Art News

Watch out for Meow Wolf neon-suited 'mall walkers' crossing Dallas-Fort Worth

You'll be able to spot the Meow Wolf mall walkers by their neon track suits.

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The immersive art experience known as Meow Wolf is coming to DFW this summer, opening at Grapevine Mills Mall on July 14. If you've somehow been able to avoid this news — if you've ignored stories such as this or this or this — well, you won't be able to avoid it any longer because they're sending their performers out among us, onto the streets of Dallas-Fort Worth.

Meow Wolf is the art sensation founded in Santa Fe in 2008, now making their Texas debut with an installation in Grapevine. Dubbed "The Real Unreal," it promises a Technicolor wonderland with storytelling, technology, and immersive art - much of it created by local artists.

A trailer promoting the show depicts a trippy makeover of an American mall with fake stores, mannequins who come alive, and mall walkers wearing matching neon tracksuits who usher attendees into a procession through the mall and the Meow Wolf experience. (A spokesperson says that is just a trailer and does not depict the actual experience.)

As a hypey prelude, the event is sending those mall-walker performers out for "activations" across DFW from June 23-26. Activations will involve performers descending on popular venues, neighborhoods, and public spaces: playing games, doing aerobic workouts, and offering opportunities to win prizes including free tickets and swag.

You can catch them (or avoid them) and try to score freebies at the following locations:

Friday, June 23

Fort Worth Water Gardens. 1502 Commerce St., 3-5 pm
Fort Worth Stockyards. 131 E Exchange Ave., 5-9 pm

Saturday, June 24

Bishop Arts District. 3-5 pm
Texas Trust CU Theater (*Los Dos Carnales Concert). 1001 Texas Trust Way, Grand Prairie, 7-10 pm

Sunday, June 25

Klyde Warren Park. 2012 Woodall Rodgers Fwy., 2-4 pm
Riders Field, Frisco (*Frisco Roughriders Game). 8300 Rough Riders Trl., 5-8 pm

Monday, June 26

Deep Ellum. 3-5 pm.
Globe Life Stadium (Texas Rangers’ Game). 734 Stadium Dr, Arlington, 6-9 pm

*The starred locations are at events that require tickets to the respective venue.

Season Announcement

Kitchen Dog Theater unleashes immersive 2025 season in new Dallas space

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Safe at Home

Photo by Jordan Fraker

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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.

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