Houston Chronicle: Spring Observer|Spring News
Cypress Creek arts group continues its mission after Harvey
By Lindsay Peyton, columnist
Updated June 6, 2018 11:30 a.m.

When Harvey hit Houston, Nanci Decker headed to the Centrum.

She has served as executive director for the Cypress Creek Foundation for the Arts and Community Enrichment (FACE) for almost two decades, and the Centrum, with its 881-seat performance facility, had become more than her business headquarters.

“It was my second home,” she said. Decker had so many positive memories of her career in the space, watching her children growing up backstage, spending time in the audience and experience music and art in the performances she helped produce.

That’s why she was willing to cross the rising waters to assess the damage at the space firsthand. While others were fleeing their homes, Decker went against traffic and waded through high water. She was met by three people on a boat, who happened to be an usher for FACE and her husband and son. They agreed to ferry her to the building.

“It was white-knuckles,” she said. “It was like a raging river was on Cypresswood. It was terrifying.” When Decker made her way inside, she saw 2 feet of water already covering the premises, covering chairs and rustling up to the stage.

After she left the theater, and was still standing in the floodwater, her mind filled with questions: “Are we this building? Or are we an arts foundation?”

Decker was reminded of FACE’s mission, to provide cultural arts programming and educational opportunities for the community. “That doesn’t mean the Centrum,” she said. “It means we provide opportunities to enlighten and improve the lives of our patrons through the arts.”

Her journey of reimagining the organization began. Even without a home, Decker was convinced that the show must go on for FACE.

Now that the season has closed, Decker can look back and recount the steps that brought the organization to where she is today and through the aftermath of Harvey.

The day after the flood, she started her hunt for a new office building. “I drove up and down Louetta, looking for a lease space,” she said. Then she headed to the Centrum to clean out the box office and administrative areas. “We had quite a bit of stuff in the building after being there for 20 years,” she said. “I sent out an SOS to volunteers, and we packed up everything.” By that weekend, the moving truck was loaded and FACE left the Centrum.

One week later, Decker found a new space and volunteers headed in, painted the walls and moved in new furniture. Then, she sent an email to Klein Independent School District, explaining the situation. Klein had reserved a number of field trips with FACE before the storm and now there was nowhere to host them.

“Only 5 seconds later, my phone rang,” Decker said. Superintendent Bret Champion wanted to provide some assistance. “The Klein Cain staff and our fine arts team jumped at the opportunity to help,” he said. “Offering the Klein Cain auditorium for rental so that FACE could continue with their planned concerts was an easy decision for us.” Champion said that keeping FACE in action was important to him.

“After Harvey, providing an outlet for our community to experience and enjoy the arts was just a part of the rebuilding process,” he said. “Harvey was such a community effort, and we just wanted to do our part in helping FACE bring the arts to the community.”

Klein Cain High School had recently opened and did not have an established theatre or orchestra program yet, leaving ample room for FACE productions on its stage. The school hosted the first three “Star-Lit! Series” productions.

Decker also connected with Cy-Fair ISD and moved two of the “Star-Lit! Series” shows to Cypress Ridge High in February and March.

Klein Collins High School provided the stage for FACE’s Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass concert on May 20, closing out the season.

FACE found a new home for its senior programs, “the Promenade Series,” as well at John Wesley United Methodist Church, 5830 Bermuda Dunes Dr. in Champions.

Harris County Precinct 4 and Commissioner Jack Cagle offered a space for FACE’s “Free Children’s Series” at the Mangum-Howell Community Center. “The families there embraced the series and were really appreciative,” Decker said. She said that at times explaining the changing locations was difficult, but all in all, a lot of good came from the experience.

“We’re like a traveling art show, and that brought us a lot of exposure,” she said. FACE gained new audiences and found more followers along the way, Decker explained. And now, the organization is considering a future without a home base for its productions. The season has wrapped, and Decker is not sure when or if they will return to the Centrum.

“We want to make sure that everyone knows, that while the season has been difficult, we’re not gone,” she said. “We’re still in a holding pattern, and we don’t really know what’s going to happen. I can’t think about that. I want to go forward, to move forward.”

Decker has been busy preparing for summer camps and she also recently launched an underwriting campaign for the next season at FACE.

She still sees area residents struggling in the aftermath of the storm - and intends to bring some relief to them through the performing arts. “Driving down Cypresswood Dr. is heartbreaking,” she said. “If we can provide just a little joy in their lives, then we’ve done our mission.”