DTC Announces Resident Acting Company For 2009-10 Season

After much anticipation, DTC artistic director Kevin Moriarty announced today the members of the inaugural resident Acting Company of his tenure for the 2009-10 season. Although The Acting Company is slated for the 09-10 season, the full nine-member company will be seen in DTC's upcoming production of In the Beginning, a dramatic exploration of the book of Genesis, Jan. 21-Feb. 22.

The nine actors for the 09-10 company are: Hassan El-Amin, Chamblee Ferguson, Matthew Gray, Sean Hennigan, Liz Mikel, Cedric Neal, Lee Trull, Sally Nystuen Vahle and Christina Vela. All nine actors are Dallas residents and members of the Actors' Equity Association.

"I'm proud that this diverse group of incredibly talented Dallas artists will represent DTC as the 2009-2010 Acting Company," Moriarty said. "These artists' unique experiences and backgrounds comprise a colorful and interesting palette from which to create moving, meaningful theater pieces for Dallas audiences."

The associate artists have impressive acclaim, performing in theaters across the country, in film and television, and producing their own work.

El-Amin, who made his DTC debut at the Ghost of Jacob Marley in this season's production of A Christmas Carol, has performed at regional theaters across the country such as The Guthrie, Arena Stage and Portland Center Stage.

Audiences are very familiar with Ferguson, who has been seen on the DTC stage in numerous productions, including Pride and Prejudice, and in multiple roles in the annual production of A Christmas Carol; most notably as Bob Cratchit.

Also known on the DTC stage in productions such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Glengarry Glen Ross, Gray is the former co-artistic director of Classical Acting Company in Plano and is an adjunct faculty member at Richland College where he teaches improvisation and sketch writing.

Hennigan is a returning DTC company member after acting in the company from 1984-92 under former DTC artistic director Adrian Hall.

Mikel, last seen in DTC's The Who's Tommy, comes fresh from a stint on the hit television series Friday Night Lights.

Neal made his DTC debut earlier this season as the title character in The Who's Tommy. He has also performed at various local theaters, including WaterTower and Theatre Three.

Trull has been a known member of the company since earlier this year when it was announced he would serve as an associate artist at DTC, where he is currently employed full-time as a member of the artistic staff.

Vahle has been in numerous DTC productions, including Angels in America, The Misanthrope, and many others. She teaches acting and voice at the University of North Texas and is a founding artistic company member at Kitchen Dog Theater.

Vela is also a company member at Kitchen Dog and is the program director at Junior Players. Her work includes performances at local theaters, and she recently directed Kitchen Dog's production of The Pillowman.

In the 2009-10 season, each member of The Acting Company will perform in three Mainstage productions. Additionally, company members will also serve as teaching artists in DTC education programs, develop new plays, provide artistic council for Moriarty, and engage in outreach work throughout the community.

"These artists will play a vital role in reaching out to the community, as we continue to develop DTC's function as an organization deeply embedded in Dallas and committed to engaging audiences in a meaningful dialogue," Moriarty said. "As we seek to support as many Dallas artists as possible, and partner with artistic and civic organizations throughout our community, these actors will be vibrant ambassadors and strong voices for the power of theater to welcome everyone in our community to come together for an artistic experience that can ignite conversation and change lives."

The first production featuring the full Acting Company, In the Beginning, will also feature five students from the SMU Meadows School of the Arts, and runs Jan. 21-Feb. 22 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

The Company:
Hassan El-Amin has performed at the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Guthrie Theatre, Pantages Theatre, Milwau kee Repertory, San Diego Repertory, Arena Stage, Portland Center Stage, Denver Theatre Center, Huntington Theatre, The Goodman, Sacramento Theatre and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the roles of Lincoln, TopDog/UnderDog, The Lion King (Mufasa/Scar), Seven Guitars (Floyd Barton), Jitney (Booster), Fences (Troy Maxson), Radio Golf (Harmond Wilks), A Raisin in the Sun (Walter Lee), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Lealand), The Tempest (Prospero), Julius Caesar (Marc Antony), and the title role in Othello. Education: MFA, University of Delaware.

CHAMBLEE FERGUSON DTC: Pride and Prejudice; The Taming of the Shrew; The Illusion; Hamlet; Our Town; Twelfth Night; Guys and Dolls; The Seagull; South Pacific; A Midsummer Night's Dream; As You Like It; Red Noses. Other theatres include Tidewater Regional Rep, Florida Stage, Penobscott Theatre, Classical Acting Company, WaterTower Theatre, Casa Mañana, Lyric Stage, Shakespeare Dallas, Circle Theatre, Actors Stock/NYC. Film/TV credits include: Prison Break; Karma Police; A Scanner Darkly; The Newton Boys; The Chase; Walker, Texas Ranger; Wishbone. He has received Leon Rabin, Dallas/Ft. Worth Theater Critic and Austin Circle of Theatres awards. Education: M.F.A. from SMU and is represented by the Kim Dawson Agency.

MATTHEW GRAY DTC: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; The Taming of the Shrew; Glengarry Glen Ross. Former Co-Artistic Di rector of Classical Acting Company in Plano. Favorite shows include Much Ado About Nothing, All My Sons, A Flea in Her Ear, The Cherry Orchard, Shakespeare's Keeper, and No Exit. Off-Broadway: The Miser; The Country Wife; The Seagull; Angel Street; The Merry Wives of Windsor; Richard III; Signals of Distress. Education: Second City Chicago and Drama Studio London. He is an adjunct faculty member at Richland College and teaches Improvisation and Sketch Writing.

SEAN HENNIGAN DTC: Amadeus (Mozart); Prologue to All the King's Men (Jack Burden); Marriage of Bette and Boo (Matt); Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio); The Boys Next Door (Jack). He was a former company member under Adrian Hall. Film/TV: JAG; Charmed; Prison Break; Walker, Texas Ranger; Friday Night Lights; Hate Crime; Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada; The Life of David Gale; 3:10 to Yuma.

Liz Mikel DTC: The Who's Tommy; Crowns; A Macbeth; The Antigone Project; Ain't Misbehavin'; Cotton Patch Gospel; Our Town; A Christmas Carol; Avenue X; A Streetcar Named Desire; A Midsummer Night's Dream. Regional: Cape Playhouse (Cape Cod), A Contemporary Theater (Seattle), Arkansas Repertory Theater, Live Oak (Austin). Local: Casa Mañana, Dallas Children's Theater, Jubilee Theater, Theatre Three, WaterTower Theatre. Tours: Ain't I A Woman (National 2005-present); Blind Lemon Blues (Geneva and Paris); Blues in the Night (National 2000). TV/Film: Friday Night Lights, Sordid Lives The Series, It's In The Water, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. Awards: Leon Rabin Award, DFW Theater Critics Forum Award, D Magazine, Dallas Observer, Dallas Voice, Column Award.

Cedric Neal DTC: The Who's Tommy. Regional: Ain't Mis behavin'; Crowns (Jubilee Theatre); A Dog's Life (Theatre Three); Porgy and Bess (Zach Theatre- Austin Critics Award); Rockin' Christmas Party; Brief History of White Music; Ain't Nothin' But The Blues (WaterTower Theatre); Tick...tick...Boom (Rabin & Column Award); Normal Heart; Aida; The Life (Uptown Players); Angels In America, Part One: Millennium Approaches; Dreamgirls; Once On This Island. Tours: African Tales of Earth And Sky; A Midnight Cry-Underground Railroad To Freedom (Dallas Children's Theatre). Education: Eastman School Of Music, Rochester, New York.

Lee Trull DTC: A Christmas Carol; 365 Days/365 Plays; Psychos Never Dream; Des Moines. He also serves as a member of DTC's acting com pany. Work at other theaters includes Kitchen Dog Theater, Classical Acting Company, Theatre Three, Water Tower Theatre, Stage West, Dallas Children's Theatre, Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, Plano Repertory Theatre and Second Thought Theatre. As a playwright: Mark Twain's Huck Finn; O Henry's Gift of the Magi (Classical Acting Company); Puppet Boy based on Carlos Collodi's Pinocchio (Stage West). Mr. Trull is a member of the Artistic Company at Kitchen Dog Theater.

SALLY NYSTUEN VAHLE DTC (favorites): A Macbeth; Blur; The Front Page; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; An Ideal Husband; Angels in America, Parts I & II; The Misanthrope; A Christmas Carol; Numerous DTC Fresh Ink Reading Series. Film/Television: Inspector Mom; JFK; Wishbone; Walker, Texas Ranger. Education: M.F.A. Acting from SMU Awards: Leon Rabin Awards; Critic's Forum Awards; Emmy Nomination, Wishbone. Other: Founder and Artistic Company Member, Kitchen Dog Theater; Assistant Professor of Acting and Voice at the University of North Texas.

CHRISTINA VELA DTC: debut. National: 21 Positions by Naomi Wallace staged reading at The Public. Regional: Othello; Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare Festival of Dallas); The Pillowman (director); Richard III; Our Lady of 121st Street; Fat Pig; Bug; Nickel & Dimed; Much Ado About Nohting; Curanderas; Reckless (Kitchen Dog Theater). Christina is a company member at Kitchen Dog Theater. Education: Texas A&M University.

ABOUT Dallas Theater Center
One of the leading regional theaters in the country, DTC produces new, contemporary and classic plays and musicals to an audience of more than 90,000 patrons annually. DTC's Mainstage season is presented at the Kalita Humphreys Theater, designed and built by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 2009, DTC will move into and become one of the resident companies of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince Ramus (partner in charge) and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas.

The mission of DTC is to engage, entertain and inspire our diverse community by creating experiences that stimulate new ways of thinking and living. DTC is committed to consistently producing plays, educational programs and other initiatives that are of the highest quality and reach the broadest possible constituency.

DTC gratefully acknowledges the support of our season sponsors: American Airlines, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, Mix 102.9, TACA, TCA and WFAA.

 

 

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