THE LOTTS’ GIFT TO THE ARTS

From abandoned church to a game-changer in the Dallas theater world

By RACHEL STONE

Lola and Todd Lott wanted to give something back to the Dallas arts world.

Lola Lott owns the post-production video-editing studio Charlie Uniform Tango, and Todd Lott restores old houses. The Lotts found themselves in the position to invest in a “legacy project,” Todd Lott says.

offer workshop and rehearsal space for theater companies as well as studios and art classes. They’ll host summer camps, and in the fall, they’ll begin offering a conservatory for students at nearby Greiner Middle School. They hope to add a number of one-off after-school classes and events as well.

At the helm is Anastasia Muñoz, an actor, director and teacher with years of experience on the Dallas stage.

The building, beautiful and dramatic as it is, gives the city’s theater community one major thing that’s lacking: Space.

It offers theater companies the opportunity to workshop plays at low cost, with a unique venue where donors can see their new work. It opens the door for experimentation, Muñoz says.

“There’s such limited space available,” she says. “They really have to play it safe all the time. Now we have a place to play