Michel van der Aa and I have a bad connection. We’re chatting through Facetime to sidestep international calling fees, but my tech reality isn’t equal to the Grawemeyer Award-winner’s. He’s explaining how he created, composed and filmed the world’s first 3D opera, Sunken Garden, which gets its U.S. debut in…
Performance night for the Mavericks ManiAACs, the all-male dance team that has spent the last 16 years shaking their exposed guts for adoring crowds at American Airlines Center, starts long before the ref throws the opening jumpball. At last Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the ManiAACS’ duties began as…
Passion, satire and professionalism collided when Day of Absence cast members met in the basement of Oak Cliff’s Arts Mission this week for rehearsal. “The play is a reverse minstrel show,” says director Aaron Zilbermann, “which means it has an almost entirely black cast that is made up in white…
On Saturday night, audience members packed themselves to standing-room-only capacity at Full City Rooster to watch a comedy show. Throughout the night they heard heartbreaking tales of loss, isolating periods of self-doubt and tearful recollections of moments that forever defined a life. They also laughed hard. These are the sharp…
It’s difficult to describe a comedy act like Tape Face, but comedian Sam Wills, the real name of the man behind the strip of electrical tape, says that going into one of his shows cold enhances the bewilderment and surprise he wants his audience to feel. “The less you know,…
For the last year, local emcee and broadcaster Devin Pike has been battling throat cancer. This is Pike’s second time fighting a cancer diagnosis. Scratch that. This is Pike’s second time beating a cancer diagnosis. Two weeks ago, Pike received the good news from his doctors that the tumor in his…
Tucked out of sight of the bars and restaurants on Greenville Avenue sits a nondescript building with a bright “4” glowing on top of it. It was once a church, and now it’s the new home of Four Day Weekend East, the second location for the popular improv troupe that…
At some point you’ve watched a stand-up comedian perform and thought to yourself, “I can do that.” And you can. Right now. Like, quit your job right now and go do it. The DFW area has more spots to perform stand-up than ever before and the opportunities are growing. Although…
The performing arts are in trouble. Go to a live performance at any theater, and you will likely see an audience dominated by an older generation. These are the people who fill the seats and support the arts financially. The news reminds us daily that the United States is in…
If you found yourself alone on Valentine’s Day, you’re not alone. The whole city is full of people who think there’s no one out there in this big, ugly world who’s just for them. They are out there waiting for you to walk up and say, “Hiya.” Maybe you’re a…
If comedian Joshua Fischer saw you perform a set, he’d be your biggest supporter no matter how well you did. “You could bomb, and he would tell you that you did great,” said comedian and friend Lawrence Rosales. “When you needed it, he was there.” Fischer didn’t just aspire to…
Within a few steps in Dallas you’ll be barraged with the abrasive orange, green or yellow of ride-share bikes. They’re everywhere. They’re an eyesore, and we’re looking for a way to have fewer of them. It’s not unlike how Dallas once felt about streetwalkers. (We still do, presumably, but there…
Another big name from the small and the big screens has been added to the list of celebrities for the Fan Expo Dallas in April. You first knew him as Pee-wee Herman, but you eventually learned that his real name is Paul Reubens. The star of the cult comedy film…
This year marks the final performance of the University of North Texas comedy improv troupe Sparky, but it’ll go out in a big way. The troupe will perform in a national improv tournament. The comedy troupe consisting of UNT students Sean Byrne, Alex Wiggins, Tierney Conley, Christian Campbell and Nathan Lawrence will…
Pocket Sandwich Theatre doesn’t take itself seriously. And that’s why, of all the theaters in Dallas, it’s the one you’re most likely to appreciate even if you don’t like the theater. This Dallas institution has called the corner of Mockingbird and Central Plaza home since 1980. On Thursday nights, when Pocket…
Prepare to be “swept away” by the Dallas Opera’s new season. That’s the theme the opera is rolling with for its 2018-19 season, which will be “filled with captivating stories and unsurpassed music performed by some of the world’s greatest opera stars,” says Kern Wildenthal, interim general director and CEO. Last week,…
“Leave your pain here and go out and do your magnificent things.” This was one of the reassurances offered by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina to the female gymnasts who testified against the USA Gymnastics doctor who repeatedly abused the girls in his charge. But it could been a line from The…
No one in the play Small Mouth Sounds, the off-Broadway comedy about six runaway strangers on a silent nature retreat, says any words to each other or to the audience. Director Rachel Chavkin says that even though writer Bess Wohl’s play presented some challenges as a production — every movement…
If you were to write your own history of “everything,” what would you include? That’s the premise of A History of Everything, the new, original play from Cry Havoc Theater Company. Cry Havoc is an all-youth troupe. It made a splash last year with Shots Fired, a documentary-style play compiled…
Sad news came down Friday that Teddy Davey, singer, actor and owner of the Balcony Club, had died. He was 54. Davey’s widow, Lorena, posted an obit Sunday morning on her Facebook page and his: “Theodore Joseph Davey was born May 11, 1963, and was peacefully ushered from time into…
Two years ago, comedian Josh Johnson was at the top of his form. He was opening for comedy greats like Janeane Garofalo at Granada Theater; scored features on two major comedy showcases, Fox’s Laughs and Comedy Central’s Adam Devine’s House Party; and recorded his first album, Tabitha. Then Johnson’s depression…
The name Lee Trull, the director of new play development at Dallas Theater Center fired last week over allegations of sexual misconduct, wasn’t spoken at a meeting of local theater groups about sexual conduct within Dallas’ stage companies. But he was clearly on the audience’s mind. In fact, he unwittingly…
