If drama is what you enjoy, there has been plenty of that this year on and off the stage for art companies that call downtown Houston home. Amid leadership shifts, promoted stars and sadly some departures, if anything is true about the arts scene, it's that nothing stays the same.

Thankfully so. There's nothing more jejune and insipid that doing the same ole thing, year after year after year.

As one of a few cities in the United States that maintains professional troupes in all four performing arts genres — that would be the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Alley Theatre and Houston Ballet — and a myriad of other large to midsize groups — that would be Da Camera of Houston, Gexa Energy Broadway at the Hobby Center, Society for the Performing Arts and Theatre Under The Stars — there are plenty of, shall we say, spectacles to whet the artsy appetites of creative savants and occasional theater goers.

Moreover, there's Uniquely Houston, which partners with smaller nonprofits — including (big breath here) Ambassadors International Folkloric Ballet, Apollo Chamber Players, Ars Lyrica, Arts in Motion, Colombian Folkloric Ballet, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, Gente de Teatro, Houston Ebony Opera Guild, Houston Pride Band, Houston Symphonic Band, Karen Stokes Dance, Music Doing Good, Musiqa, Opera Vista, Samskriti Society for Indian Performing Arts and Virtuosi of Houston — to serve up a slice of what's colorful locally.

The city may have a reputation for its mammoth medical center, oil-loving spirit and, more recently, Bachelorette villain Kalon McMahon, but the Theater District is something Bayou City denizens can claim as being a point of pride.

Are you fully cognizant of what happens and will happen inside downtown theaters this season?

The challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to become an arts ambassador in one day — and here's how to do so.

The Capital One Bank Theater District Open House, set for noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, is your opportunity to amuse-bouche what's aesthetically delicious during the 2012-13 arts calendar, which runs from late August to May-ish. The free event features many performances, backstage tours and meet-and-greets with artists. Crafty activities suitable for children and the young at heart include a costume trunk and a musical instrument petting zoo.

Also, you and your fam can strike a pose at a photo booth sponsored by CultureMap and Cadillac at Wortham Theater Center to get a keepsake of your day.

More than just a fun afternoon on the town, there are special deals up for grabs.

Gexa Energy Broadway at The Hobby Center is offering free Les Mis T-shirts for the first 50 Broadway addicts that purchase tickets. An Alley Theatre eight-play package is available in-person for $325; individual tickets for select performances will be discounted to $21.

The Houston Symphony is offering a six-concert pack for the price of three — and free parking. You can save 50 percent at Society for the Performing Arts, $60 off TUTS subscriptions, 10 percent off the Da Camera of Houston series and Houston Grand Opera select subscriptions, 10 percent off any Uniquely Houston event, and 50 percent off Houston Ballet's Madame Butterfly show in September.

The day is jammed-packed with shows. How do you best take it all in? Here's CultureMap's suggested route:

• Da Camera Chamber Music at 12:15 p.m. at Wortham. You'll hear the intimate side of classical music at its best.
• Stay for Houston Ballet II's 1 p.m. performance at Wortham. The emerging company of the ballet will flaunt a pas de deux and excerpts from works by artistic director Stanton Welch.
• Galivant to Jones Hall for an interactive performance at 2 p.m. by a cast member from STOMP, presented by Society for the Performing Arts.
• Hop to Hobby Center for Ars Lyrica at 3:15 p.m. It's early music like you've never heard before.
• Then, you have a choice between a Gexa Energy Broadway Musical Revue performed by the Music Box Theater (3:40 p.m. at Hobby) or returning to Jones Hall for Houston Symphony's big musical splash, a concert that crowns Theater District Open House.

Or design your own schedule here.