Actor Spotlight

Talking turkey with kid-at-heart actor and playwright Jeff Swearingen

W.C. Fields may have warned never to work with children or animals, but Jeff Swearingen has carved out a very fulfilling career niche by working with kids (who are sometimes dressed as animals. Or aliens. Even a unicorn once). He founded Plano-based Fun House Theatre and Film with Bren Rapp, and together they have revolutionized the concept of children's theater in Dallas.

From astonishingly deep productions of serious, classic works (Hamlet, The Zoo Story) to adult-themed plays that have been reimagined with a younger bent (this year's magnificent Daffodil Girls, Inspired by David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross) to spoofs that are outright zany (Swearingen's trilogy of holiday shows all center around the nuclear arms race), Fun House isn't afraid to challenge its young actors.

Besides penning a good deal of the company's scripts, Swearingen brings his acting talent to the stage, both at Fun House and other theaters around town. He was part of Dallas Actors Lab's Jailbait, a quartet recognized for Best Ensemble by the DFW Critics Forum this year.

Ahead of the opening of his Ultimate Thanksgiving Experience November 20, Swearingen recently took the time to fill out our survey of serious, fun and sometimes ridiculous questions.

Name: Jeff Swearingen

Role in Jeff Swearingen’s Ultimate Thanksgiving Experience: The Great Turkey

Previous work in the DFW area: The Boxer (Bootstraps Comedy Theatre), Tryst in Toledo (Theatre Three), Robot and Dinosaur (Audacity Theatre Lab), The Sound of Fannie (Fun House Theatre and Film), Jailbait (Dallas Actor's Lab)

Hometown: Richardson

Where you currently reside: North Dallas

First theater role: The sleigh in The Night Before Christmas

First stage show you ever saw: It was a knights of the round table play, and it was awesome!

Moment you decided to pursue a career in theater: When I figured out Han Solo and Indiana Jones were the same guy. Also watching Albert Finney in Scrooge.

Most challenging role you’ve played: Hamlet in two plays going on at the same time. Lots of close seconds on this question.

Special skills: I am the best Battle Bear player in the world.

Something you’re REALLY bad at: Whistling and blowing bubbles with bubble gum. Trampolines are weird to me too.

Current pop culture obsession: Dubstep

Last book you read: Andy Jessup

Favorite movie(s): Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shawshank Redemption, Amelie, Pan's Labyrinth, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Avengers

Favorite musician(s): Trent Reznor, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Rush, Dave Matthews Band and every Motown singer ever

Favorite song: "Dock at the Bay"

Dream role: Gollum, Bond villain. Lots of these, really. Could go on and on.

Favorite play(s): Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Lobby Hero, Glengarry Glen Ross

Favorite musical(s): The Sound of Fannie! Les Mes and The Phantom of the Opera as well.

Favorite actors/actresses: Too many to name. So so many.

Favorite food: Sushi and pizza. Twisted Root burger.

Must-see TV show(s): South Park, Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black

Something most people don’t know about you: I am shy and introverted, not stuck up and misanthropic :)

Place in the world you’d most like to visit: That I haven't yet? Tokyo.

Pre-show warm-up: Red Bull energy drink and Plants vs. Zombies. Some stretching.

Favorite part about your current role: I get to be a giant Bane turkey!

Most challenging part about your current role: My little turklets I share every scene with are way better than I am. They are greatness in little turkey costumes.

Most embarrassing onstage mishap: My pants ripped out of nowhere once. At a really bad time.

Career you’d have if you weren’t a performer: If it could be anything? Fighter pilot. If not, probably a martial arts instructor.

Favorite post-show spot: Trinity Hall. I do like home a whole lot though.

Favorite thing about Dallas-Forth Worth: Everything I love is here, except my grandmother. Hoping that changes.

Most memorable theater moment: There was a moment where I realized I truly loved something, and the entire world looked different to me immediately. I was excited about the future and being here. Then it happened over and over again. Now I'm trying to pass it on to kids.

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Jeff Swearingen's Ultimate Thanksgiving Experience plays at Fun House Theatre and Film November 20-24.

As Blork in Fun House's Hello Little Human Female.

Jeff Swearingen in Hello Little Human Female

Photo courtesy of Fun House Theatre and Film

As Blork in Fun House's Hello Little Human Female.

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Museum News

2 Dallas museums partner on landmark Roy Lichtenstein acquisition

Courtesy

Roy Lichtenstein

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the Nasher Sculpture Center will present works from the joint acquisition of more than 50 artworks generously gifted by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in 2024, showing prints, drawings, and sculptures by the groundbreaking American artist at the two neighboring institutions in the Dallas Arts District.

According to a release, the installations will be on view from January 31 to August 16, 2026 at the Nasher and from January 1 to July 5, 2026 at the DMA.

The joint gift made by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation to the DMA and the Nasher in Celebration of the Centennial of Roy Lichtenstein is comprised of a selection of prints, drawings, maquettes, and sculptures by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), a leading figure in twentieth-century American art and a pioneer of the Pop Art movement.

The works were specifically selected by the curatorial staff of both institutions and relate to objects already in their respective collections including sculptures, works on paper, and maquettes, along with tools and study objects.

Organized by the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Senior Curator Dr. Catherine Craft, The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the DMA Ade Omotosho, and The Allen and Kelli Questrom Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the DMA Dr. Emily Friedman, the presentation is divided according to each institution’s strengths and will be shown in combination with objects by Lichtenstein already in their respective permanent collections.

At the Nasher, works relating to three sculptures from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection—Head with Blue Shadow, Peace through Chemistry, and Double Glass—will be accompanied by a selection from the Foundation's gift of more than two dozen drawings and maquettes associated with Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke sculptures.

At the Dallas Museum of Art, the presentation features a set of Brushstroke sculptures carved from wood alongside various prints and studies that reveal the artist’s eclectic imagery.

Events
In addition to the exhibition, the DMA and the Nasher will co-host a Study Day focused on the artist on March 28, 2026, sponsored by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. This scholarly event will bring together a variety of curators, academics, and conservators to discuss Lichtenstein’s studio practice and the fabrication and conservation of his sculptures.

Concluding the Study Day will be a public conversation held at the DMA between Nasher Director Carlos Basualdo and artist Alex Da Corte, regarding Da Corte’s work on the forthcoming Lichtenstein retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

“In bestowing this generous gift, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation established Dallas as a center for the study and display of Lichtenstein’s work,” Basualdo says in a statement. “This collaborative presentation of the gift and the corresponding programming is an important step in the direction of pursuing that goal, deepening the understanding of an artist who remains immensely influential to contemporary art and its relationship with mass media and today’s culture.”

Roy Lichtenstein is made possible by support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID).

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