DTC Welcomes Pair of New Brierley Resident Acting Company Members

Dallas Theater Center Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty has announced two new members to DTC's Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company. Adam A. Anderson and Tiana Kaye Johnson will be joining the Brierley Resident Acting Company for the 2016-2017 season.

"I am thrilled to welcome Adam and Tiana to our Brierley Resident Acting Company," said Moriarty. "Directing Adam as Stokely Carmichael and David Dennis in All the Way earlier this season was a great joy for me, as he crafted a riveting performance that was intense, vulnerable and truthful. Similarly, Tiana left me and our audience in awe of her starring performance in The Mountaintop, where she demonstrated such charisma and power. I look forward to collaborating with each of them as company members in the coming season and fully immersing them in our work with the North Texas community."

Anderson is a 2013 graduate of Southern Methodist University where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts. He most recently appeared in DTC's co-production with The Alley Theatre of All the Way, where he played the role of Stokely Carmichael for both Houston and Dallas audiences. The Dallas Observer praised Anderson's performance saying he, "[delivered] one of the play's most gripping monologues". Anderson also performed in DTC's production of King Lear in 2013. In addition, Anderson is the owner of The Striped Heart, a full service graphic design and photography company in Dallas.

"I believe we were all put on this earth to create. There's no question about that," explained Anderson. "The journey then becomes more about the people we get to create with while we're here. I'm excited for the opportunity to create with the Brierley Resident Acting Company and to add this family to my artistic journey."

Johnson played Camae in DTC's production of The Mountaintop where DMagazine called her, "simply fantastic". Johnson recently graduated from SMU with a Master of Fine Arts. She is the fourth SMU MFA graduate to join the Brierley Resident Acting Company for a two-year appointment. Abbey Siegworth was the first to fill the position, followed by Tiffany Hobbs and Brandon Potter. Potter will depart the Brierley Resident Acting Company at the conclusion of the 2015-2016 season.

"I am honored to have been chosen to be a part of Dallas Theater Center's Brierley Resident Acting Company," said Johnson. "I look forward to the new opportunities ahead and being challenged as an artist."

Moriarty formed DTC's Brierley Resident Acting Company in 2009 to develop and nurture professional actors within the community, expand DTC's artistic profile and create ongoing collaborative relationships with artists. Anderson and Johnson will be joining returning Brierley Resident Acting Company members Kieran (Michael) Connolly, Chamblee Ferguson, Liz Mikel, Sally Nystuen Vahle, Alex Organ and Steven Michael Walters. In addition to Potter, Hassan El-Amin and Christie Vela will be departing the Brierley Resident Acting Company to pursue new professional opportunities. El-Amin will be teaching at the University of Delaware, serving as their Artistic Associate and acting member of the Resident Ensemble Players. Vela will be directing DTC's upcoming production of Gloria.

Adam A. Anderson DTC: All The Way, King Lear. Adam, known in the creative industry as Ace, is a Dallas-based actor who is represented by The Campbell Agency, and is also the owner of The Striped Heart, a full service graphic design and photography company. As a multidisciplinary artist and alum of Southern Methodist University (BFA '13), he has had the pleasure of working with great artists such as Stan Wojewodski, Patricia McGregor, Bill T. Jones and Will Power. His theater credits include The Shipment (Undermain Theatre), Radio Golf (AART), Blues For Mister Charlie (SMU), and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Jubilee Theatre) as Levee Green for which he won Best Actor 2014 (BroadwayWorld.com). His latest performance was in All The Way with DTC & The Alley Theatre (Houston) as Stokely Carmichael. As a poet who has traveled the country as a spoken word artist, Adam is most inspired by his work with Bill T. Jones in Masterclass on HBO. AceShotThat.com

Tiana Kaye Johnson is an MFA graduate from Southern Methodist University. DTC: The Mountaintop (Camae) and The Book Club Play (Lily). SMU: Look Homeward, Angel (Eliza Gant). Prairie View A&M University: Once on This Island (Madame Armand/Andrea/Storyteller), To Be Young Gifted and Black (Lorraine Hansberry), and Jelly's Last Jam (Anita). Tiana is a proud company member of Progress Theatre Touring Ensemble based in Houston, Texas. She enjoys serving the community and inspiring social change through the arts.

Diane and Hal Brierley have been deeply involved with Dallas Theater Center - as generous donors and as immensely dedicated volunteers - for more than 25 years. Diane has served on the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee of the Board, Chair of the DTC Guild, Chair of Centerstage Gala, Chair of the 50th Anniversary Gala, and a member of numerous committees. Diane and Hal have deep admiration for Dallas Theater Center's artistic work and for the talent represented on stage. In the fall of 2009, the Brierleys made a significant commitment to support the vision and future of the Theater with a gift to name the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company. In addition to their support of Dallas Theater Center, the Brierleys remain very active in the community. Their main endeavors have been the arts (AT&T Performing Arts Center, Shakespeare Dallas, The Dallas Opera, Dallas Symphony Association, TACA, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Dallas Black Dance Theatre), animals (the Dallas Zoo and the SPCA), and healthcare (American Cancer Society, Baylor Medical Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center), and to United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. They devote many hours of service as board members and volunteers and give generously across the City.

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