All the lake’s a stage

March 2 FREE ADMISSION

Art Scavenger Hunt 10 am – 2 pm

Children’s Art Activity

10 am – 12 noon

Art in Action Sculpture Demo

10 am – 12:30 pm

Family Tours

Hourly from 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

Yoga in the Garden 11:30 am

Presented by YogaSport

(weather permitting)

Creative Writing with The Writer’s Garret 12 pm

Storytime with Dallas Public Library 12:30 pm

NasherKids Live! 1 pm

Science for Kids, Presented by the Perot Museum of Nature and Science

NasherKids Meal at Nasher Cafe

11 am – 2 pm

NasherSculptureCenter.org

Here, all the cranes, turtles, geese, ducks and pelicans are the players

Chances Are You Assumed It Was Just Remnants Of

the White Rock bathhouse beach circa 1953, when Dallasites swam the waters with impunity. It is, sort of.

The poles in the water behind the Bath House Cultural Center are purposefully arranged, atop a swath of concrete that remains on the lake’s bed, to showcase water-wildlife performances. At one time the arrangement included floating disks, and it glowed in the night sky, powered by solar panels, spotlighting the feathery actors.

In 2001 artists Frances Bagley and Tom Orr — sponsored by Dallas Water Utilities Department and the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs — created the White Rock Lake Water Theater, “an environmental work that combines nature with education and art.”

Signage on the beach — faded etchings on concrete columns — educates observers about water-wildlife behavior and what to expect during a given season. The show would constantly change with the weather, light, seasons and wildlife patterns, note the artists, a married couple that lives near the lake.

Daily observations of the lake inspired the project, Bagley says.

“A bird landed on one of the poles and I said to Tom that it looked like its own sculpture. He said, ‘what if we put 100 poles in the water?’ And that’s almost what we did. There were about 80. They used to light up, but some of it has gone into disrepair,” she says. The couple worked tirelessly researching wildlife and laboring in the water to bring their vision to fruition.

On shore, they installed stone columns and seats for humans. The concrete steps near the shoreline and the scopes on the Bath House patio were also part of the project. Support from the city allowed the artists to perform regular maintenance on the installation for five years. “We would get in the water in our wetsuits and check the lights and clean the poles,” she says. The disks had a hard time staying put and the poles are impossible to keep clean, she adds.

Bagley says she fears the piece might not last much longer. “I don’t know if they are going to remove it or have it improved. If they want to improve it, we know a lot now that we didn’t know then and have a lot of new technology. We would be happy to help,” Bagley says.

Though the poles are grungy, the floating disks have disappeared and the lights have gone out, the birds’ show goes on. On any given evening, most of the poles are occupied — the players continue to pause, dive, frolic and sing, oblivious to the ravages of time on their stage.