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Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order.
He’s young, but he’s already got the critics raving. Adam A. Anderson is one of the rising talents in the Dallas theater world. He’s won the DFW Theater Critics Forum Award for best actor and widespread accolades for his performances in plays like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The Brothers Size.
An SMU graduate, he spends his days as the graphic designer for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and his nights in rehearsals or running his creative company, The Striped Heart (formerly known as SiHK). We’re not exactly sure how he fits it all into a seven-day week, but he’s making it work and he’s doing it well.
What has the transition from college to the life of professional acting been like?
I’ve been fortunate enough to get a job doing what I love full-time. Around graduation time seniors start reflecting on all of their past decisions and whether they made the right choices, or picked the right major. Questions arise like, “What are you going to do?” or “Are you ready?”. I was always quick to reply, “I’ll be fine. I’m so ready to be done with school!” I always said that things in my professional life would be no different from my educational life: where I spent countless hours in class, late night hours in rehearsal, and whatever extra time I had to freelance and do personal projects. My life now is literally an advanced version of that. The major difference now is that I get paid for doing all three. Creativity is my passion and the fact that I can live off of acting and designing is a true blessing.
Five words to describe yourself.
Sarcastic, Weird, Eclectic, Loyal, Persistent
What’s kept you in Dallas?
I get asked this question a lot. Mostly when I tell people that I’m an actor. “Don’t you think you should be in LA?” they say. And my honest answer is both definite and indefinite. I definitely know that there is huge potential here in Dallas. I have so much faith in this city and I would be so upset if I left and it blew up without me being a part of that uprising. But what this city lacks is personal identity and exposure. What is the look of Dallas? What is the vibe of Dallas? What is the sound of Dallas? The main attractions? Some have their ideas but can’t truly label it, especially if you’ve never been to Dallas. So It is difficult to “blow up” in Dallas because Dallas has no voice of its own, no vibe. I’m definitely here because I want to create a reason for people to stay. I’m indefinitely here because I’m complacent and comfortably making a living, I’m not sure if moving is the right choice, and I’ve been easily getting recognized for my skills as a designer and actor. I’m in first place on BroadwayWorld.com for Best Actor of the year in Dallas. I think it would be years into my career before I even booked a role that would grant me the potential of being “Best Actor” if I moved straight to New York. But maybe I’m wrong… who knows?
Describe SiHK for us.
SIHK is my number one passion and personal mission. SiHK is now called “The Striped Heart”. SIHK is an acronym for the Society of Individuality Honor and Knowledge which is at the crux of our mission but we felt that we identify more with our logo (The Striped Heart AKA The Heart of Art) and we wanted our audiences to share that passion. The Striped Heart is a creative agency that focuses primarily on design and aesthetic. We have a wide range of clientele, but we’ve worked mainly with the visual and performing arts. Our goal is to capture the essence of your vision and create compelling designs that will engage your audience. Our motto is “We want to create with you,” and thats how we view every idea whether big or small: as a collaborative process with our clients. We have had a hand in helping to develop many types of projects whether it was producing an entire theatrical play, hosting an event or merely designing the publications. Regardless, we love art in all of its forms. We believe that all humans are artists and we aim to spread creativity throughout the world.
You’re obviously multi-talented with both acting and graphic design on your résumé, do you have other artistic talents up your sleeve?
Hmmm…. carpentry, drawing, photography, cinematography. Honestly if it involves creativity to some degree, I have my hands in it. I have an artistic vision, the art form is just the medium. But I love to produce music! I’ve been really wanting to create a following with my music but right now it seems to be something I only do for fun because I don’t know how to get started professionally. Although I have been fortunate enough to travel the nation with my spoken word performances. So yes I’m also a spoken word artist and lyricist, but I would really just call it theatrically acting to a strict rhythm.
What’s your dream role?
In real life, I’m known to be a really nice guy, so I typically like to play the complex antagonistic roles. Oh my god, how amazing it would be to play a major villain like the Joker in The Dark Knight! I often get compared to Will Smith and he always saves the world in his movies which I wouldn’t mind, or even to play his son and be Jaden’s brother since he’s first pick. But it would be so cool if I got to play an antihero like Kratos from “God of War”. My favorite role to play was Levee Green in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” He’s a lead role but the character has a lot of demons that you watch him deal with. I don’t have a very dark past or anything like that. I’m very transparent. You can pretty much google Adam A. Anderson and learn everything there is to know about me, so for me it’s cool to analyze the psychology in the darker characters that I’ve played.
If someone asked you to explain the good and the bad of Dallas theater what would you say?
I suppose I pretty much answered this in the Dallas question. The great thing about Dallas theater is that there is opportunity for young and talented actors to shine and grow. There’s so much potential for a “green” artist to do great work if they’re talented. The market isn’t as dense as in other cities so there is less competition. If you go to see Dallas theater, chances are you’ll see a young actor in their first professional production and you’ll be like, “She’s so good! Why isn’t she famous!?” It’s great because in other cities you’ll have young artists spending years auditioning trying to get their “big break” and it doesn’t come until they’re older. It is a lot easier to be the recognized here because it’s not as saturated so you’re more likely to see fresh, new work. The lack of saturation is the same reason Dallas theater can be not so good. No one is looking at Dallas for a reason. Why would their be any talent in Dallas? Better off spending time in New York or LA, right? Not true. Some of the best work I’ve seen has been in Dallas. But the doldrum is so bad that Dallas doesn’t even look at itself for talent and inspiration and creativity. Regional theaters in Dallas will first look to New York for hiring lead actors before looking to Dallas. As a result everyone is leaving Dallas to find opportunity and it’s a vicious cycle. I bet if I moved to New York, I’d get cast as a lead in Dallas and they’d fly me back. It’s sad but true.
100 Creatives:
100. Theater Mastermind Matt Posey
99. Comedy Queen Amanda Austin
98. Deep Ellum Enterpriser Brandon Castillo
97. Humanitarian Artist Willie Baronet
96. Funny Man Paul Varghese
95. Painting Provocateur Art Peña
94. Magic Man Trigg Watson
93. Enigmatic Musician George Quartz
92. Artistic Luminary Joshua King
91. Inventive Director Rene Moreno
90. Color Mavens Marianne Newsom and Sunny Sliger
89. Literary Lion Thea Temple
88. Movie Maestro Eric Steele
87. Storytelling Dynamo Nicole Stewart
86. Collaborative Artist Ryder Richards
85. Party Planning Print maker Raymond Butler
84. Avant-gardist Publisher Javier Valadez
83. Movie Nerd James Wallace
82. Artistic Tastemakers Elissa & Erin Stafford
81. Pioneering Arts Advocates Mark Lowry & Michael Warner
80. Imaginative Director Jeremy Bartel
79. Behind-the-Scenes Teacher Rachel Hull
78. Kaleidoscopic Artist Taylor “Effin” Cleveland
77. Filmmaker & Environmentalist Michael Cain
76. Music Activist Salim Nourallah
75. Underground Entrepreneur Daniel Yanez
74. Original Talent Celia Eberle
73. Comic Artist Aaron Aryanpur
72. Classical Thespian Raphael Parry
71. Dance Captain Valerie Shelton Tabor
70. Underground Culture Mainstay Karen X. Minzer
69. Effervescent Gallerist Brandy Michele Adams
68. Birthday Party Enthusiast Paige Chenault
67. Community Architect Monica Diodati
66. Intrepid Publisher Will Evans
65. Writerly Wit Noa Gavin
64. Maverick Artist Roberto Munguia
63. Fresh Perspective Kelsey Leigh Ervi
62. Virtuosic Violinist Nathan Olson
61. Open Classical’s Dynamic Duo Mark Landson & Patricia Yakesch
60. Rising Talent Michelle Rawlings
59. Adventurous Filmmaker Toby Halbrooks
58. Man of Mystery Edward Ruiz
57. Inquisitive Sculptor Val Curry
56. Offbeat Intellect Thomas Riccio
55. Doers and Makers Shannon Driscoll & Kayli House Cusick
54. Performance Pioneer Katherine Owens
53. Experimental Filmmaker and Video Artist Mike Morris
52. Flowering Fashioner Lucy Dang
51. Insightful Artist Stephen Lapthisophon
50. Dallas Arts District
49. Farmer’s Market Localvore Sarah Perry
48. Technological Painter John Pomara
47. Progressive Playmakers Christopher Carlos & Tina Parker
46. Purposive Chef Chad Houser
45. Absorbing Artist Jeff Gibbons
44. Artistic Integrator Erica Felicella
43. Multi-talented Director Tre Garrett
42. Anachronistic Musician Matt Tolentino
41. Emerging Veteran Actor Van Quattro
40. Festival Orchestrator Anna Sophia van Zweden
39. Literary Framer Karen Weiner
38. Man Behind the Music Gavin Mulloy
37. The Godfather of Dallas Art Frank Campagna