Second Thought Theatre Opens Area Premiere of STRAIGHT WHITE MEN

Second Thought Theatre continues its 2017 season of change with the area premiere of Straight White Men by Young Jean Lee. Local director/actor Christie Vela returns to direct for the company after making her acting debut for Second Thought last summer in A Kid Like Jake. Straight White Men begins with previews on Wednesday, April 12 and runs through Saturday, May 6. All performances of Straight White Men will take place at Bryant Hall on the Kalita Humphreys Campus, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Tickets to Straight White Men can be purchased online at 2TT.co.

"When I first read the play, it almost seemed as though Young Jean Lee was satirizing the people who make the rules that I, as a Mexican-American woman, have had to live by my entire life," said director Christie Vela. "But after my second read I realized this play is about so much more. It's asking me to have compassion for a group of people who have not always shown me such compassion." Vela added, " If we want to affect change, if we want those who have marginalized us to see us for who we are and what we really have to offer, should we help them see themselves first?"

It's Christmas time and Ed (Bradley Campbell) has a lot to be proud of. He has a home, a healthy savings account, and three extremely capable adult sons. Jake (BranDon Potter) is a hotshot banker. Drew (Drew Wall) an award-winning writer. And oldest son Matt (Thomas Ward) is as bright as his future might be - if he wasn't a temp worker still living at home with his dad, that is. As an upper-middle-class white man, Matt finds himself in the middle of an existential crisis where identity and privilege collide, and not even his loving family seem to be able to accept him for who he is. Straight White Men is a biting, funny and surprisingly compassionate exploration of what it means to be straight, white and male in 21st century America.

When asked why he selected this play for Second Thought's 2017 season, Artistic Director Alex Organ responded, "I think this play asks a number of questions of the audience but specifically asks one I had not heard in public forum before - once a straight white man has acknowledged and recognized his own privilege, what does that mean for how he should live his life going forward?" Organ continued, "This question is one that struck me quite personally as I try to determine how to navigate the concept of white male privilege and what that means for me and how I should behave and shape my life."

Jeffrey Schmidt, newly named Artistic Director of Theatre Three, will serve as scenic and props designer for the play, having previously designed Second Thought's The Great God Pan. Aaron Johansen (Grounded, A Kid Like Jake; The Great God Pan) will design lights, and John Flores (......) will design sound. In addition to directing, Christie Vela will also design costumes.

Straight White Men opens with previews on Wednesday, April 12 and Thursday, April 13 at 7:30pm. Opening and press night is Friday, April 14 at 8:00pm. The PWYC performances of Straight White Men will take place on Wednesday, April 12; Thursday, April 13; Monday, April 17; Monday, April 24; and Monday, May 1 at 7:30p. PWYC tickets are available at the box office one hour prior to the start of the performance and are subject to availability. Straight White Men runs through May 6. Tickets to Straight White Men are on sale now at 2TT.co and can be purchased for $25.

ABOUT SECOND THOUGHT THEATRE:

Second Thought Theatre (STT) provides an intimate and unique theatrical experience by empowering top local theater artists to take risks, and by showcasing writers who boldly tackle the difficult and demanding questions of our rapidly changing world.

Bradley Campbell (Ed) previously appeared at Second Thought Theatre in The Country Wife; and more recently at Theatre Three in Laugh, The Fantasticks, The Liar, and Shear Madness; and at WaterTower Theatre in One Man, Two Guvnors and Xanadu. He has also performed at many other area theaters including Lyric Stage, Stage West, Uptown Players, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Shakespeare Dallas, Casa Mañana, Echo Theatre, and Amphibian Stage Productions. Bradley is a Dallas native, an alumnus of Texas Tech and an MFA graduate of Rutgers University. He is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association since 1985.

BranDon Potter (Jake) is happy to be making his Second Thought debut. Regional credits include: Gene the Carpenter in The Carpenter at the Alley Theatre; Gloucester in Richard III at Shakespeare Dallas; President Johnson in All the Way at Dallas Theater Center. Onscreen: Dale, in the Sundance feature, Little Woods; Ezra in the sci-fi series, Day 5. Brandon has performed all manner of voice over for cartoons, video games and commercials. Recent clients include Samsung, Whole Foods, and Facebook.

Christine Sanders (Person-in-Charge 1) is an SMU MFA candidate for Acting with the Meadows School of Art. She recently appeared in the SMU production Mary Stuart as Queen Elizabeth I. In the fall and winter of 2016, she performed as Maria in SMU's production of Twelfth Night and Mrs. Cratchit in Dallas Theatre Center's A Christmas Carol. Before working on her Master's Degree, Christine spent two seasons, as a non-equity member, with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Company credits include: The Learned Ladies, Much Ado About Nothing, and Timon of Athens. She also performed in George Street Playhouse's Our Town and Count Basie Theatre's Tony n' Tina's Wedding. Christine is excited to be making her debut with Second Thought Theatre.

Drew Wall (Drew) is currently the Director of Operations for Second Thought Theatre and has been working with the company since 2007. During that time, he has served as an actor, designer, producer, production manager, and resident artist. Second Thought acting credits include Belleville, Nocturne, The Great God Pan, Booth, Red Light Winter, A Behanding in Spokane, The Bombitty of Errors, A Skull in Connemara, The Country Wife, and Lobby Hero. Other (select) credits include Gloria (Dallas Theater Center); Long Way Go Down, Beauty Queen of Leeann, Totalitarions (Kitchen Dog Theater); On The Eve, Defiance (Theater Three); The Dog Problem (Undermain Theater). He is also a freelance carpenter, welder, and designer working for many other local theater and TV/film companies in the DFW area. Drew holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Baylor University, is represented by the Kim Dawson Agency, and a company member of Kitchen Dog Theater, and proud member of Actors Equity. He would like to thank Abbey Magill, his friends, and family for their constant love and support.

Thomas Ward (Matt) Recent DFW credits include Who Am I This Time? (Circle Theater), 10 Out of 12 (Undermain Theatre), Martyr (Second Thought Theatre), Wait Until Dark (Stage West), and The Explorers' Club (Stage West/WaterTower). His plays include International Falls, Binge, I Love You Honeybunny, and Keeping Watch, which have been produced across the country. He is currently at work adapting his most recent play International Falls for a film starring Emmy-winning actress Carrie Preston (internationalfallsmovie.com). He received his MFA in Acting from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival/University of Alabama Professional Actor Training Program.

Christie Vela (Director/Costume Designer) is a former member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company at Dallas Theatre Center (DTC). DTC acting credits include Deferred Action; Romeo & Juliet; Sense & Sensibility; Medea; The Book Club Play; A Christmas Carol; Les Misérables; Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure; King Lear; God of Carnage; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat; and The Beauty Plays. Most recently, she directed DTC's Gloria and 2015 A Christmas Carol. Christie is also a member of Kitchen Dog Theater Company where she was last seen in Paper Flowers and where she has directed Se Llama Cristina; The Turn of the Screw; Boom; and The Pillowman. Last summer Christie made her Second Thought acting debut in A Kid Like Jake and will return this summer for the world première of The Necessities before moving on to Inherit The Wind at DTC. She made her Second Thought directing debut with 2015's Bull and is thrilled to be back with this crazy play.

Jake Nice (Assistant Director) is a director, actor and musician from Denver, CO. Directing credits include Hypochondria (The Tribe); The Burial at Thebes, In the Boom Boom Room (SMU); staged readings of The Sinister Ones (Stage West) and Tough Love (SMU). Jake has served as Assistant Director with Dallas Theater Center, Undermain Theatre, Second Thought Theatre, Amphibian Stage Productions and DNAWORKS. Acting credits include 10 Out of 12 (Undermain Theatre), Spring Awakening (Runway Theatre), Northside Hollow and staged reading of Music City, USA (Amphibian Stage Productions). Jake has composed original music for Midas (PrismCo); Frosty: Songs of Redemption, John Aceman: Secret Agent (House Party Theatre); and In the Tall Grass (TeCo Productions/Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs). In addition to his theatre work, Jake plays with local bands Surprising Flavor, Hophead Talk and acoustic duo Jake & Trevor. He received his BFA in Theatre Studies from Southern Methodist University.

Jeffrey Schmidt (Scenic/Props Designer) is an actor, director, and designer. For STT, Schmidt last designed The Great God Pan. As an actor, he was last seen in The Novelist at Theatre Three. Favorite directing and design assignments include Faust, Hands on a Hard Body, On the Eve, The Farnsworth Invention, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and Tally's Folly. He has worked with many of the professional theaters in the metroplex including Dallas Theater Center, Casa Mañana, Shakespeare Dallas, Trinity Shakespeare, Kitchen Dog Theater, Undermain Theatre, Dallas Children's Theatre, Echo Theater, StageWest, and WaterTower Theatre, to name a few. He has appeared in numerous TV shows and films, including American Crime, Queen of the South, Crash, Friday Night Lights, Parkland, and Distant Vision with Francis Ford Coppola. In addition to being Theatre Three's new Artistic Director, he is the Executive Artistic Director of The Drama Club.

Aaron Johansen (Lighting Designer) Second Thought Theater: Grounded; Kid Like Jake; Great God Pan; Martyr; Othello; Bellville; Bull; Booth (World Premier); Nocturne; Cock; In a Forest, Dark and Deep; Pluck The Day. Other selected collaborations include: Dallas Theater Center: Gloria; Driving Miss Daisy; Oedipus El Rey; The Second City Does Dallas; Red; A Christmas Carol (Associate Lighting Designer, 2010-2016); Centerstage Gala (2010-2011, 2013-2016). Dallas Children's Theater: Tomás and the Library Lady; Seussical the Musical; Fancy Nancy; Rapunzel: A Very Hairy Musical; Pinkalicious (2012 & 2016); Ghouls and Graveyards. Kitchen Dog Theater: Paper Flowers; I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard; Totalitarians; Wilde Earnest (World Premier); The Arsonists; Gidion's Knot; The Motherf**ker with the Hat; Detroit; Macbeth; Turn of the Screw; Ruth (World Premier); The Beauty Queen of Leenane; Se Llama Cristina. Stage West Theater: Ann; Murder for two. Cry Havoc Theater: Shots Fired; Shut up and Listen. Dallas Baptist University: Opera Buffet: A Night of Opera; Camelot; Godspell. Trinity Shakespeare Festival: Love's Labor's Lost. Cara Mia Theater: Blood Wedding; Teatro En Fuga: A Festival of New Works.

Julianna Dellasanta (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working with Second Thought for the first time! She recently graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BFA in Theatre Studies and an emphasis in Stage Management. She has worked in Dallas stage managing for The Tribe (Stacy Has a Thing For Black Guys and Hypochondria), as well as several SMU productions (Top Girls, The Sparrow, Bachelorette, A Flea in Her Ear, St. Joan of the Stockyards, Mary Stuart). She was most recently seen in Undermain Theatre's production of 10 out of 12. In her spare time she enjoys being with her cat and trying not to kill all her plants. She is privileged to be straight-passing, white-passing, cisgender and college educated.

Alex Organ (Producer) is the Artistic Director for Second Thought Theatre. At STT he has appeared in Othello (Iago) and Red Light Winter (Davis), and he directed A Behanding in Spokane and Cock. He is a member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company at the Dallas Theater Center, where his credits include Constellations, All The Way, A Christmas Carol, Sense and Sensibility, The Rocky Horror Show, Fortress of Solitude, and Fly By Night. Elsewhere in DFW, Alex has been seen at Undermain Theater (The Droll; The Flick; Profanity), Trinity Shakespeare (Julius Caesar; Macbeth; Taming of the Shrew; As You Like It), Theater Three (The Farnsworth Invention), WaterTower Theater (Putting It Together; Little Shop of Horrors), Lyric Stage (The Most Happy Fella), and Shakespeare Dallas (Coriolanus; Hamlet, Two Gentlemen of Verona; As You Like It). Regionally he has appeared at the Alley Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Elm Shakespeare Festival, and New York's Epic Theater Ensemble. Alex is a proud member of Actors Equity and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Jenny Ledel (Producer) was born in Fort Worth, TX. She is an alumna of STT with such productions as The Glory of Living, Pluck the Day, Belleville, Othello, and A Kid Like Jake under her belt. She is a member of the Acting Company at Kitchen Dog Theater. Other theatrical credits include Trinity Shakespeare Festival, The Undermain Theatre, WaterTower Theatre, Theatre Three, Kitchen Dog Theatre, Texas Shakespeare Festival, The Dallas Museum of Art, and Shakespeare Dallas and Shakespeare in the Bar. Jenny is a multiple recipient of the DFW Critics Forum Award for Best Actress. Her Film and Television credits include Karma Police, Spider Veins, and One Tree Hill. She is represented by the Mary Collins Agency.

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