Bishop Arts Theatre has consistently been in both the national and local media spotlight.  Our riveting stage performances have garnered an expanding season subscription base, critical acclaim, and several awards. Click on the links below for the 4-1-1.

https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/best-theaters-in-dallas-to-catch-a-play-21152024  In the heart of Oak Cliff lies the Bishop Arts Theatre Center, a historic venue built as a silent movie house in 1914.

'Fannie: The Music & Life of Fannie Lou Hamer @ Bishop Arts Theatre Center (w/Dallas Theater Center) - Onstage NTX It’s Freedom Summer, 1964, and Fannie Lou Hamer’s fiery energy draws us into her life as a foot soldier—on a march for freedom in the Mississippi heat of oppression.

Civil rights activist's story resonates with 'Fannie' actor Liz Mikel - The Dallas Morning News Dallas Theater Center is co-producing the show with Bishop Arts Theater Center.

'The Sum of Us One-Act Festival' @ Bishop Arts Theatre Center - Onstage NTX “Why can’t we have nice things?”That was the question asked by Heather McGhee, an expert in economics and social policy, in her insightful 2021 book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.

Here & Now: Banned Book Festival - Fox 4 The Bishop Arts Theater Center in Dallas is set to showcase six plays focused on building a better America for all. The plays were inspired by a New York Times best-selling book. FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb learns more in this week's Here & Now conversation.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents third banned books festival - Dallas Morning News This year's festival of one-act plays is inspired by Heather McGhee's 'The Sum of Us'

The Sum of Us One-Act Festival - Spectrum News 1 Author Heather McGhee previews Bishop Arts Theatre Center's Banned Book Festival.

Bishop Arts Theatre To Produce Camika Spencer’s New Play, ONE YEAR IN EGYPT
One Year in Egypt is a 55-minute, one-woman show, featuring the playwright, who also directs, that chronicles the time of July 2021 – June 2022 of Ms. Spencer’s travels.

Author Nikole Hannah-Jones Visits Bishop Arts to See the Plays She Inspired – D Magazine
As the Bishop Arts Theatre winds down its monthlong production of the 1619 Project: One Act Play Festival, the journalist responsible for the original work saw it for herself.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center stages one-acts based on New York Times 1619 Project – Dallas Morning News
Nine 20-minute plays will take inspiration from chapters of the bestselling book by Nikole Hannah-Jones.

PRESS RELEASE – Bishop Arts Theatre Commissions Nine Plays Inspired By Nikole Hannah-Jones Bestseller THE 1619 PROJECT – BroadwayWorld
All nine plays will be staged February 9 – 23, 2023 for three consecutive weekends directed by Gabrielle Kurlander.

Fairview @ Bishop Arts Theatre Center – OnstageNTX
“The riveting, entertaining, and painfully true production” – Jan Farrington

Two years after COVID hit, D-FW arts groups are still struggling to rebuild audience. Why? – Dallas Morning News
It’s the big ugly truth that performing arts groups must confront to survive. – Tim Diovanni

Bishop Arts Theatre Announces Mortgage Burning Party At Dallas Zoo – BroadwayWorld
BATC was able to pay off the construction loan debt due to the Shuttered Venues Operating Grant via the Save Our Stages legislation – A.A. Christi

Dallas arts groups get $450,000 from National Endowment for the Arts – Dallas Morning News
The latest round of “rescue” funding aims to support organizations during the pandemic. – Michael Granberry

$15,000 grant funds 10 antiracism short plays at Bishop Arts Theatre Center – OakCliff Advocate
Ten short plays about antiracism premiere at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center next month. – Rachel Stone

Bishop Arts Theatre Announces 10 Commission Awards To Local Writers – BroadwayWorld
The festival seeks to present works that continue the dialogue in the enduring struggle for racial justice. – A.A. Cristi

Something broken: Bishop Arts’ Before You Get Married – The Sharp Critic
Franky Gonzalez has created a phenomenal work of theatre, here, navigating a profoundly disturbing topic with reflection and sober reasoning. – Christopher Soden

From shuttered to survivors: North Texas arts groups on how a pandemic grant saved them – Dallas Morning News
The federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant was available to arts companies whose venues were ‘shuttered’ during 2020. Without it, some say, they might have closed forever. – Michael Granberry

Franky Gonzalez Joins Bishop Arts Theatre as Playwright-in-Residence – BroadwayWorld
Gonzalez is a Dallas-based playwright and TV writer of Colombian descent. – Stephie Wild

Bishop Arts Theatre Center names Franky Gonzalez playwright-in-residence – Dallas Morning News
The Dallas-based playwright and TV writer served as a staff writer for the popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. – Destine Gibson

Dallas Mayor Hosts Free Pop-Up Vaccination Events to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Accessibility – NBC DFW
The three free events are part of a community partnership to reach underserved neighborhoods – Yona Gavino

Dallas Neighborhood Vaccine Initiative And 3 Pop-Up Events – CBS DFW
“Bishop Arts Theatre Center has always been more than a traditional theatre,” said Teresa Coleman Wash, the executive artistic director of the Bishop Arts Theatre. “We are a neighborhood resource, and in this moment that feels like a strength.”

Bishop Arts Theatre Presents MILMA’S TALE by Pulitzer Prize-Winner Lynn Nottage – Broadway World Dallas
The play tells the provocative story of Mlima, a majestic elephant trapped in the clandestine international ivory market. – BWW News Desk

This Bishop Arts Theatre Center executive sees DEI work as more than a performance – Dallas Business Journal
“During her years with the Bishop Arts Theatre Center, Teresa Coleman Wash has seen her focus shift from diversity, equity and inclusion to anti-racism.” – Kevin Cummings

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this Valentine’s weekend – Culture Map Dallas

A new arts collective’s first mission? Racial equity in Dallas arts funding – The Dallas Morning News
“Four Dallas theaters with diverse programming have teamed up as part of a new BIPOC Arts Coalition.” – Tim Diovanni

Southwest: Hot Spot Survival – American Theater
“As the pandemic rages through Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma, theatres adjust their models and make new commitments, while one New Mexico theatre goes under.” – Kate Mazade

Black And Latino Arts Coalition To Fight For Equity In City Funding – Art&Seek
“The Dallas groups are seizing the moment as the nation is convulsed by issues of racial injustice. They also just want to make city arts budget more equitable.” – Jerome Weeks

Powerful Play About Discrimination Against Interracial Couple Blends History, Current-Day Voices – Dallas Morning News
“Loving and Loving reminds us that in turbulent times we can say yes to love, to identity, to home, to cultures connecting and to changing the world.” – Alex Temblador

Review: Loving and Loving – TheaterJones
“Loving and Loving reminds us that our private actions, whether based on loving kindness or on angry fear, have consequences not only in our immediate society, but for the future that newer generations will inhabit.” – Martha Heimberg

Review: Loving and Loving – North Dallas Gazette
“A first-rate theater experience, this is one to go see.” – David Wilfong

Review: Loving and Loving- The Column
“It does what excellent theatre can do – makes the audience empathize with the characters and see the world from a different perspective, leaving us a little bit better, or at the very least more informed in the process.” – Stacey Upton

Q&A: Morgana Wilborn (Director of Loving and Loving) – TheaterJones
“This is a story about love, about identity and our rights to live and to love freely.” – Morgana Wilborn

TCG Fall Forum 2018: Culture, Strategy, Breakfast – American Theatre

Plenaries of Plenty: Reporting From #TCG19 in Miami – American Theatre

Walking on the Edge: Artistic Directors Define Risk – Arts and Culture Texas

Review: The Wild Party – SharpCritic.com
“The Wild Party ’s a rowdy, often funny, gripping descent.” – Christopher Soden

Review: The Wild Party – Dallas Observer
“…many of the actors seize their short time in the spotlight to show off impressive acting or a great voice.” – Anna Lowrey

Review: The Wild Party – John Garcia’s The Column
“This production is an energetic, dynamic interpretation of the lyrics and music of Andrew Lippa.” – Mildred Austin

Review: The Wild Party – North Dallas Gazette
“… the Dallas production is anchored by the vocal talents of Kristin Colaneri and Ashley Ragsdale (playing Kate), both of whom are making their debut performances at the Oak Cliff venue.” – David Wilfong 

Bishop Arts Theatre Center Is Enriching Lives for the Elderly Through a Creative Workshop – Dallas Observer

Bishop Arts Celebrates Color, Culture, & Creativity With 2019/2020 Season – BroadwayWorld.com 

Bishop Arts Theatre Center Receives National Award – BroadwayWorld.com 

Actor found inspiration in the Dominican playboy who inspired James Bond – Dallas Morning News
“I understand what it takes for me to be, as Hollywood calls me, ‘ethnically ambiguous’ — not too dark, not too light. I have friends who are just as dark as they’re allowed to be to keep working,”

Review: The Real James Bond Was Dominican – TheaterJones.com
“…presents us with a deeply personal narrative built on personal experience and self-reflection. Rivas’ nakedness is his honesty hits us in the heart and the gut.” – Teresa Marrero

Review: The Real James Bond Was Dominican – John Garcia’s The Column
“Chock-full of humor and depth, Rivas keeps us engaged with thoughtful comments and asides about people and the relationships we all share in one form or another.” – Travis McCallum

Q&A: Christopher Rivas
An interview with the creator and performer of The Real James Bond Was Dominican, coming to Bishop Arts Theatre Center. – Trevor Boffone

Review: Down For #TheCount: Women’s Theatre Festival – North Dallas Gazette
“delivers both provocative thoughts and hilarious moments. The cast does a wonderful job of bringing diverse stories to life.” – David Wilfong

Review: La Llorona: A Love Story by Kathleen Anderson Culebro – John Garcia’s The Column
“Intriguing and unexpected…a story that amuses, delights, surprises, and by the end terrifies.” – Mark-Brian Sonna

Review: La Llorona: A Love Story by Kathleen Anderson Culebro – TheaterJones.com
“Bishop Arts Theatre Center revives Fort Worth playwright Kathleen Culebro’s La Llorona, and it’s as timely as ever.” – Teresa Marrero

Review: La Llorona: A Love Story by Kathleen Anderson Culebro – Texas Metro News
“This play has a twist at the end that left me dumbfounded.” – Nina Garcia

Review: La Llorona: A Love Story by Kathleen Anderson Culebro – North Dallas Gazette
“Romero gives a standout performance as Irma, with her best acting taking place between her lines. For anyone having been a houseguest in Mexico, the subtle eccentricities of a Latina host are authentic and spot-on.” – David Wilfong

Review: Black Nativity by Langston Hugest – Texas Metro News
“This version of Black Nativity at Bishop Arts Theatre was filled with much passion! It is truly a gift to all who see it!” – Nina Garcia

Review: Black Nativity by Langston Hughes – North Dallas Gazette
“The music is great, with familiar tunes incorporated in original arrangements with a healthy dousing of choreography that’s just downright fun.” – David Wilfong

Review: The Champion by Amy Evans – John Garcia’s The Column
“The Champion was full to the brim with complex dialogue and rich character development.” – Kathleen Morgan

Review: The Champion by Amy Evans – TheaterJones.com
“Deontay Roaf delivers a crushing performance as Simone.” – Richard Oliver

Review: The Champion by Amy Evans – North Dallas Gazette
“Roaf and Pitts pull off standout performances in the play, portraying two very different women from different backgrounds, at very different places in their life.” – David Wilfong

Two Dallas-Fort Worth plays challenge what we know about singer and activist Nina Simone – Dallas Morning News
“Amy Evans’ The Champion gives us the early Simone, with a portrait etched by family, friends, and bandmates trying to understand her.” – Nancy Churnin

Bishop Arts Theatre Center Strives to Remain A Neighborhood Resource – Arts & Culture Magazine

Dig In! Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum Awards for the 2017-2018 season -TheaterJones.com

D-FW Theater Critics Forum names the best plays – Dallas Morning News

2018’s Five Fierce Females of Oak Cliff: – Oak Cliff Advocate
Teresa Coleman Wash runs her theater like a businessman runs a bank 

The Ugly Truth about Arts Institutions Led by Women of Color – HowlRound
By Teresa Coleman Wash

Review: Down for #TheCount One-Act Play Festival Celebrates Female Voices in Theater – Dallas Observer

Review: Down for #TheCount provides a voice for women and a spectacle for Dallas audiences – North Dallas Gazette

Teresa Coleman Wash is demanding a place for female playwrights with her Down for #TheCount festival
Teresa Coleman Wash is on a mission to make women’s voices heard.

Review: Thurgood by George Stevens, Jr. – North Dallas Gazette News
“The legend becomes more of a real man the audience can relate to…” – D. Prescott

Review: Thurgood by George Stevens, Jr. – TheatreJones.com
“…Haines has some of his best moments arguing first as the unctuous ‘lawyer’s lawyer’ John W. Davis, then facing off with Davis as Marshall in a passionate plea for the dignity of African American students. ”  – Farrington Sweeney

Review: Black Nativity by Langston Hughes – North Dallas Gazette
“Some of the music was produced specifically for the play, and in the hands of the right vocalists, will be cemented into the mind’s yuletide library.” – David Wilford

Review: In The Tall Grass – SharpCritic.com
“In The Tall Grass shows great wisdom, compassion, intelligence, outrage, and humanity.” – Christopher Soden

Review: In The Tall Grass – North Dallas Gazette
“In The Tall Grass’ is not only well written, produced, and performed – it is much needed” – Joe Farkus

Review: In The Tall Grass by Paul Kalburgi – TheatreJones.com
“Compelling and moving…” Martha Heimberg

How the arts can give Dallas an economic boost
Dallas Morning News commentary by Teresa Coleman Wash

How the arts can support public safety
Dallas Morning News op-ed piece by Teresa Coleman Wash

Review: Black Nativity by Langston Hughes – Dallas Morning News
The story of Jesus’ birth inspires contemporary joy in Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s Black Nativity

Review: Black Nativity by Langston Hughes – North Dallas Gazette
Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s Black Nativity is again a holiday treat.

Review: Ruined | Bishop Arts Theatre Center | Bishop Arts Theater Center
Women surviving violent rape and abandonment find courage, humor and a desperate refuge in a Congolese brothel in a strong production of Ruined at Bishop Arts Theatre Center

Bishop Arts Theatre’s Ruined masterful, brilliant theatre
Lynn Nottage’s Ruined is a poignant, intelligent, drama that explores the diminishment and degradation of women in the midst of patriarchy.

‘Ruined’ is a tough story that needs to be told
Throughout recorded history, men have found an excuse to go to war.

Review: Third Annual PlayPride LGBT Festival l Bishop Arts Theatre Center
At Bishop Arts Theatre Center, six short plays by Texas writers in the third annual PlayPride LGBT Competition make for a cohesive evening.

Third Annual LGBT PlayPride Competition intriguing mix of wicked satire and allegory
Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s Third Annual LGBT PlayPride Competition is an intriguing mix, with an interesting approach.

Theaters Challenged To Produce Work By Anyone Other Than Straight White Dudes
Dallas ladies, like Teresa Coleman Wash, are doing the work.

It’s Time To Give More Women and Playwrights Of Color The Spotlight
RoleReboot op-ed piece by Teresa Coleman Wash

Review: Down For #TheCount. Count the Ways
Bishop Arts Theatre Center takes an important leap forward with its first Down for #TheCount women’s playwriting festival.

Review: Down For #TheCount. Dallas Examiner
Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s ‘Down for the Count’: surprising, original, moving and memorable

Bishop Arts Theatre Center Celebrates Women’s Voices With Six Day Festival
BISHOP ARTS DISTRICT – Something special is taking center stage at Dallas’ Bishop Arts Theatre Center.

Are You Down For #TheCount With Bishop Arts Theatre?
DR Hanson is a busy man: he’s an actor, director and, most recently, a feminist crusader.

Celebrating Women’s Voices at Bishop Arts Theatre
At this time of year, Dallas’ Bishop Arts Theatre Center hosts a new playwright competition, with short one-acts from mostly local writers filling the stage

Meet the 2016 Dallas Observer MasterMinds
Bishop Arts Theatre Center Founder & Executive Artistic Director Teresa Coleman Wash receives 2016 MasterMind award

Gospel music-driven ‘Black Nativity’ inspires at Bishop Arts Theatre Center
When Langston Hughes’ gospel-music-driven production, Black Nativity debuted in 1961, it became one of the first plays

Do Tell
Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s annual staging of Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity is sincere and occasionally powerful.

Black Nativity is extraordinary and not a one-time experience
Bishop Arts Theatre Center production of Black Nativity by Langston Hughes shines the light on the classic work

‘Black Nativity’ powerful, beautiful, deeply felt
Every Christmas Bishop Arts Theatre Center in Oak Cliff does Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” using a different guest director.

Center Stage
Bishop Arts Theatre Center stages powerful rendition of the play ‘The Face Of Emmett Till’

Review: North Dallas Gazette
The Face Of Emmett Till brings to life a story we cannot afford to forget.

Recently Reviewed Theater:
‘Bad Jews’, ‘The Mountaintop’ and More.

Center Stage
Tony Award Winner Texas Terrence McNally Kicks Off TeCo Season With Free Talk.

2015-2016 Season
Bishop Arts Theatre Center expands its scope next season with more plays, a focus on women writers of color, and a talk with Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally.

Gay For Play
Bishop Arts Theatre Center second PlayPride LGBT Festival is an early contest for the most improved theatrical event.

Q&A Nnenna Freelon
The Grammy-nominated jazz singer talks about a work she co-created, The Clothesline Muse, playing at Bishop Arts Theatre Center

And The Winner Is
Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s 13th New Play Competition is a tasty theater pie served in 20-minute slices

Brilliant ensemble & meticulous craft distinguish TeCo’s 13th Annual New Play Competition
As you might expect from any endeavor of this sort…

The audience is the true winner
Six plays in less than three hours, there is bound to be a…

Dallas Morning News Cover Story 1/18/15
Dallas Festival of Ideas sees arts as inspiring people, societies to grow…

BWW Review
BATC’s Modernized Youthful BLACK NATIVITY is a Resounding Hit

Happy Birth Day
Bishop Arts Theatre Center steps out with a marvelous, contemporary take on Langston Hughes Black Nativity

Black Nativity Takes You Back To Church For Christmas
Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s 2014 Black Nativity production will warm your heart, lift your spirits and take you back home-your church home-for Christmas.

Buster Spiller’s Pot Liquor Wins
Bishop Arts Theatre Center has added another feather to a cap that’s decorated with new play competitions, and this time it’s devoted to gay-themed work.

Playing For Pride
Bishop Arts Theatre Center Launches the PlayPride LGBT Festival

And The Winner Is….
Antay Bilgutay Wins Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s 2014 New Play Competition with STRANGERS IN A CHAPEL

BWW Reviews: ‘Overpass’, ‘Strangers’, ‘Straight’ & Youth Actors Dominate TeCo Competition
The 12th Annual New Place Competition. This year’s competition featured some new faces and quite a few older ones…

BATC Mojo
At Bishop Arts Theatre Center, the 12th Annual New Play Competition showcases some promising work from local writers.

The Many Re-Births Of ‘Black Nativity’
Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity became a Hollywood movie this year, but it’s long been a holiday stage tradition.

Black at the Assassination’: New play illuminates overlooked voices in Dallas
Playwrights Camika Spencer and Kyndal Robertson, both Dallas natives, were tasked to tackle that black perspective head-on, to examine the grief, fear, and disappointment among a community in Dallas that had put so much hope in the political future in the nation’s 35th president.

Black Dallas Residents Remembers JFK Assassination Ahead of 50th Anniversary
Next week the eyes of the world will be on Dallas as they remember the 50th anniversary of the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.

Black at the Assassination Deserves A+ for Compelling History Lesson.
I am not a native Texas even though I spent many summer vacations in…

Another Side of History
With Black at the Assassination, Bishop Arts Theatre Center explores how the JFK event 50 years ago affected African-Americans in Dallas.

Black At The Assassination Adds An Overlooked Perspective On JFK Events
Two Oak Cliff playwrights tell the story from a different angle.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s Black At The Assassination Rewinds History to November 1963.
The material has promise, but the production of Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s latest Black At The Assassination doesn’t do it justice.

Oak Cliff’s Notable Locals Celebrated In New Book
Three local authors team up to honor legendary residents in new a book complete with extraordinary, vintage images.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s New Play Competition grows artistically and maintains its roots
When Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s Founder/Executive Artistic Director Teresa Coleman Wash launched the 1st Annual New Play Competition ten years ago, it immediately…

FRESH FRIDAY: New Play Contest
Seven local playwrights compete for a chance to win $1,000 cash in the annual New Play Competition produced for the eleventh year by Bishop Arts Theatre Center, under…

The Power of New Work
With the help of Will Power, Bishop Arts Theatre Center offers its best New Play Competition in years.

Theater Review: Why You Should Make Langston Hughes’ Gospel Nativity Your Holiday Tradition
The Center’s mission “to cultivate a diverse and vibrant arts community while creating sustainable opportunities for local and emerging artists through performances and education” is apparent in this heartfelt production that draws a sharp distinction between theater of the community, and not community theater.

Our Lady of the Fried Chicken Sandwich
At Bishop Arts Theatre Center, Jonathan Norton’s Ain’t This Some Sh*t! recent politics and pop culture.

A Shining Little Light
The Bishop Arts Center in Oak Cliff takes pride in advocating for the arts and involving its diverse community on multiple levels of programming.  An exemplary instance if this advocacy and involvement is…

Norton and Whitfield lead the Pack in the “Best Of The Best”
Bishop Arts Theatre Center has reached a milestone with its Annual New Play Competition.  Now in its 10th year, this staple of the Dallas theater community celebrates six (6) local playwrights…

Black Nativity:  Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s Christmas Essence Celebration
Christmastime at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center means a rich, unique performance experience, based on a yearly, expressive tradition.  Adjacent to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff, TeCo entertains…

Curve Appeal
Bishop Arts Theatre Center makes a fantastic venue for Josefina Lopez’s thin Real Women Have Curves.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center helps Oak Cliff-area teens with T-An-T apprenticeship program
“Say it again!  I’m in the back; I need to hear you,”  Phyllis Wallace-Dunn bellows.  The teenagers on stage at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center repeat their lines with more…

The Right Stuff, A Right Start – TeCo’s New Play Contest
Moliere and Mamet had to start somewhere, right?  For nine years, Bishop Arts Theatre Center has honored the endeavors of regional and aspiring playwrights by hosting  New Play Competition at its welcoming gem of a venue, the Bishop Arts Theatre…

Theater Review:  There’s No Business In Show Business At Bishop Arts Theatre Center
Artistic Director Teresa Coleman Wash takes the stage pre-curtain to welcome the audience to Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s original production of There’s No Business In Show Business.

Lyrical Magnificence:  Black Nativity at Bishop Arts
The show begins in complete darkness, silence. When the curtain rises, a simple wooden cradle rests upstage on a small raised platform strewn with straw…

Timely Excellence In TeCo Theater’s One Act Winners
And the winner is…  The results are in from the 7th Annual New Play Competition:  The Best of Political Theater, sponsored by Bishop Arts Theatre Center…