We are thrilled to end 2022 on such a high note and want to give another Congratulations to all our 2022 Pop-Up Grant recipients!

Bombshell Dance Project’s “In the Conservatory with the Knife” – Photo by Kyle Montgomery

AT&T Performing Arts Center

Bombshell Dance Project’s In the Conservatory with the Knife

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Unrestricted Grant: $2,000 Pop-Up Grant
Artist Bonus Funds: $4,000 Artist Bonus Funding to 8 Key and 3 Supporting Artists

In the Conservatory with the Knife was an immersive dance theater work first performed across three floors of the Wyly Theatre as part of ATTPAC’s Elevator Project. Audiences moved freely through this eerie murder mystery to discover clues and uncover the mystery, exploring parts of the Wyly that are rarely seen by the public.

This extraordinarily inventive work sparked conversation after conversation about its unique interpretation of the storylines of the board game “Clue,” the high level of the performances, and the nuanced design of the program and audience experience. In the Conservatory with the Knife epitomized the Pop-Up Grants program’s values of making creative and innovative projects produced at a high level appealing to a wide range of people.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center’s mission is to provide a public gathering place that strengthens community and fosters creativity through the presentation of performing arts and arts education programs. In 2014, the AT&T Performing Arts Center created the Elevator Project to provide small, emerging and historically marginalized arts organizations and artists with a performance platform in the Dallas Arts District. It has evolved into an exciting, curated season of work stretching across genres, with the projects chosen through a competitive process by a panel of arts professionals and advocates. Keep in touch with AT&T Performing Arts Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Teatro Dallas’ “Ashes of Light” – Photo by Ben Torres

Teatro Dallas

ASHES OF LIGHT/LA LUZ DE UN CIGARILLO 

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Unrestricted Grant: $2,000 Pop-Up Grant
Artist Bonus Funds: $4,000 Artist Bonus Funding to 6 Key and 6 Supporting Artists

Teatro Dallas presented the English version (and Texas premiere) of this acclaimed bilingual play, starring Company Artist Omar Padilla, Nydia Castillo, Maritza Guerrero, and Pamela Garcia Langton. Directed by Victoria Pérez, in residence with Teatro Dallas from Buffalo, New York, the story focuses on a Dominican family in New York City, and the healing, transformative power of their love for one another. Compassionate and powerful, this is a play about loss, forgiveness, and fighting for what–and who–you love. Ashes of Light transcended the clichés of the coming-out story to truly celebrate the love between mother and son, while using the voices of Dominican Americans to illustrate the story and highlight a voice not often centered in storytelling. Audiences raved about the performances, the set design, the use of music, and the impact they felt leaving the theater.

Teatro Dallas was founded as a non-profit theater in 1985 by Jeff Hurst and Cora Cardona. As a cultural institution, they focus on international theater and the Latinx experience as lenses through which to experience the human condition. Teatro Dallas is committed to the cultural empowerment of the Latinx community by representing varied experiences, voices, and artistic expressions. Through high quality theatrical programming Teatro Dallas employs the power of theater to celebrate our diverse traditions while strengthening our community. Keep in touch with Teatro Dallas on Facebook and Instagram.

Soul Rep Theatre Company’s “Travisville” – Photo by Malcolm Herod

Soul Rep Theatre Company

Travisville 

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Unrestricted Grant: $2,000 Pop-Up Grant
Artist Bonus Funds: $4,000 Artist Bonus Funding to 9 Key and 7 Supporting Artists

William Jackson Harper’s searing historical drama, TRAVISVILLE, directed by Artistic Director/Co-Founder, Guinea Bennett-Price, is inspired by Jim Schutze’s book about Dallas’ complicated history of race and racism, “The Accommodation.”  Set in an unnamed southern city, TRAVISVILLE, is a straightforward and brutally honest statement to the world by African Americans of their plight in gentrification and Civil Rights.

This show tackled difficult and complex subjects head-on, portraying attitudes towards the Black community in the 1960s with a contemporary understanding of the history. Soul Rep’s production demonstrated gripping, authentic acting and direction, with a creative use of set design. Audiences were also confronted with the stark reality that they got to experience Travisville at the site of its real-life inspiration, the Fair Park development, leaving them to question how our community was affected by the decisions portrayed in the show.

Soul Rep Theatre Company, now celebrating 26 years since its founding, exists to provide quality transformative Black theater that enlightens the imagination, the spirit, and the soul. Their vision is to shift the paradigm of how the Black experience is valued by the world. As the longest running African American theater company in Dallas, Soul Rep has produced over 50 full productions, including their New Play Festivals and original work developed by its company members. For the last five years, Soul Rep has provided free or low-cost acting and playwriting classes to children, youth, and adults in South Dallas. Keep in touch with Soul Rep Theatre Company on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Pegasus Contemporary Ballet’s “Fall Into Dance” – Photo by DFW Dance Photography

Pegasus Contemporary Ballet

Fall Into Dance

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Unrestricted Grant: $2,000 Pop-Up Grant
Artist Bonus Funds: $4,000 Artist Bonus Funding to 8 Key and 2 Supporting Artists

Fall Into Dance was a special production welcoming audience engagement featuring world premieres by choreographers Carrie Ruth Trumbo and Sean Aaron Carmon. Following each work, Pegasus invited the audience to share a moderated conversation and interactive demonstration with the choreographers. The production was an entertaining and engaging opportunity to see exciting new work, discover insights about the artistic process, and peek into the mind of these two acclaimed choreographers.

Pop-Up nominators called this program a “triumphant display of inclusion,” highlighting the question of who gets to contribute to this art form, and celebrating the unique take on a post-show engagement experience. By integrating the dancers into the post-show talk, audience members got to experience a little bit of the process and technique of what was presented on stage. Fall Into Dance created an innovative way to engage with the performance while showcasing new choreography and a young company on the rise.