Bittersweet Ending

Get thee to the MAC immediately before it bids adieu to McKinney Avenue

McKinney Avenue Contemporary's last day at this location is June 27.

Courtesy rendering

After 20 years, the McKinney Avenue Contemporary is departing its blue building in Uptown. June 27 is the last day to see the current exhibitions at 3120 McKinney Ave. and Kitchen Dog Theater’s final production there, The Firestorm. (And it ’s a good one.)

In early 2016, the MAC will have a new home in the Cedars neighborhood, at 1601 S. Ervay St., within walking distance to the DART Cedars station and South Side on Lamar. It’s a move that “further solidifies the Cedars’ status as the city’s newest artistic hub,” writes Kendall Morgan.

“This is not a wake, this is not a sad occasion (bittersweet perhaps); this is a celebration of 20 great years and a new beginning in a new location in the Cedars,” an email from the MAC reads. “We will be a virtual artspace for awhile, while the new physical space is being renovated. What this means, we are defining day by day. But great things are happening and we want all of you to continue to be a part.”

MAC co-founder Claude Albritton told Morgan a move has been in the works since 2006. The Design District was the original plan, but that got put on hold. The new space was “too good an opportunity to pass up,” Albritton says.

Comprising three old brick buildings and metal sheds, the 2.16-acre complex will give the MAC the opportunity to expand its focus while creating a new gathering place for the community. Architect Dan Shipley is remodeling the buildings; the sheds will be demolished to make way for outdoor space.

The new five-building campus will include a wine and beer garden, coffee house and restaurant, theater, building to house environmental nonprofits, and — hopefully — a permanent photographic arts gallery in addition to the main exhibition space.

For those who would like to say goodbye to old blue, there are three exhibits on display through Saturday. In the large gallery, “DeForrest Judd: Paintings”; in the square gallery, “Akirash: Adittu (Puzzle)”; and in the new arts space, “Angela Chestnut: Syn-Aesthetic.” Gallery hours are 11 am-9 pm.

The Firestorm’s final show is June 27 at 8 pm. KDT will perform next season in its interim space, the Green Zone.

unspecified

Season Announcement

Kitchen Dog Theater unleashes immersive 2025 season in new Dallas space

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Safe at Home

Photo by Jordan Fraker

undefined

Seven years after announcing it had purchased a building in the Design District, Kitchen Dog Theater is finally ready to move into its new home.

The third and final production of its 2025 season — the theater company's 34th — will take place all around the new "Doghouse." The other two productions will follow the immersive format at non-traditional performance spaces that was established last season.

With three fully produced events that each run the gambit from captivating and gutsy to heartfelt and hilarious, the monthly New Works Festival Staged Readings Series returns, as does the 23rd annual PUP Fest, nurturing high school talent from all over DFW.

First up is the area premiere of Will Eno's Wakey, Wakey, directed by KDT's artistic director Tina Parker and starring KDT co-artistic director Christopher Carlos.

"Is it now? I thought I had more time." These first words in Will Eno's play are spoken by Guy, a man who knows, like all of us on some level, that he is about to die. The play questions why we are here and the journeys that everyone takes to eventually get to the same place. Performances will take place at Expo Park, 840 Exposition Avenue, and run February 7-23, 2025.

Production No. 2 is full of mystery: The title and performance location will be announced soon and run in March/April 2025.

The Happiness Gymby Ken Weitzman closes out the season in August 2025 (exact dates TBA).

This regional premiere is a joyous, experiential event based on the science of well-being. Participants take part in a curated theatrical experience meant to boost their sense of happiness, joy, and feelings of connection. This one-of-a-kind project will be the soft opening to Kitchen Dog’s new theater and will take place all over the entire facility, giving patrons unparalleled access to KDT’s new home.

From March to July 2025, the 26th annual 2025 New Works Festival will showcase four-to-five staged readings of the newest and most exciting local and regional playwrights working in contemporary theater today. Each reading will feature some of DFW's most accomplished actors and directors and will take place at different venues across DFW.

For its 23rd annual event, PUP Fest will feature six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by DFW high school students, featuring student actors directed by area professional directors. PUP Fest is the culminating event of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players. Performance location is TBA, but the event will happen June 7, 2025.

For more information, visit kitchendogtheater.org or call 214-953-1055.

kitchen dog theater theater