Pocket Theatre Inc

What it reported doing in 2025

Season 49 opened not in the actual theater, but in the BackYard concessions area with a rough and tumble performance of Sam Shepard's The Mad Dog Blues, directed by Christina Cranshaw with original music written and performed nightly by Chris Curtis. Following, was a rousing rendition of Federico Garcia Lorca's play, The Billy Club Puppets, directed by Yvonne Duque-Guerrero with original acoustic music composed and performed by Darrin Kobetich. "The brilliance of The Billy Club Puppets lies in the way it buries so much bruising misery under verbal high jinks and physical comedy. Hip Pocket's production creates just the right balance between the silly and the darkly thought-provoking." - Manuel Mendoza, The Dallas Morning News. After this, Old Mother West Wind "came down from the purple hills to the green meadows" to share her homespun wisdom. Adapted from the Thornton Burgess short story by Johnny Simons, Lake Simons took over the directing duties this time around. Original music was written by Douglas Balentine in 1979, when this play was originally offered at the original Hwy. 80 location. For this performance, Douglas' music was transcribed and re-created by Joe Rogers and John Dyers, who shared music directorship as well as performing duties each night. Emily Scott Banks returned again in 2025 to adapt and direct George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House. "Director Emily Scott Banks uses the high-energy cast to great effect: conversations are full of bluster, posing, quips, digs, an declarations. But too, Banks takes care to show us the layers of the play...."- Jan Farrington, Onstage NTX. In place of the fifth and final show, Hip Pocket hosted internationally-acclaimed Bread and Puppet traveling theater for a one night only performance to great success. Although fewer performances were offered in 2025, HPT launched additional programming geared to local artists: Moonlit Readings and the Cowtown Puppet Slam, both of which offered up-and-coming artists an opportunity to present their work to the community and at the same time, allow the community to experience a new generation of local artistry, bringing new and varied audience members to Hip Pocket.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 70.7%; rating input score 71
• Program expense ratio: 69.2%; rating input score 69
• Fundraising efficiency: $5.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -2.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 15.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings