Daniel Does DFW Theater
Take a listen as Daniel interviews local DFW Theater artists on... Daniel Does DFW Theater! Watch this Vodcast at: www.youtube.com/@danieldoesdfw
Daniel Does DFW Theater
This Is Your 15 Min Call: Teatro Dallas
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Raise the curtains on a behind-the-scenes glimpse of artistic collaboration and production, as we delve into the heart of Theatro Dallas's latest endeavor, "kleptotox." This chapter unpacks the journey of empowering artists to realize deeply held dreams and visions, resulting in a performance replete with personal revelations and explorations of identity. Join us in cheering for the cast and crew as we share how you can support and witness the fruits of their labor—an invitation to be part of the inclusive and vibrant DFW theater scene that continues to challenge, entertain, and inspire.
If you want to catch all the action, you can watch the full episode video at YouTube.com/@DanielDoesDFW. Follow us on Instagram and Tik Tok: @DanielDoesDFW
Hi guys, my name is Daniel from Daniel Does, dfw. I am here with my special guest from Theatro Dallas for this Is your 15-Minute Call. Welcome to the show. Today I have Matt Welch and Sasha Maya Adah. Tell us a little about yourself. Tell us about the theater, matt.
Speaker 3Sure, sure. So Teatro de las has been around, for next year is going to be 40 years. It started out as a company that was a pioneer in specifically Latinx work and after a couple of years adopted an international festival between the primary founder of Teatro de las and just a German artist that she met along the way. They decided to start an international festival. That exploded New Works Festival that exploded, and so over time it's just really, it's really grown into now the only international presence in the NFL East. Yeah.
Speaker 1Wonderful, All right. Well, I'm excited to get going. I don't want to know too much about them yet because we're going to find out a little bit here as we put them in the hot seat. The reason that we have this today is because I want to get straight to the point. I want to make sure that we go directly to theaters and ask all the questions that you want to ask and put it right in their laps, right, so that they can have the opportunity to answer back and say this is what we're doing to make sure that we rectify and make DFW better. We asked you for some questions through our Instagram story and we had a couple come through. We have the top three questions. We're gonna start it. Are y'all ready?
Speaker 2Yes, christina's right here, is that okay?
Speaker 1I mean Christina, are you okay?
Speaker 2Hi, christina, I'm gonna get that via TikTok.
Speaker 1Christina, can you share this on TikTok?
Speaker 2Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 1So are y'all ready? Are you scared?
Speaker 3No, Mack, you're sweating a little bit, is it because? No, that's because I'm not a man, I'm not sure.
Speaker 1Okay, no, great, wonderful, okay. So the first question we had from multiple people was first off, I want to be able to direct in your area and what are we doing to put people, dei people, behind the table? So what is Theatre Dallas doing to ensure that?
Speaker 3Sure, Well, something that we've talked about a little bit is making sure that we are starting with artists.
Speaker 3Something that we've talked about a little bit is making sure that we are starting with artists. I think that oftentimes people like to take the easy route in terms of choosing artists that are around them, are easily accessible, are ones that they know already, that they feel comfortable with, and that leads to us seeing the same artists in the same positions of power over and over and over again, especially, especially, in the world of directing. I think at DFW, one of the most frustrating things for me from a producing perspective, directing perspective, acting perspective, everything is seeing directors that are not directors direct and to be given the reins immediately. Like if you have assistant director for a while, that's totally fine, absolutely, you've worked your way up, but just to see someone that's been acting for 30 years just all of a sudden get whatever they want in the directing world is really frustrating from the perspective of young directors and luckily we have ourselves a really lovely young director right here. So I think I think it starts with that. I think it starts with taking chances on on new talent.
Speaker 1Great and then we had previously discussed this that you were taking the approach instead of, you know, scheduling out a whole season that now you are starting to approach artists directly.
Speaker 3Yeah, what made?
Speaker 1you approach Sasha.
Speaker 3Oh, I've just been a fan of Sasha's work for so long, truly. I saw Sasha's work at Second Thought. I worked with Sasha luckily Arts Mission Sasha's work at Stage West and was just so impressed and knew that not only does Sasha have very good taste, but Sasha is creating rooms that I want to be replicated in every room across the city as a director, sasha, what are you doing to ensure that people around you are also DEI, or that you are doing that as well?
Speaker 2I think DEI is a journey when it comes to artistry. Well, I think DEI is a journey when it comes to artistry. I think DEI when it came up in 2020, was coming out of the corporate mindset of how do we structure departments so that someone or a group of folks feel represented, we feel like they have their back, but we live and we create in a world of feeling, in a world of storytelling, and so, to me, dei is needs to be intrinsic in our artistry that sort of awareness, the awareness of who you are and how you show up in a room, but also the awareness of what you don't know. There are things I do not know.
Speaker 2I am Afro-Latina, I'm directing the show, I'm not Puerto Rican, and so I have to do my due diligence to make sure that I'm checking in with folks from that background, from that culture, that understand, because there are things that I don't know that have helped, that they've offered, that have helped connect dots for me in the show. So I think it's just constantly taking in the information. That's all we can really be responsible for. And then, as far as a room, I just feel like kind, lovely, human being. I need to be able to create a kind, loving, joyous space, and so that is priority number one for me. It just so happens that there are really lovely human beings in every background.
Speaker 1Wonderful, I love that. Yeah, thinking of the person first. I love that. Great Question number two you did good so far. Here's where it gets bad Kidding. You did good so far. Oh, here's where it gets bad. Um kidding, uh. We also had a lot of questions specifically about casting choices. So, trans people, non-binary, uh, artistic directors, why do we cast them? Um, why are we casting familiar faces, like you said, right, why so? What are you doing on your side, either one of you that wants to start it out to make sure that you are making the correct casting choices for the right people?
Speaker 2um, I'm hiring actors and so I need folks that come in and have an understanding of how they would like to talk about the script. Um, I don't need answers from day one, I don't need answers and callback, but I really wanna find folks that have thought processes already moving in their brains about how they relate to the work, about what's exciting about the work, about what's a little terrifying about the work. That, to me, is ground level as far as more representation when it comes to body diversity and transgender representation like that to me is a no brainer, but again, our, and so it requires folks who are willing to go. I don't have all the answers.
Speaker 2I may not know how to navigate this conversation about how you relate in your own artistry and where you are in your transition or where you are in your identity, and how do I make sure that there is a safe space for you to explore that in your artistry as well as feel safe in your humanness. That is dialogue that needs to happen more. But also I don't need to be the person saying it, I'm not of that demographic right, and so it also is up to us as a community to uplift those voices that do have that lived experience and go. What can we get better at? I know there's that weird dialogue that happened of we are not responsible for teaching other folks, but I also go. There's a middle ground there and I would love to see what that middle ground looks like for DFW.
Speaker 1Yeah, I think everyone was just tired of. It was almost this oh, we're with the cool people and we're going to put out on our posts that we do want people of color for our casting, and then people stop putting it on their casting releases. It's no longer there. It was just for one year. You know where we were like, oh yeah, we're totally part of that, and then really didn't show that they were part of it and then removed it.
Speaker 2Well, and you can feel it, and we all know folks talk, we all know that those conversations happen regardless of the official decree, by whatever statement by a company Like those conversations are constantly happening. So best of luck to those who are behind.
Speaker 3I think that the biggest problem, the biggest red flag that you see is people have pretty much the same language copy and pasted from website to website. It's like, oh, you didn't even think about it, you didn't even write it, like you're just taking it because you know that it worked for someone, which tells me a lot about why you're doing it in the first place. You know, but from producer perspective and from directing perspective, but especially from producer perspective, the big two things that I'm seeing um that are are helping a lot and that I I implore a lot of other theaters to um to try out, and that we are trying out and we're still in trial of, is making sure that, um, it's not one person's choice ever about anything, but especially casting. A lot of the times, the reason that it's so messed up and so unfair is because the theaters are giving the reins to just the director, or it's just a producer rather than a team of people that are coming to conclusions together, and that's a really big one, which is a big part of how we're changing things.
Speaker 3Now we got rid of the artistic director model entirely. I'm an artistic producer and that's as much as I want to be involved. I don't have any intention of directing the season. That's why we have Sasha here, that's why we have our directors here. That being said, also, the choice of plays, that, yeah, if you're picking 200 year old work, if you're picking 100 year old work that didn't have this in mind, then you are going to kind of have to shove it into a box. Why not just, why not just pick work that's aware, you know, or that or that knows more about the time that we're, that we're trying to make work for?
Speaker 1Yeah, that actually leads trying to make work for. Yeah, that actually leads me to my third question and our last question today, unfortunately. But why do theaters pick the same show right In the area? We had 25 Mamma Mia's in 2020, I think, or whenever that was, and now everybody's doing Little Shop, or you know why do they do that and what are you doing to make sure?
Speaker 2I think it comes from a small pool of stories that can be told Like a Little Shop is fun, because it's Halloween, you get representation, or it's great for Halloween time, you get representation. It doesn't have to be your quote-unquote black show that you do in Februarybruary, right?
Speaker 2so like our canon is limited, that's a good way of putting it, yeah, but also not to put, not to play devil's advocate I I would move mountains to be able to work on a street car that showed folks that looked like me that that looked like my neighborhood, because that story did relate to folks that looked like me. I also don't think that it should be the only thing that should be produced, though that new work, and especially here in Dallas, we've got so many new voices coming through that need the support, that need the amplification and have earned the fricking right for it. Man, there's some lovely talent here that I just want to see get produced more. But I think my issue with the repeat productions is it's the same story, there's nothing new to it, there's no new breath in it, and if you're going to do an old show or an older show, you've got to breathe new life into it. There's no point in doing something that someone else has already done 20 years ago.
Speaker 1I agree with that. Yeah, matt, how are we all changing the process on that?
Speaker 3Oh, sure, sure, yeah, I think that we, on what you said, we feel an incredible responsibility I especially do, but I hope our whole company feels it as well to create a not just our company, but a landscape that encourages people to stay. We have so many cool voices that come through Dallas for a couple of years and all really good here, and the moment that they're like man, I reached the top of my game, rather than I'm going to stay because I have people that will support me here, I don't feel supported here. I'm going to go somewhere else. That also doesn't really support me, and now we just don't have them and they're also not being supported somewhere else, um, so I think that something that we're very invested in is something that we kind of touched on a little bit earlier pick artists, not seasons.
Speaker 3I think that the this is a blanket statement that I'm going to get specific on the regional theater model is not serving us here like it used to and like it does in other markets. Here doesn't really work the same, um, just because of the way that audiences go to see shows here and and the way that our theater culture works, um, that people don't really know as well. So people really go see. People do momia over and over again because people go see momia, which is a shame because I I would push back on that, saying there is other work happening.
Speaker 3Yeah, that no one's seeing it's a shame, because I would push back on that, saying there is other work happening that no one's seeing.
Speaker 2It's a shame. The artists are also in part responsible for the artistic literacy of the community that we're in.
Speaker 3Absolutely.
Speaker 2That we have to define what is going on, you know with the stories that are happening in town that we go. This is also exciting. This is just as exciting as another Sound of Music, as another little shop, as another. What have you?
Supporting Artists at Theatro Dallas
Speaker 3But the audiences are going to have to take just as many risks as the theaters are going to have to take to make that change. Yes, yes, yeah, and so for us, that means finding artists that we trust and that we know we want to work with and saying what is your dream, what is the most interesting thing to you right now? What have you been waiting to do but just haven't been given the chance to yet? Which is how we found kleptotox, which you should absolutely come see. Um, it's opening this week. It previews may 17th, opens may 18th and runs through june 1st. Anything you want to say in kleptotox?
Speaker 2this work has been with me since I was like 15 years old. Um, it is what allowed me to start to explore different parts of my identity and feel safe in that, feel seen in that and also jose freaking rivera just beautiful language, beautiful imagery and a stunning challenge. As an artist like I, I love to have to learn new things, and I've learned so many new things on this process, so come see it.
Speaker 1Well, thank you so much, and I mean they're working hard, they have rehearsal tonight. I mean thank you yeah.
Speaker 1I bothered their set design today as they were doing things. But thank you so much. Please make sure you go see their show. Like they said, it opens this weekend or this week, right? So we'll put the link in our bio and on this post as well, to make sure that you have the link to pick up some tickets. I know I'm coming to see it because I'm excited after having a conversation with you, and please support Theatro Dallas. They are doing the things that need to be done correctly. So you want people to correct and rectify situations in the area.
