A sign on one wall of Angela Brooks’ office reads: “Building Character…One Stage at a Time.” The words, juxtaposed with two masks – the symbol of theatre arts – are the tagline for San Angelo Broadway Academy, but they could also be Brooks’ personal motto. For nearly 12 years, the nonprofit’s executive director has offered theater opportunities to countless children with production workshops four times a year culminating in musicals. The academy also offers acting, dance and voice lessons, and is home to West Texas’ only nationally-award winning dance team, Continuum.  

Brooks estimated that, on average, 250 kids traipse through SABA’s North Taylor building each week, and about 700 per year are involved in its productions and classes.  

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“There are a lot of kids who are bullied at school who can’t find a niche,” Brooks said from behind the desk of her office, where – fresh-faced, wearing a “Seussical the Musical” T-shirt, her auburn hair loose around her shoulders – she could have easily passed for one of SABA’s students. “The majority of kids at SABA are pretty accepting of everybody. The kids who are judged at school come here and find a place where they belong.” 

Brooks grew up in San Angelo and was involved in dance, pageants, and voice and music lessons as a child. She picked up dancing again as an adult and, while attending college, traveled back and forth to New York City for auditions and dance training.  

In June of 2006, Brooks started Camp Broadway Kids for 35 children, who performed the musical, “Annie.” Two months later, in response to multiple parents’ requests, Brooks opened San Angelo Broadway Academy Youth Theatre at its current location on North Taylor Street. 

In the meantime, Brooks continued training in New York, where her acting professor forced her to confront her options. “She said, ‘You either perform or you teach; you cannot do both,’” she recalled. “I could either continue to go to these amazing graduate schools, or come back to San Angelo, Texas, and let that go. I had started training children in San Angelo who now had goals for themselves. I had a giant decision.” 

Brooks considered selling SABA but ultimately opted to abandon her dream of dancing professionally. “I had a wealth of knowledge to share,” she said. “I prayed about it, and the door stayed open to stay here.” 

Brooks, who shares three sons with her husband, Andy, is confident she made the right call. “Things fell into place,” she said. “And if I’d have left, those things would’ve never happened.” 

She still manages to carve out time devoted to theatre arts and dance – both for herself and the youth under her tutelage.

 

“As an artist, you always have to keep growing so you can fuel your passion and feed it to others”
- Angela Brooks

 

“If I’d sat stagnant, I wouldn’t be the best educator for those kids.”  

At the end of the day, Brooks knows that she and the staff at SABA are making a difference. 

“For me, it’s not just success stories of kids who have fantastic jobs or make it big” in theater and dance after they graduate, she said. “It’s about kids who walk in here and can’t speak six works because they’re so shy, or the kid who is not the perfect body type to be a ballerina. It’s a place where kids from all walks of life can find a place to belong and flourish.” 

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