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Dallas’ Second Thought Theatre (STT) is collaborating with Meadows’ Division of Theatre chair Blake Hackler to premiere his new show Healed later this month. Running from April 23-May 10, Healed is about a woman suffering from chronic illness and the lengths she will go to in order to find a cure.

Hackler, who is also one of STT’s Artistic Associates, doesn’t represent the only Meadows connection for the company. STT is currently run by alumni of the Meadows theatre program: Executive Director Parker Gray (B.A. ’16), Artistic Director Carson McCain (B.A. ’14) and Marketing Director Sasha Maya Ada (B.A. ’16).

“Our time at Meadows chemically and artistically shaped us into the artists that we are today,” explains Gray, who learned to take big risks and make bold choices during his training in the theatre program. “The program instilled a sense of rigor, passion, and, most importantly, experimental play that we have brought into Second Thought.”

This experimental encouragement is evident when perusing this season’s bill of plays. The season will be comprised entirely of World Premiere plays written by Dallas playwrights, a “swing for the fences” idea that Gray and McCain concocted together. This idea helps highlight the underlying ethos of the company, empowering local artists to take risks and showcasing writers who boldly tackle difficult and demanding questions in our rapidly changing world.

Healed, which will be directed by McCain, is Hackler’s fourth production to be produced by STT and it explores the stigma behind chronic illnesses and auto-immune disorders. These medical struggles are sometimes termed “invisible illnesses” due to the lack of outward symptoms and can often be dismissed or not taken seriously. Hackler was motivated to highlight this issue because not only has he witnessed his mother’s 25-year struggle with a rare auto-immune disorder, but he himself is also immunocompromised.

“STT does some of the most consistently fine and compelling work in DFW theater and since Parker, Sasha, and Carson have assumed leadership, it's grown even more in its commitment to excellence," Hackler says. “It's very meaningful to me that three former students are now leading the theater and to be asked by them to be a part of the season is such an honor.”

In addition to the theatre itself being run entirely by Meadows alumni, the play will be stage managed by alum and current joker app Meadows employee Mikaela Brooks (B.F.A. ’19), as well as star alumni Lisa Lloyd (B.F.A. ’00) and Karen Parrish (B.F.A. ’91) who will be making their STT debuts.

With a number of Meadows alumni involved in STT as a company and in this particular play, production has been smooth sailing. Attending the same theatre program left them with a common vernacular about art as well as an ingrained training to release themselves from the fear of failure. Trying and taking risks without that fear has certainly paid off for Gray, McCain, and Ada, who are leading STT with imagination and a shared passion for the craft.

"It is kind of wild we all ended up back together running our collective favorite theatre," says Gray. "I am so honored and blessed to work with these incredible artists."

For tickets and more information for Healed at STT,