EXTREME MAKEOVER: TOTS EDITION

Theatre Off The Square, the quaint little venue which is just down the street from the Weatherford downtown square, is getting a makeover.

It’s still going to have that homey feel for patrons, but now it’ll be a bit of a new atmosphere mixed in.

The planned big ticket work items include:

Insulation and ceiling remodel, which is in progress.

Replacing the pews with aluminum risers and chairs that will allow for raking the seating as well as for easily moving the seating into new configurations.

One future project will remove the existing pews and bring in raked seating.

Theatre Off The Square

Replacing the flooring (remove carpet and go with completely wood floors).

Raked seating is seating which is positioned on an upwards slope away from the stage, in order to give those in the audience at the back a better view than if the seats were all on the same level.

Additional or improved signage outside in front of the theatre is being considered.

“We’ve started a slow rollout of renovations on the theatre to update the space. We have a vision that we’re heading toward, and we’re taking it one project at a time as we try to raise the money to do it,” said TOTS President Jaclyn Justice. “Our first one is mid-progress. We had spray-in insulation installed to help with temperature in the building so that patrons are more comfortable and to help with utility costs.

“Then, we removed the drop ceiling in the house to gain a little height and so that we see the wood supports instead. Eventually, we’ll paint it all out black (the insulation is already painted black). It gives it a more open feel and will look a little more industrial instead of, you know, a drop ceiling.”

Working with a budget

TOTS board member Clara Moltz said they are approaching the renovations as they are able. For each project they have projected budgets and are taking it one at a time.

“It would be nice to have them all done within specific time frames, but we have to approach each project within the time frames of shows that are scheduled through the year,” she said. “Our current project, the drop down ceiling removal, has had to have pause points where we could still put the show on, but we have our next work day planned to continue the project after the run of our current production. Once that is complete, we will approach the next project.”

Justice added that since TOTS is funded entirely through ticket sales and donations from patrons, the timing of the other projects will largely depend on fundraising to complete each phase.

“We always want to be responsible financial stewards of our organization, so our intent is to communicate funding needs and find ways to raise the funds we need before embarking on the projects so that our theatre is always in a good place, financially, to remain independent and in operation,” she said. “I would love to have them completed over the course of this season, but it largely depends on funding. But we’ll keep chipping away until we’re able to update the space as needed.”

With the stage covered during renovation, work is underway for some improvements to Theatre Off The Square, or TOTS, in Weatherford.

Theatre Off The Square

No show interruptions

The pattern of TOTS’ season has multiple off weeks between shows. It is due to these breaks they are able to step back into projects and establish those pause points if necessary.

“We’re running the calendar of our season as we normally do and are able to work around our schedule without interrupting our programming,” Justice said.

Long overdue

Justice said TOTS purchased the building just over 20 years ago. The only work she remembers being done prior to this was rebricking and repairing the outside of the building after someone ran into the side of it with their vehicle several summers ago.

“That’s why the building currently has two different brick styles on the outside,” she said.

While not part of the renovations, Moltz noted that TOTS was able to recently purchase additional sound equipment to improve functionality of the microphones that are used during a musical production. They have also been able to obtain systems to aid in communication between the front of house and back of house tech teams.

“This has helped shows run smoothly as we started our season this year and was made possible through donations made during North Texas Giving Day in 2024,” she said.

Other ideas

Moltz said some other future projects she’d like to see but that do not currently have solid plans to implement are:

Renovating the bathrooms to be three individual bathrooms. Currently, there are three stalls in the women’s restroom, but only one men’s restroom available.

Researching updates to the accessibility to the theatre.

“We’re definitely a work in progress and probably will be for a long time, but we’re dedicated to making our space the best it can be for our patrons and for the artists that create theatre in our space,” Justice said. “In a time when several theatre companies in DFW have had to move or, worse, to shutter because they’ve lost access to their space, we’re thankful that we own our building. It has its challenges, but it’s ours — even if we have to work little by little to adapt it to what we want it to be.”

“For the audience, they’ll feel more comfortable with the changes in insulation and updated seating. Their overall experience will also be better because views will be better, and it’ll open up the variety of things we can do, making for a more varied experience.”

“For the theatricians, opening up what we can produce and being able to be bold with how we present shows is refreshing as an artist. It allows us to do things that are new and different instead of feeling stagnated by doing all the same things.”

You can help

Justice noted that TOTS is exploring more options of fundraising. Anyone who’d like to help can do so, from large donations to simply putting a dollar or two in the building fund tip jar at concessions during a performance.

“We’re run entirely by volunteers who are giving their time,” she said. “We don’t have any paid staff, so this is a labor of love for everyone who runs our theatre.”