The Future is Female

New women-centric Dallas theater company blends activism with artistry

A Midsummer Night's Dream painting by Sir Edwin Landseer

A scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream, painted by Sir Edwin Landseer.

Dallas has a new theater company: Lily & Joan, a female-focused troupe with a philanthropic bent. Founded by North Texas-based theater artists Erika Larsen and Emily Faith, the Bishop Arts-based company's mission is to "intentionally and inclusively highlight the female perspective."

Not only that, but a release announcing its debut states that Lily & Joan will donate 50 percent of its productions' proceeds to local women's organizations.

"Our goal is that Lily & Joan will be a haven," says Larsen, "where all artists, particularly women and female-identifying artists, can transform the ever-present narrative of scarcity surrounding artistic opportunities into a narrative of abundance, safety, and artistic freedom."

Lily & Joan's first season will be announced on December 17, during a fundraiser dubbed The Secret Garden Gala (no location or time has been specified yet).

Also TBA is the date and location of its first production, A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

Company members include Alle Mims, Amy Thornhill, Debbie Ruegsegger, Jād Brennon Saxton, Katie Brown, and Olivia Grace Murphy.

theater

politics in paint

George W. Bush unveils new book and exhibit of political prisoner portraits

Photo courtesy of Crown Publishing

A signed, deluxe edition of George W. Bush's new book of portraits, "The Call of Freedom," will be available.

Former President George W. Bush has a new book of oil paintings coming out in March 2027 that features portraits of political prisoners and dissidents.

The Penguin Random House imprint Crown announced Wednesday, September 16 that The Call of Freedom: Portraits of Political Prisoners and Dissidents will be released March 9 and coincide with an exhibition of Bush's art at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.

The new book will include Bush's portraits of such symbols of oppression as the late Mahsa Amini, whose death in 2022 while in the custody of Iranian authorities led to nationwide protests, and the imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos.

The Call of Freedom, the third collection of Bush's art, will include 44 paintings and biographical sketches of each subject. Former Soviet Union dissident Natan Sharansky is contributing a foreword.

Former President George W. Bush painting in his Dallas studio.Photo courtesy of Crown Publishing

“This book, coupled with our work at the Bush Institute, is a chance for me to send a message that the United States cares deeply about people seeking freedom,” Bush writes in the book. “And hopefully these stories will remind us that we who live in liberty have a duty to stand with those who do not.”

The book champions human rights even as Bush's own record as president has led to frequent criticism, whether the CIA’s use of waterboarding or the abuse of Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Bush took up painting after leaving office in 2009. His previous books include Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors and Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.

The Call of Freedom ($42, hardcover) is available for pre-order now through Amazon.com, Penguin Random House, and the Bush Presidential Museum ($37 for museum members). A deluxe, signed edition is also available.

The accompanying exhibition, "The Call of Freedom: Portraits of Political Prisoners and Dissidents," will open on March 9, 2027, at the George W. Bush Presidential Museum on the SMU Campus in Dallas.

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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

george w bush paintings book art george w. bush presidential center George W. Bush Presidential Center

The Future is Female

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politics in paint

George W. Bush unveils new book and exhibit of political prisoner portraits