Associate artistic director Joel Ferrell will step down from the Dallas Theater Center at the end of this season. Ferrell has directed some of the boldest, smartest productions at the DTC from ‘Cabaret’ in 2011 and Horton Foote’s ‘Dividing the Estate‘ to ‘The Christians’ in 2017 and last year’s Frankenstein.  Last year, he won a lifetime achievement award from the Live Theatre League of Tarrant County (Ferrell directed Casa Manana in Fort Worth before being hired at the DTC).

No word on his plans beyond the usual aim of pursuing “new professional opportunities.” Other theaters he’s worked at include the North Shore Music Theatre in Massachusetts and Portland Center Stage in Oregon. For the moment at least, North Texas audiences will still be able to see Ferrell’s stage work. He’s directing ‘Sweeney Todd’ at Circle Theatre next month. And directing ‘A Christmas Carol’ next season at the DTC.

Alex Organ as Victor Frankenstein and Kim Fischer as the creature in the DTC’s ‘Frankenstein.’ Photo: Karen Almond.

Associate Artistic Director Joel Ferrell to Depart Dallas Theater Center Following 2018-2019 Season

DALLAS (May 13, 2019) – 2017 Regional Theatre Tony Award^® Recipient Dallas Theater Center announced that Associate Artistic Director Joel Ferrell will be stepping down from his full-time position at the theater at the end of August 2019, following the 2018-2019 season, to pursue new professional opportunities. Ferrell will continue to work with the theater on a contractual basis as an Associate Artist, and will return to the theater to direct A Christmas Carol this winter.

“Since 2009 Joel has been an essential part of the fabric of Dallas Theater Center as a member of our artistic staff,” said Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. “He has been a valued collaborator, whose work at Dallas Theater Center has included directing some of the most critically lauded productions in our history, including his definitive Cabaret, Dividing the Estate, Frankenstein and Rocky Horror Show, to name just a few. He’s also served as a producer, casting director, teaching artist and literary advisor, and he has tirelessly championed the work of local actors, designers and directors with passion. We will miss him as a member of our full time staff, but look forward to continuing to produce his work on our stage as an Associate Artist, including his work next season as director of A Christmas Carol.”

Ferrell’s Dallas Theater Center directing/choreography credits include: The Rocky Horror Show; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat; Cabaret; A Christmas Carol (2005-2009, 2011, 2012). Dallas Theater Center directing credits include: Steel Magnolias; Hairspray; Frankenstein; The Christians; Dreamgirls; Romeo and Juliet; Driving Miss Daisy; Clybourne Park; Red; God of Carnage; Dividing the Estate; reasons to be pretty; The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later; and Cotton Patch Gospel (starring its creator Tom Key). Dallas Theater Center choreography credits include: Fly by Night; It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Who’s Tommy; and My Fair Lady. DFW Credits: Gruesome Playground Injuries (Second Thought Theatre); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Baltimore Waltz (Stage West). Ferrell is a former Artistic Director of Casa Mañana Musicals Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. He has worked extensively around the country for Denver Center Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, Papermill Playhouse, Ford’s Theatre, Lyric Theater of Oklahoma and North Shore Music Theatre, among others.

“I am very proud to have been part of Dallas Theater Center’s journey over the last decade,” said Ferrell. “Very few artists are fortunate enough to have an artistic home, and I’m grateful to Kevin, the board and staff for giving me a place to work, grow, and promote the wonderful theater artists who call DFW home. I look forward to many more collaborations with my Dallas Theater Center family, as well as new opportunities, projects and partnerships in DFW and around the country.”