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Following Months of Planning and COVID Setbacks, Dallas Theater Center Implements an Innovative and Adaptive Approach to Theater
The season includes a new film adaptation of A Christmas Carol, two live immersive experiences based on War of the Worlds and Grimms’ Fairy Tales, a world premiere from local playwright Jonathan Norton, a musical that celebrates workers, and new safety protocols.
DALLAS (October 27, 2020)- Dallas Theater Center announces its innovative 2020-2021 season comprised of six unique theatrical productions and films. The theater returns to producing with a blended season that includes virtual productions, and two live immersive theater experiences and a return to the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre with three traditional theater productions for live audiences in the spring.
The six-event season includes a world premiere comedy written by Jonathan Norton specifically for this season; the regional premiere of an adaptation of a best selling book; a musical revue celebrating working people; unique, immersive explorations of Grimm fairy tales and a science fiction classic; and a new film inspired by A Christmas Carol.
The entire season will highlight the artistry of Dallas Theater Center’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company, who will comprise the casts, and the theater’s full-time production staff, who will design and build all the productions.
“Despite the immense challenges of COVID-19, we are overjoyed that we are returning to produce a full season of unique productions, along with an array of education and community engagement virtual programs, even while we wait for the day when we can once again welcome large audiences back into our theater spaces,” said Kevin Moriarty, Dallas Theater Center’s Enloe/Rose Artistic Director. “To serve our community, we will innovate throughout the season with a mixture of programming that will be filmed and distributed digitally, as well as interactive theatrical experiences that can be experienced in person by audiences who are socially distanced. We hope to welcome small, live audiences back to the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the spring for intimate productions, which will also be distributed digitally for those who are unable to return to public spaces at that time.”
Despite the pandemic creating many unforeseen challenges, the theater put together a compelling season that reflects the current climate.
“One of the challenges we have faced in returning has been the requirement by Actors’ Equity, our national union partner, that actors cannot return for live performances until the case count reaches 5 per 100,000 people in the county,” said Jeff Woodward, Dallas Theater Center’s Managing Director. “Unfortunately, in Dallas County and for most regions of the country, we are well above this number, so very few professional theater companies in this country have been able to have live performances. But, we can safely film the actors and use their work in the two immersive experiences.”
DALLAS THEATER CENTER 20/21 SEASON
The season begins on December 4 with the release of In the Bleak Midwinter: A Christmas Carol for Our Time. Written and directed by Moriarty, this film is a bold reimagining of the Charles Dickens’ classic holiday story. The on-demand video will be distributed digitally to subscribers and ticket buyers throughout the holiday season starting on December 4th.
In the winter, the theater will welcome live audiences to experience two unique theatrical events produced outdoors and indoors and allow for social distancing. From January 22 - 31, location yet to be determined, Tiffany Nicole Greene (resident director of Hamilton) will direct Something Grim(m), an immersive theatrical exploration of the fairy tale form. This innovative work, which Greene created and devised with the Brierley Resident Acting Company, will encompass visual art, scenescapes, and a captivating audio soundtrack that will be experienced as a site-specific work of performance art.
The second event, War of the Worlds: An Immersive Theatrical Experience, is written by Moriarty and directed by Christie Vela. From February 22 - February 28 (only 8 performances), this unique in-person theatrical experience immerses audience members into the classic science fiction story by H.G. Wells. As news spreads that Martians are coming to earth and the world prepares for a violent clash, the audience receives phone calls and texts warning them of pending danger. They are ushered into a hiding place to take shelter from the battle, but the war outside gets perilously close. Soon the audience is on the move again, attempting to escape the assault of the extraterrestrials. Combining cell phones, audio drama, video technology, and elements of a haunted house, War of the Worlds explores various storytelling techniques to engage the audience in a thrilling sci-fi adventure brought to life.
In the spring, the theater will welcome small, socially-distanced audiences to the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre for three plays that will be offered for in-person audiences and on video for safe home viewing.
Cake Ladies (April 3 - May 15, 2021) is a world premiere comedy from Dallas Theater Center’s playwright-in-residence Jonathan Norton (penny candy), written specifically for this special season. The Scott County Community Playhouse is the pride of Cedar Oak, Texas, a city ravaged by the second-largest drug-fueled H.I.V. outbreak ever to hit small-town America. When the COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the playhouse production of Angels in America, the loss is a devastating blow to a city desperate to mend. As the virus spreads, Cedar Oak's dark past comes to the surface, and best friends LeAnne (Sally Nystuen Vahle) and Tweedy-Bird (Liz Mikel) - affectionately known as "the cake ladies" - must confront their buried secrets to make Angels soar again!
Tiny Beautiful Things, based on New York Times bestseller by Cheryl Strayed, adapted by Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and directed by Joel Ferrell, runs in rep with Cake Ladies from April 10 - May 15, 2021. This regional premiere follows Sugar, an online advice columnist who uses her personal experiences to help the real-life readers who pour their hearts out. Tiny Beautiful Things is rich with humor, insight, compassion, and absolute honesty - a play about reaching out when you want to sink in, healing when you’re broken, and having the courage to ask questions with no easy answers.
The season ends with Working: A Musical, directed by Tiana Kaye Blair, with performances from June 1 - June 27, 2021. The lyrics of the first song say it all: “I hear America singing.” Based on Studs Terkel’s bestselling book, this unique musical features average working Americans’ real-life words, set to music by a diverse collection of extraordinary storytelling songwriters. Through original songs by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights), James Taylor, and others, Working lifts the voices of teachers, waiters, truck drivers, and the essential workers who often go unnoticed but whose work uplifts our lives day in and day out.
“This season would not be possible without the extraordinary, generous support of our subscribers, donors, and the philanthropic community,” said Woodward. “All of us at the Dallas Theater Center are extremely grateful as these gifts have enabled us to keep the full-time staff intact and thus produce a season of plays, films, and theatrical experiences along with continuing education and community engagement programs for our community.”
SPECIAL ONE-NIGHT-ONLY PERFORMANCES
On December 12, in Strauss Square at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas Theater Center will present A Christmas Carol in Concert, a one-night-only holiday concert featuring community members and actors from their Brierley Resident Acting Company reading excerpts from Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas novel, interspersed with performances of traditional holiday songs. The outdoor performance will feature social distancing for all audience members, and masks will be required as people of all ages come together to celebrate the holidays, join in a Christmas sing-along, and enjoy a few special surprises!
In July, Dallas Theater Center’s Public Works Dallas program celebrates a year of creative classes and workshops held online and at community partner sites across Dallas with a week of live, socially-distanced performances. Each day, join us at a new location throughout the city to enjoy scenes, songs, and artistry created and performed by members of our diverse community in collaboration with Dallas Theater Center’s professional artists, culminating in a one-night showcase presentation at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre on July 24, 2021.
COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION
Since ceasing public performances in March, Dallas Theater Center has maintained an active series of classes, workshops, and community engagement for children and participants of all ages. The award-winning Project Discovery program offers virtual productions for middle and high schools, including virtual professional development workshops for teachers, preshow virtual webinar workshops for students, and post-show engagement opportunities with cast members from the show. The new Production Classroom video series provides a fun and informative videos covering all production areas, from costumes to props, scenic to sound. The Virtual Classroom series offers classes online for ages 8 and up, guided by a diverse collection of creative professionals.
Dallas Theater Center’s Public Works Dallas program is continuing its partnerships with Aspire, Bachman Lake Together Family Center, City of Dallas Beckley Saner Rec Center and JC Turner Rec Center, and Jubilee Park and Community Center to provide participatory theater workshops for people of all ages throughout the city. All of the current offerings are available online and are free for all participants.
SAFETY PROTOCOL
Safety is a priority for Dallas Theater Center. The Company follows the latest city, county, and state health guidelines to ensure the safety of the audience, staff and artists. A detailed health and safety plan has been developed with the consultation of medical professionals, union guidelines, and the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
Safety protocols this season will include:
● Audience members and house staff will be required to wear masks. ● Seating will be limited to allow for a minimum of 6 feet of separation between audience members. ● Social distancing will occur at the two immersive theatrical events. ● Hand sanitizing stations will be provided in the lobby and restrooms. ● Contactless ticketing will be in place for all performances.
A full press release will be released on October 28, 2020, with complete details on all of Dallas Theater Center’s safety protocols for the upcoming season.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information on the new season or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.dallastheatercenter.org/2020-2021-season-shows/ or call the Dallas Theater Center Box Office at (214) 522-8499.
To Donate to the Bounce Back Fund https://www.dallastheatercenter.org/bounce-back/
ABOUT DALLAS THEATER CENTER: ® One of the leading regional theaters in the country and the 2017 Regional Theatre Tony Award R ecipient, Dallas Theater Center (Dallas Theater Center) performs to an audience of more than 100,000 North Texas residents annually. Founded in 1959, Dallas Theater Center is now a resident company of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and presents its Mainstage season at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas and at its original home, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, the only freestanding theater designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Dallas Theater Center is one of only two theaters in Texas that is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, the largest and most prestigious non-profit professional theater association in the country. Under the leadership of Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty and Managing Director Jeffrey Woodward, Dallas Theater Center produces a six-play subscription series of classics, musicals, and new plays and an annual production of A Christmas Carol; extensive education programs, including the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award-winning Project Discovery, and partnerships with Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts; and many community collaborations. In 2017, in collaboration with SMU Meadows, Dallas Theater Center launched Public Works Dallas, a groundbreaking community engagement and participatory theater project designed to deliberately blur the line between professional artists and community members, culminating in an annual production featuring more than 200 Dallas citizens performing a Shakespeare play. Throughout its history, Dallas Theater Center has produced many new works, including The Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones in 1978; Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, in 1986; and recent premieres of Miller, Mississippi by Boo Killebrew; Stagger Lee by Will Power; Hood: The Robin Hood Musical Adventure by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn; Bella: An American Tall Tale by Kirsten Childs; penny candy by Jonathan Noron; Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter and Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical by Robert Horn, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Dallas Theater Center gratefully acknowledges the support of our season sponsors: Texas Instruments and Texas Instruments Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, Lexus, TACA, and Texas Commission on the Arts.
Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: At Dallas Theater Center, all are welcome. We want to be the best place to work and see theater, and to be a positive and transformational force in Dallas and beyond. We stand-up for equity, diversity, and inclusion across our company and community. As a leading national theater, we recognize that building an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment is central to our relevance and sustainability in the community we serve and love.
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