Produced
Created by JONATHAN ROCKEFELLER
JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 28 2026
TITLE SPONSOR
Created by JONATHAN ROCKEFELLER
DALLAS CHILDREN’S THEATER 2025-26 SEASON SUPPORTED BY
O ce of Arts & Culture
THE M.R. & EVELYN HUDSON FOUNDATION
SHOWALTER FAMILY FOUNDATION FUND AT THE DALLAS FOUNDATION
MARCH FAMILY FOUNDATION MELINDA AND JIM JOHNSON
GREENE FAMILY CHARITABLE GIVING FUND
THE EUGENE MCDERMOTT FOUNDATION
FAUS FAMILY FOUNDATION
LOREN AND CAROLYN GREAVES
GENERAL SPONSORS INCLUDE
Laurie Sands Harrison
Kevin and Carol March
Karen and Ken Travis
NIELS ANDERSKOUV AND VIBEKE JARNUM
Texas Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts
Jane and Bill Travis
The Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation
Merrill Lynch
The Koz Foundation
Crawley Family Foundation
Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District
Janet Spencer Shaw
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT IS PROVIDED BY
Tara Lewis and John Swords
Ellen and Jim Markus
Eugene Straus Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
Holloway Family Foundation
Strake Foundation
Rachel Orr
Becky and Everett Spaeth
Lauren and Ryan Herrington
Emily Jefferson
Sarah Freedman and Chris Skoog
Kara and Todd Ranta
The Stephen M. Seay Foundation
Joan Becker
Central Market
Margot B. Perot
Harry S. Moss Foundation
Peter and Jennifer Altabef
John and Julie Parolisi
Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty
Foundation
Green Mountain Energy
DCT’s official renewable energy partner
SENSORY-FRIENDLY SPONSORS FICHTENBAUM CHARITABLE TRUST
Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
The Alice E. and Joseph C. Blewett Foundation
Texas Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts
LISA K. SIMMONS
About Eric Carle
Bright collage images, imaginative stories, and little details—die cut pages, a firefly’s twinkling lights, a quiet cricket’s song—make Eric’s work uniquely playful. It’s a book you can play with, and a toy you can read.
Eric Carle’s Unique Style
Eric Carle’s art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His artwork is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images. Many of his books have an added dimension—die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, even the lifelike sound of a cricket’s song as in The Very Quiet Cricket giving them a playful quality: A book you can play with and a toy you can read. Children also enjoy working in collage and many send him pictures they have made themselves, inspired by his illustrations.
Excerpted from eric-carle.com/about-eric-carle/eric-carles-biography/
More Books by Eric
Carle
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (1967)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969)
The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1975)
The Greedy Python (1985)
The Very Quiet Cricket (1990)
The Very Lonely Firefly (1995)
Dream Snow (2000)
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (2011)
Mister Seahorse (2004)
10 Little Rubber Ducks (2005)
KYLE IGNECZI* Ensemble
Kyle is ecstatic to return to the DCT stage following his role as The Pigeon in The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza! Previous performances include Seussical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Music Man, and many more. Prior to helping develop 70+ new works across the region, Kyle toured internationally with Sesame Street Live, Curious George Live, and The USO/Sesame Street Experience. His voice can be heard in over 150 animated and interactive titles, including One Piece, Blue Lock, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Ultraman Saga, and Epithet Erased. All the love to Katlin, Finn, and Eloise. Follow: @kyleiggy.
GENA LOE* Ensemble
Gena is excited to return to DCT! Her previous work with DCT includes Charlotte’s Web (The Goose), Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! (Bus Engine & More), Seussical (Bird Girl), and many more. Outside of children’s theater, Gena has been seen in Clue, A Christmas Carol, and The Little Mermaid at Dallas Theater Center; Rocky Horror at Lyric Stage; and Xanadu, Head Over Heels, Kinky Boots, and Disaster! at Uptown Players. She would like to thank her family for always encouraging her to dance her heart out!
AUTUMN ROBINSON* Ensemble
Autumn is excited to take part in this iconic presentation. She was last seen performing in Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds Musical at Jubilee Theatre. Previous Dallas credits include Soul Rep Theatre Company and Echo Theatre’s co-production of Cadillac Crew and Echo Theatre’s Echo Reads. She is currently taking part in modeling/filming projects and continuing her pursuit of a Bachelors in Theatrical Fine Arts and a minor in Dance. She’s grateful for the company and opportunity. Autumn thanks her family for their patience and understanding.
GERALD TAYLOR II* Ensemble
Gerald is beyond thrilled to be back at DCT. You may have seen him in The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), The Snowy Day and Other Stories by Ezra Jack Keats, or Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale among many other shows at DCT. Offstage, Gerald has taught for DCT, Broadway Dallas, and Dallas Theater Center. Gerald recently directed an original piece he wrote, In the Beginning, for Teatro Dallas. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
ANIA LYONS Understudy
Ania Lyons is a local theatre artist and has performed, choreographed, and assistant stage managed all over the DFW Metroplex. Previous experience includes work at Dallas Theater Center, Casa Mañana, Prism Movement Theater, Theatre Three, and more. Favorite credits at Dallas Children’s Theater include Grace For President (Grace); Dragons Love Tacos (Blue Dragon); Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” (Squirrelle #2); and Junie B.’s Essential Survival Guide to School (May). The BIGGEST thank you to Nancy Schaeffer for everything she taught me. Catch Ania’s adventures @lyons.dance543.
MARCH 27 – 29
AGES 5 AND UP
BUY TICKETS
Meet the Artistic / Production Staff
MICHAEL MEADOWS
Executive Director
For more than 38 years, Michael Meadows has dedicated his professional career and personal life to serving others through a wide array of charitable organizations. Michael has served as the Director of Development for The University of Texas at Dallas, Executive Vice President for Southwestern Medical Foundation, CEO/Executive Director of the Dallas Zoological Society, and Senior Vice President and Private Wealth Advisor at Westwood Trust, a division of Westwood Holdings Group, a publicly-traded asset management firm. In late 2019, Michael launched Meadows Family Consulting Group LLC. Through his practice, he has served as the interim CEO of Dallas County Heritage Society, the nonprofit organization that managed Old City Park, Dallas’ oldest public park, and as interim Executive Director of Encore Park, a multi-purpose, social impact facility that was founded by First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. He currently serves on the boards of The Meadows Foundation, the Mike A. Myers Foundation, and TACA (The Arts Community Alliance), and on the advisory boards of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at The University of Texas at Austin and the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas. In September 2025, he became the Executive Director of Dallas Children’s Theater.
EMILY ERNST
Artistic Director
Emily Ernst is an actor, director, and movement coach. Prior to her role at DCT, she was the co-founder and Artistic Director of Fair Assembly and Associate Artistic Director at the River & Rail Theatre, founded by SMU Alumni, in Knoxville, TN. As an educator, Emily has taught at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Advanced Acting), the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Cistercian Preparatory School, and Junior Players, among others; and led the Theatre Arts Academy at the Lincoln Playhouse. For the past two years with Junior Players, Emily has led the female cohort of Shakespeare with Henry: the first youth-focused Shakespeare in Prison program in Texas and the third in the nation. Emily has held staff positions with Teatro Dallas, Cry Havoc Theater Company, The Lincoln Community Playhouse, TACA, Flatwater Shakespeare Company, and Theatre for a New Audience in New York City. Recent directing projects include Fiddler on the Roof at UNT, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at River & Rail Theatre, Mame at The Lincoln Playhouse, The Little Prince at River & Rail Theatre, The Music Man Jr. at Cistercian Prep, and King Lear at Fair Assembly. Emily is a graduate of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, L’École internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (2017-2018), and is a fellow of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.
DOUGLASS BURKS Director
A veteran of Dallas area theater, Mr. Burks has worked with Dallas Children’s Theater for many years as an Equity actor, stage manager, sound designer, and director. He is a founding member of the nationally acclaimed Kathy Burks Theatre of Puppetry Arts and has earned the distinction of Master Puppeteer. His directing credits are numerous and include: For DCT- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Christmas Show and Paddington Saves Christmas. For KBTPA: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Snow Queen, Frosty and Friends, and Hoot Owl Hootenanny. Other directing credits include The Hound of the Baskervilles for Eastfield College and DCT’s national tours of Young King Arthur and The BFG (Big Friendly Giant). Doug is remembered for his many roles on the DCT stage, which include The Giver (The Giver), Goodnight Moon (Larry the Tooth Fairy), Peter Pan (Captain Hook), and Frankenstein (The Creature). Mr. Burks was a member of the first graduating class of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.
JOSH SMITH
Scenic Designer
Josh Smith has been a part of the DCT organization since 2013 and has worked in theatrical design and production across educational, community, regional, and professional theaters since 2003. He received his BFA in Theatrical Design from the University of Texas at Arlington, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Josh is proud to contribute to DCT’s goal of introducing children of all ages to theater and the arts.
TROY CARRICO
Lighting Designer
Troy Carrico is excited to be back at DCT for The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. He has designed around the DFW Metroplex including Dallas Theater Center, Dallas Children’s Theater, WaterTower Theatre, Soul Rep Theatre Company, and Arts Mission Oak Cliff. Some of his favorite works have been Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors at DTC, Grace for President at DCT, King Headley at Soul Rep, and Mis-Lead with Verdigris Ensemble. He would like to thank his family and friends for their support. See more of his work at troycarricodesign.com.
MARCO SALINAS
Sound Designer
Marco has designed many, MANY shows for DCT over the last 22 years. He is also a recipient of numerous awards for his sound design work in the Dallas/Fort Worth theater scene and has designed for shows as far away as New York City and even Ireland. He is also the Director of Educational Tours with Shakespeare Dallas where he writes and directs local area tours that teach children and teens about William Shakespeare.
LYLE HUCHTON
Costume Designer
Lyle has been a working costumer in the Dallas area for over 30 years. He has designed over 50+ shows for Dallas Children’s Theater. Some of his favorites include The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Ella Enchanted: the Musical; Treasure Island Reimagined!; Jungalbook; James and the Giant Peach; Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane; Pinkalicious, The Musical; and Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale. Other regional credits include The Dallas Opera, Dallas Theater Center, Shakespeare Dallas, San Antonio Opera, and The Dallas Arboretum’s The 12 Days of Christmas. National tours for HIT Entertainment include Barney Live! and The Wiggles. He also worked on the locally produced PBS television show, Barney and Friends receiving two Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Costume Design/Styling. He is in his 11th year as the Resident Costume Designer/ Costume Shop Manager at Dallas Children’s Theater.
MADDIE COLLINS*
Stage Manager
Maddie is a professional stage manager in the DFW area. She has enjoyed spending a lot of her time at Dallas Children’s Theater, most recently as the Stage Manager on Grace for President and Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are In A Play!” Some of Maddie’s other recent credits include Waitress and A Christmas Carol at Dallas Theater Center.
JONATHAN ROCKEFELLER
Playwright
Jonathan Rockefeller is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, artist, writer, director, and theatrical producer, celebrated for crafting visually arresting, emotionally resonant stories across stage, screen, and canvas.
He founded Rockefeller Studios to develop new works and present adaptations of beloved high-profile intellectual properties. His awardwinning stage productions — including Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Sesame Street the Musical, Paddington, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show — span more than 65 productions across 15 countries, captivating audiences from New York to Tokyo, London to Sydney.
Rockefeller’s work has garnered numerous accolades, including Best Documentary at the AMA Awards, two New York Times Critics’ Picks, multiple Broadway World awards, and six nominations from both the Drama Desk Awards and Off-Broadway Alliance. His stage productions have been recognized for Best New Musical, Best Direction, Best Play, and Best Theatre for Young Audiences. As a former advertising creative director, he received several Clio Awards and a Cannes Lion nomination for excellence in visual storytelling.
Educated at the Victorian College of the Arts, Rockefeller’s visual art practice draws on early modernist and postwar influences to explore identity, memory, and distortion.
Through expressive figuration, bold color, and painterly abstraction, his work evokes both personal and collective reflection. His pieces are held in private collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
His animated film A Little Death is currently in production—a continuation of his genre-defying storytelling that conjures imaginative worlds beyond borders, mediums… and even the afterlife.
ERIC CARLE
Author
Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His bestknown work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into 65 languages and sold over 46 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many bestsellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have sold around the world.
The themes of his stories are usually drawn from his extensive knowledge and love of nature—an interest shared by most small children. Besides being beautiful and entertaining, his books always offer the child the opportunity to learn something about the world around them. It is his concern for children, for their feelings and their inquisitiveness, for their creativity and their intellectual growth that, in addition to his beautiful artwork, makes the reading of his books such a stimulating and lasting experience.
Eric Carle has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter. He passed away in 2021.
DALLAS CHILDREN’S THEATER THANKS YOU!
Reflects gifts received through December 3, 2025.
On behalf of the 90,000 children and families served annually, we gratefully acknowledge our donors who through their contributions made it possible for DCT to present over 500 performances of high quality, professional theater for youth and families. Although program space limits our ability to publicly recognize only donors of $500 and above, we deeply and sincerely appreciate every contribution. As ticket sales cover a small percentage our costs, your annual financial support is critical to introducing North Texas children to the magic of live theater. Should you wish to be added to this extraordinary list of donors or suggest corrections to our list, please contact the DCT Development Department at 214.978.0110 and THANK YOU!
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE
$100,000 +
City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture
Greene Family Charitable Giving Fund
The M.R. & Evelyn Hudson Foundation
Melinda and Jim Johnson
March Family Foundation
The Meadows Foundation
Texas Instruments Foundation
PRODUCING PARTNER
$50,000-$99,999
Niels Anderskouv and Vibeke Jarnum
The Theodore & Beulah Beasley Foundation
Faus Family Foundation
Fichtenbaum Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee
Loren and Carolyn Greaves
The Eugene McDermott Foundation
The Rosewood Corporation
Showalter Family Foundation Fund at the Dallas Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
Harold K. Simmons Foundation
Lisa K. Simmons
TACA, Inc.
Texas Instruments
CENTERSTAGE SPONSOR
$25,000-$49,999
Jean Baptiste “Tad” Adoue III Fund at The Dallas Foundation
Crawley Family Foundation
Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District
Laurie Sands Harrison
The Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation
The Koz Foundation
Merrill Lynch
Texas Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts
Jane and Bill Travis
Karen and Ken Travis
SEASON BENEFACTOR
$10,000-$24,999
Peter and Jennifer Altabef
Joan Becker
Central Market/H-E-B
Ernst & Young LLP
Sarah Freedman and Chris Skoog
Green Mountain Energy
Patrick & Beatrice Haggerty Foundation
Haynes and Boone, LLP
Lauren and Ryan Herrington
Holloway Family Foundation
Emily Jefferson
Tara Lewis and John Swords
Kevin and Carol March
Jim and Ellen Markus
Medical City Dallas
Harry S. Moss Foundation
Rachel Orr
John and Julie Parolisi
Margot B. Perot
Kara & Todd Ranta
The Stephen M. Seay Foundation
Janet Spencer Shaw
Becky and Everett Spaeth
Strake Foundation
Eugene Straus Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
LEADING PLAYER
$5,000-$9,999
Tom Adams
William Altabef
The Alice E and Joseph C Blewett Foundation
Joe B. Brooks
Comerica Bank
Richard and Mary Covington
June Dales
Licia and Chris Dawe
Alencia DeAnda-Gregg and Tony
Gregg
Sarah and Michael DeLuke
DePasse Family Giving
Kelly & Gregory Fijolek
Robyn Flatt
Jennifer Garratt
The Ryan Goldblatt Foundation
Goldman Sachs
Brooks Hall
Meagan and Daniel Hemenway
Carolyn Holloway
Houlihan Lokey
William and Carol Huckin
Stephanie and Ben Jeffery
Jones Day
Fred Jones Family Foundation
Louise W. Kahn Endowment Fund
Ray and Jacqui Mackewicz
Ken and Tanya McDonald
Nancy Miller
Leah and Adam Mora
Prosperity Bank
Francis Ryburn
Tim and Sarah Salmon
Clayton and Lacy Sands
Andrew and Jennifer Scripps
Mark and Linda Shirley
Camelia and Ted Shoemaker
Rachael and Evan Singer
Becky and Everett Spaeth
Richard and Deborah Stanford
Retta Van Auken
DIRECTOR
$2,500-$4,999
Anderson Family Philanthropic Fund
Rosemary and Stephen Anderson
Jean Aoki
Ayco Charitable Foundation
Martha and Arturo Barrios
Betsy & Richard Fijolek
Kelly and Gregory Fijolek
Nicole and Scott Hudson
Robin Ladd
Lisa Lee
Corale and Mitchell Madden
Michael and Debbie Rasa
Brooke and Aaron Shelby
Shelby Family Charitable
Camelia and Ted Shoemaker
Valerie and Mark Skinner
Wilson Tarver
PRODUCER
$1,000-$2,499
Billie and William Aylesworth
Ashley Campfield
Kendra Clark
Brandi Dunn
Janet and Robert Elkin
Lorelei Garratt
Don and Carol Glendenning
Jeffrey Hamilton
Johnathan Helm
Rocky Howard
Charlene Howell
Paul and Susan Jarzemsky
Sheilon King
Valerie and Lewis McMahan
Charles and Kathy Miller
Nancy Miller
Tim Mullins
Tracey Nash-Huntley
Jim and Deborah Nugent
Karol and Larry Omlor
David and Nancy Saustad
Samuel and Diana Self
Barton and Elizabeth Showalter
Andy Smith and Paul von Wupperfeld
Bart and Cheri Thomas
Keelan Twitty
PATRON
$500-$999
Lillian Clark Fund
Angela and Emerson Downes
Jason and Laura Downing
Kathleen Fones
Halff Community Initiative
Morgan Stanley
Pepsico Foundation Employee
Giving Programs
Robert and Maureen Royer
Natalie R. Swan Revocable Trust
David and Harianne Wallenstein
D.I. Wilkinson
Claire Wilson
Rachel C. Ybarra
IN-KIND
Anonymous
AT&T Stadium & The Star
Dr. Evan Beale
Joe B. Brooks
CiCi’s Pizza
Miron Crosby
Michael DeLuke
Erth Hotels
Golden Egg Creative
Nayarit Tourism Board
The Ritz Carlton
The Rosewood Corporation
Rosewood Ranches
Lacy Sands
Southwest Airlines
TXU Energy
Vestals Catering
Virgin Hotels Dallas
