Actor Spotlight

New resident Dallas actress can knock you out in more ways than one

It's been a big couple of years for Tiana Kaye Johnson. The recently graduated SMU master's student moved seamlessly from college performances to two spotlight roles on the mainstage at Dallas Theater Center, and she will now join DTC's resident acting company beginning with the 2016-17 season.

Those two big roles — sweet, young Lily in The Book Club Play and mysterious Lorraine Motel maid Camae in The Mountaintop — no doubt helped Johnson's ascent at DTC, but the young actress had already booked another role by the time her residency was announced.

Johnson will be appearing in Dreamgirls, DTC's sparkly production of the 1981 musical inspired by the backstage drama of Motown girl group The Supremes. Before the show officially opens on June 17 (running through July 24 at the Wyly Theatre), Johnson took the time to fill out our survey of serious, fun, and sometimes ridiculous questions.

Name: Tiana Kaye Johnson

Role in Dreamgirls: Ensemble

Previous work in the DFW area: At SMU, Look Homeward Angel; Progress Theatre, The Burnin’; Dallas Theater Center, The Book Club Play and The Mountaintop

Hometown: Dallas

Where you currently reside: Dallas

First theater role: An ensemble role in a musical called Open a New Window at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters

First stage show you ever saw: I don’t remember the name, but it was a fabulous one-man show in a theater in Dallas.

Moment you decided to pursue a career in theater: My senior year in college, I knew I had a choice between teaching high school or going to graduate school, and I decided to go to grad school and get the training I needed to be a working actor.

Most challenging role you’ve played: Characters named Boo and MayBee in The Burnin’ by Cristal C. Truscott

Special skills: Boxing, color guard

Something you’re really bad at: Math

Current pop culture obsession: Beyoncé

Last book you read:Ebony and Ivy by Craig Steven Wilder

Favorite movie(s):The Lion King

Favorite musician(s): Erykah Badu

Favorite song: "Tokyo" by Lianne La Havas

Dream role: Anita in Jelly’s Last Jam

Favorite play(s):The Colored Museum

Favorite musical(s):Jelly’s Last Jam, Into the Woods

Favorite actors/actresses: Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Joe Morton, Viola Davis

Favorite food: Italian

Must-see TV show(s):Roots, Underground, Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, Jane the Virgin

Something most people don’t know about you: I’ll can go on eating the same thing almost every day. If it’s good, of course.

Place in the world you’d most like to visit: Ghana

Pre-show warm-up: Whatever fuels me that day

Favorite part about your current role: I get to play so many different people in a two-hour time slot.

Most challenging part about your current project: Keeping up with all the moving parts of this play.

Most embarrassing onstage mishap: Stuttering onstage because I can’t get the word out.

Career you’d have if you weren’t in theater: Journalist

Favorite post-show spot: My bed

Favorite thing about Dallas-Forth Worth: It’s home.

Most memorable theater moment: Performing the role of a lifetime in The Mountaintop

Tiana Kaye Johnson in The Mountaintop at Dallas Theater Center.

Tiana Kaye Johnson in Dallas Theater Center's The Mountaintop

Photo by Karen Almond

Tiana Kaye Johnson in The Mountaintop at Dallas Theater Center.

interview qa theater

Museum News

National Medal of Honor Museum offers preview at downtown Dallas event

AT&T

The AT&T Discovery District hosted a mobile museum pop-up.

A high-profile museum opening in 2025 offered a preview in downtown Dallas: It's The National Medal of Honor Museum, slated to open in Arlington, at Nolan Ryan Expressway and AT&T Way in the Stadium district in spring 2025.

To give folks a preview of coming attractions, the institution dispatched a mobile museum to make a visit to the AT&T Discovery District on November 20, during lunchtime when foot traffic is brisk.

Imagine the sense of wonder and amazement that downtown Dallas denizens must have felt upon the sight of a double decker bus, parked in the District, equipped with video and historical information about the Medal of Honor award, stories of the recipients, and a rendering of how the museum in Arlington will look.

The National Medal of Honor MuseumCourtesy rendering

The goal of The National Medal of Honor Museum is to inspire Americans by honoring and preserving the history of the highest military decoration awarded for valor in combat.

They hope it will serve as a national landmark, illustrating the historical thread of sacrifice and patriotism that runs through all U.S. military service members, past and present.

Beyond its state-of-the-art, interactive experiences, a critical part of the Museum’s mission will be to use the stories of Medal of Honor recipients to inspire their fellow Americans.

It will incorporate the AT&T Virtual Recipient Theater, an augmented reality experience where visitors can interact with with Medal of Honor recipients. The space will be equipped with cutting-edge conversational AI technology complete with voice recognition to allow museum goers to have a conversation in a 3D format with medal of honor recipients living and past.

It will also have AT&T Branded Wi-Fi throughput the museum.

Interior of the mobile Medal of Honor Museum.AT&T