re committed to supporting Black, Brown and other under-represented artists in all theatre-related roles: performing, directing, technical support, writing and teaching. Our goal is to create a welcoming, inclusive and empowering space for artists and audiences alike.
We believe that there is everything to gain by encouraging diverse voices and perspectives on stage. Theatre is a cultural tapestry, and in ours, we share our different stories and viewpoints; provide opportunity for equitable representation; defy stereotypes; and educate and involve the community.
We hope to share a wide range of dramatic material by playwrights that audiences might not be familiar with, and offer workshops and classes that interject the joy of performance into people’s daily lives. Yes, we have a serious mission of inclusion, but we have fun with it — and we want Waco’s diverse community to feel that joy too!
What about the name, Far-Cast? Just curious, why the hyphen?
There’s a poem by Henry Cuyler Bunner called ‘The Heart of the Tree’ that speaks of the ‘far-cast thought of civic good.’ The hope is that the theatre, like the person who plants a tree, will be a part of the community’s growth, changing it for the better. Far-Cast has a hyphen in it because it’s written that way in the poem.
Tell me about your debut production, its key players and community reaction to it.
We presented our first theatre production in February, ‘Trouble in Mind’ by Alice Childress, at the Waco Civic Theatre. [The comedic drama is about a mixed group of Black and white actors rehearsing a ‘progressive’ Broadway play about the American South that turns out to be anything but progressive.]
I directed this production in my directorial debut! My actors were great; most were either new to theatre or it had been so long that it was new again. We had the opportunity to feature a student and theatre teacher from a local high school, a pastor and a guy used to being onstage but as a jazz musician, so it really was a reflection of the community and a community effort.
We did four performances in Friday through Sunday matinées, with two performances on Saturday, and Sunday’s closing performance was sold out. We had an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from our audiences. People have asked us since if there was a video made of it [not a full one since the rights weren’t purchased] and when the next show will be [November].
What direction have things taken as you get the theatre going?
After our first production this winter, we saw that other local theatres had the spring pretty filled up and it was graduation time, so we focused on kids for summer. Most summer camps take off the week of July 4. We were able to come in and fill that gap by offering ‘Let’s Play,’ a beginning-level improv workshop for kids in third through 12th grades.
All week, we played improv games focusing on building confidence. We played ‘big characters,’ with ‘big’ meaning outside of and larger than yourself, like the role of teacher, king or grandma. The kids also learned how to add to a scene using the principles of ‘Yes, And’ [accepting what another improviser says and then building on it]. We had 37 kids come out of the workshop with more confidence and teamwork skills. There were some who were born performers, and some who just needed a push to come out of their shell.
What does performance art inclusion look like?
Everyone should have a platform to express themselves, and we want to provide that platform through performances and educational programs. We invite participation by artists of all backgrounds, not necessarily in what were specifically designed as roles for people of color.
We’re choosing our theatre productions to reflect the complexities and nuances of Black and Brown life in contemporary society. We plan to present shows that deal with identity and self-discovery, the harsh realities of systemic injustice, family, community, gender and sexuality. Even though the themes may sound heavy we also celebrate the joys of life in our productions.
You’re still in your first year of operation — how’s it going so far?
We’re coming along with the structure of the theatre and how it operates so that we can find our place in the community. We’ve created a small board of directors, a fundraising committee and a committee to choose plays so that it’s not just all me selecting them. We’re trying to enlarge our presence in the community; I make phone calls and send emails to potential donors and contacts, and I do my best to get out and support other theatres. We also try to stay active on social media.
Our main goal this first year is to continue building relationships within the community. We plan to have two to three productions a year until we have a formal staff and can do more. Since this is such a small, grassroots organization, I pretty much do everything right now as executive director. But I’m always listening and taking suggestions and collaborative ideas from people with experience.
Though I love to be onstage myself, right now I have this passion for cultivating my community and creating this space in the performing arts, so that’s the path I’m walking.
Where do you perform your productions and offer your programs?
Since we’re a fledgling operation, we don’t have our own facility yet, so we’re spreading ourselves around the community. We held our debut production at the Waco Civic Theatre in February. Our youth improv workshop this summer was held at Art Center Waco. Our fall production will be at the Legacy Event Center in Hewitt. The theatre office is in my house. I’d love to have a permanent theatre facility some day on Elm Street or in the new Brazos downtown development area.
What space does Far-Cast fill in Waco?
If we talk about growing our city culturally, and truly do want to attract all kinds of people to our city, we have to offer variety. The first thing a visitor wants to know is, ‘What is there to do in Waco?’ If we only offer one type of activity targeted to one demographic, then the covert message is that if these aren’t your type of activities or demographic, you don’t belong here. As a Black woman, I can’t help but view the world through that lens. In founding this theatre, I’m working hard to include varied cultures and viewpoints on the board and production selection committee to make sure that we stay true to our mission of inclusivity.
Even as new as I am to the scene, I’m pretty sure that I’m one of very few directors who look like me in central Texas. Theatre has always been a passion of mine — something in my heart and my head — and being part of theatre in our community has shown me just how much we still need diverse representation.
How is a performer like yourself involved in community outreach?
This spring, I served as the MC for the Levitt AMP concert series [sponsored by Creative Waco and the Levitt Foundation at Bridge Street Plaza] and I loved that! I read books to kids as part of Art Center Waco’s Juneteenth celebration. I’ve also joined in efforts of organizations like Keep Waco Beautiful and the local chambers of commerce.
So what’s your personal backstory and education?
I grew up in Waco and attended Alta Vista Montessori and Carver Academy; I graduated from Waco High School after it had become a performing arts magnet school. My mom was an overnight nurse-assistant for the VA, and we lived in Robinson. But while she worked, I mostly stayed with family and babysitters in or near the projects, so I’ve always had a foot in both sides of Waco.
I first went to LeTourneau [University in Longview] with an opportunity to play third base for their women’s softball team. I stayed there for two years until I was done with competitive softball, then transferred to and graduated from Tarleton State University with a major in psychology and a minor in theatre. Studying psychology really helped my communication and interpersonal skills, which I’ve used in my various work positions.
Tell me about some of those ‘various’ positions that have all served as valuable experience for founding a business and working with people, especially kids.
Life and maybe a little genetics have taught me creativity and entrepreneurial skills, and how to land right-side-up through life’s many obstacles. I recently closed my cleaning company, SWEEP, which was a side gig I started in 2015 that turned into a real business. At one time, I had 20 people either employed or contracted, including a group from Mission Waco of formerly incarcerated individuals. But I knew it was time for a change, so I’ve recently closed down its operation.
I was a professional nanny for a few years, with a specialty of working with newborn multiples — twins and one set of triplets. I worked in teen advocacy in Austin for Pyxis Path [a mental health provider for youth]. In that program, Medicare paid for adult advocates to help troubled teens in the juvenile system navigate the real world. I put in about 25 ‘buddy hours’ a week while I was still studying psychology.
One of my cases was a teenage girl who struggled with kleptomania; her exotic dancer mother had taught her how to shoplift. We’d do exercises where we went into a store with the express goal of looking and not touching. She did pretty well until nearly the end of her advocacy hours, when she shoplifted some earrings that she really wanted for her mom, who had a solo show that night.
I’ve also worked with the Girl Scouts of Central Texas; I became connected to them in 2016 through their cleaning contract with my company. They had been after me for a while to become a program specialist, and in 2022 I finally did — delivering programs using STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] and helping with curriculum for Girl Scouts from Waco to Killeen. I’ve worked part-time with Girl Scouts since then, but am transitioning out of that work because of my other commitments.
Now, I also have a new role that’s an all-encompassing version of what I’ve been doing throughout my entire work history: teaching. I’m just starting the school year as a theatre teacher at G.W. Carver Middle School in the Waco ISD. This fall, we’ll be putting on ‘Moana Jr.’ and participate in UIL’s [University Interscholastic League] ‘One Act Play.’
Tell me about your family. Have you been in Waco since you grew up here?
When I met my husband, Curtis, in 2010, he had three kids who are now 18, 16 and 14. We married in 2015 and lost our first baby, Rainey, from a spleen rupture three days after her birth. Together we now have Journee, 6, and Carter, 4. Journee was our ‘rainbow baby.’ We were living in Dallas when we lost Rainey. I needed to grieve but I also needed to work, and a friend in the acting community there asked me to clean at their place downtown. I was cleaning for several people in the Dallas area when we decided to come back to Waco to be closer to family and friends. I legitimized the business into a full cleaning service and brought it to Waco.
I am so very sorry for your loss. Speaking of laying emotions bare, how do you think theatre can do that?
Thank you. Performing art is a way to deal with emotional and heavy cultural issues that you may not be able to just sit down and talk about: politics, sex, drugs, race. Theatre can show us different perspectives on these issues in ways that aren’t so threatening. Our society is so divisive right now, especially with it being an election year. Theatre can make difficult topics more palatable.
If you recognize something on stage as absurd, then you may start to think about how absurd it is in real life too. The stage provides a mirror to make us take a look at our situations, to come face-to-face with our own humanity, and confront our circumstances through the balance of our strengths and weaknesses.
Have you always been involved in the performing arts?
I was a cheerleader and the Lady Lion mascot at Waco High School, and was always performing! Growing up in Waco, there just weren’t many people who looked like me that I even knew of who wanted to get onstage. It wasn’t anyone’s fault — it was just the way it was — but it’s what sparked my idea to create a more inclusive theatre. Brown actresses of a certain size usually get the comedic roles. I am a naturally a humorous person — I even tried stand-up comedy for a couple of years in Austin — but I also really enjoy the challenge of playing more dramatic roles.
For instance, in Silent House Theatre Company’s production of ‘The Crucible,’ I played the role of Tituba, a slave from Barbados accused of witchcraft. I was in productions of ‘Hairspray’ at MCC and ‘Rent’ at Waco Civic Theatre, and in a female version of ‘The Odd Couple’ in Huntsville. But honestly, local roles for actresses of color just aren’t that plentiful.
I had to take a halt from theatre while I ran my cleaning business, since it had so many moving parts, but now I’m back to it. Even though I really would rather perform instead of direct and administrate, I want to do something that nobody else is currently focusing on. It’s nothing new for me to jump now and justify later. I’m still learning how to not just be involved in theatre, but how to actually run one.
You’ve just finished a cohort of Waco’s LeadershipPlenty® Institute [LPI], which promotes inclusivity in identifying and developing community leaders. What did you get out of that? [Guided by Baylor University’s Office of External Affairs, LPI receives underwriting and support from the Waco Foundation.]
For years, I avoided that part of my character meant to be a leader, but in hindsight, I was always doing something leader-related. LPI really honed those leadership skills in a cohesive and formal way. We were guided through modules led by established local leaders, and the program culminated in a formal introduction of us to the community as bonafide leaders.
What’s Far-Cast’s next production and when?
Our next show is ‘Fairview’ in November [dates TBA] at the Legacy Event Center in Hewitt, 208 Chama Dr. [The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Jackie Sibblies Drury follows a middle-class Black family as they prepare for a birthday dinner, only to be scrutinized by four white people. The Pulitzer committee called the play ‘a hard-hitting drama that examines race in a highly conceptual, layered structure, ultimately bringing audiences into the actors’ community to face deep-seated prejudices.’]
What are your far-cast dreams for the theatre?
In my dreams, Far-Cast would be a staple thread in a whole blanket of theatre offerings within the community. I’d love to see us be a year-round powerhouse for performing arts, with theatre productions, workshops, classes for all ages and venue space for other performing arts such as film festivals or touring shows. I’d like to provide community outreach with a house troupe who gets out and works with schools and other groups.
Do you have a personal motto you live by?
I thought you’d never ask! At a conference of leaders for Girl Scouts of Central Texas, we took Sally Hogshead’s Fascinate System test [the author and motivational speaker’s personality test that assesses what makes a person valuable by their differences.] My profile was the Maverick Leader, and there were only three of us among the nearly 200 leaders there.
From the test, my personal motto turned out to be ‘Done, but Different.’ That’s definitely me!
