Season Announcement

Dallas' Outcry Theatre makes triumphant stage return with 2022 season

Lipstick Traces originally was developed by Austin's The Rude Mechs.

Photo courtesy of The Rude Mechs

Outcry Theatre is returning to the stage for the first time since its December 2019 production of Dreams of Icarus. The two-show professional season will be performed at the Addison Theatre Centre’s Studio Theatre.

First up is Lipstick Traces, based on the book Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century by Greil Marcus.

A wild chronicle of the nihilist impulse throughout history — including medieval heretics, the Dadaists, the Situationists, and, of course, the Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten, and punk rock — Lipstick Traces originally was created and produced by Austin's The Rude Mechs in 2000. Outcry’s production will be directed by artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos and run February 4-13, 2022.

House of Stairs closes out the season, and is a world premiere created with special permission from the estate of the source novel's author, William Sleator. Adapted by Jason Johnson-Spinos, House of Stairs is a futuristic morality tale in the vein of Lord of the Flies and The Maze Runner, where five teenagers find themselves in an environment made up of nothing but stairs. Johnson-Spinos is also directing — his Outcry professional directing debut — after directing over a dozen productions for Outcry Youth Theatre. It runs July 22-31, 2022.

Outcry Youth Theatre has also announced its 2021-22 season, which starts with The Witches, based on the book by Roald Dahl and adapted by David Wood, running October 15-24, 2021.

Then travel back in time to the Great Depression for The Diviners by Jim Leonard Jr., running November 5-14, 2021.

There’s magic to do January 13-16, 2022, with Pippin, the classic musical with a book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

Meet “Some Pig” when Charlotte’s Web, adapted from the book by E. B. White by Joseph Robinette, which runs March 18-27, 2022.

A TBD play will perform April 29-May 8, 2022.

The season concludes in Bikini Bottom with The SpongeBob Musical, running June 30-July 3, 2022. Based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg, The SpongeBob Musical has a book by Kyle Jarrow and original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain WhiteT’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I.; and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley, with additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton, additional music by Tom Kitt, and musical production conceived by Tina Landau.

All performances will be at the Addison Theatre Centre’s Studio Theatre, except Pippin, which will be on the Main Stage, and The SpongeBob Musical, which will be at the Courtyard Theater in Plano.

Tickets and more information for both seasons can be found at outcrytheatre.com.

theater

Art for all

Dallas’ Katy Trail will debut new public art biennial in 2027

The Katy Trail/Facebook

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Dallas' most popular jogging trails will fill with art next year: A new contemporary public art biennial called KTX Biennial will debut in spring 2027 along Dallas’ Katy Trail.

"The KTX Biennial marks Texas’ first biennial of its kind dedicated to public art and provides an open-air platform for engaging with ambitious contemporary artworks, free and accessible to all," says a release.

Organized by Friends of the Katy Trail executive director Amy Bean and Katy Trail art director Amanda Dillard Shufeldt, the inaugural event will invite New York-based curator Jovanna Venegas to organize a display of nearly a dozen existing and newly commissioned works by living artists from across the world. Venegas, the curator at SculptureCenter, has an international reputation for exhibiting and commissioning major works by living artists.

The Dallas presentation will span the 3.5-mile former railroad corridor running through Dallas’ Uptown, Knox, and Highland Park neighborhoods, which attracts 2 million annual visitors, they say. Artworks will be thoughtfully integrated into the trail’s natural environment, organizers say.

"Building on the Katy Trail’s existing public art program - which has featured work from the likes of Iván Argote, Eddie Martinez, Will Boone, Nic Nicosia, Carolyn Salas, and more - the Biennial thoughtfully integrates art into its natural environment, creates new avenues for discovery for local and national audiences, and fortifies Dallas’ standing as an international art destination," the release says.

Beyond the artworks that fill the trails, the event will include educational programs, public activities, panel conversations, and partnerships with local institutions and organizations, organizers say.

“The KTX Biennial grows directly out of our belief that the Katy Trail belongs to everyone," says Bean in the release. "By bringing ambitious contemporary art into an open-air setting, free and accessible to all, we are inviting both longtime visitors and first-time audiences to experience the Trail in an entirely new way. This Biennial strengthens the Trail’s role not only as a place for recreation, but also as a space for creativity, reflection, and shared discovery."

The inaugural KTX Biennial will open in spring 2027 and will be free and open to the public.

arts art festival sculptures gallery museums katy trail