Our Dear Dead Drug Lord “starts off as a hoot and winds up a primal scream.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times

Our Dear Dead Drug Lord follows a gang of teenage girls gathers in an abandoned treehouse to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar. Are they messing with the actual spirit of the infamous cartel kingpin? Or are they really just messing with each other? A roller coaster ride through the danger and damage of girlhood – the teenage wasteland – has never been so much twisted fun.

^{Our Dear Dead Drug Lord includes content of violent and sensitive natures including: Production Elements: This production uses stage blood, water-based haze, some sudden loud sounds, and some flashing lights. Depictions of abuse and death of an animal, blood, partial nudity, sexual activity, self-harm, teenage and unwanted pregnancy, abortion outside of a medical setting, drug use, smoking, and graphic violence. Mentions and Discussions of race and racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, glorification of genocidal/homicidal leaders, ableist language, drowning, rape, mental illness, domestic abuse, self-harm, suicide and suicidal ideation, drug use, masturbation, menstruation, terrorism, and the death of a child.}                          

CAST

Pipe | *Ángela María Ramos

Zoom | Alexis Farrell

Squeeze | Alicia Antwine

Kit | *Alysha Lynette Gonzalez

CREATIVE TEAM

Director | Ruben Carrazana

Assistant Director/Understudy | Alyssa Carrasco

Producer | Parker Gray

Stage Manager |*Gabriela Leodiou

Technical Director/ Prod. Manager | José Torres

Scenic Designer | Bob Lavallee

Costume Designer |Whitney LaTrice

Sound Designer | Joshua Nguyen

Lighting Designer |Lori Honeycutt

Intimacy Designer & Choreographer | Dr. Danielle Georgiou

Props Designer/ COVID Safety Officer | Carson McCain

Production Assistant | Carol Diaz-Arrastía

Production Assistant | Omar Padilla

^{*Appearing under a Small Professional Theatres contract courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.}

MORE FROM THE CREATIVES

Alexis Scheer’s breakout play was the Off Broadway hit Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (WP Theater/Second Stage: NYT Critics Pick, John Gassner Award; LTC Carnaval of New Latinx Work; Kilroy’s List). Her other plays include Laughs in Spanish (Kennedy Center’s Harold & Mimi Steinberg Award) and Christina (Roe Green Award; O’Neill Finalist). Her work has been developed at the Kennedy Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre Center, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, and more. Television: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (HBO Max). Alexis is currently under commission by Second Stage, MTC and Miami New Drama.

Alexis was born and raised in Miami, Florida in a Jewish-Colombian household. She is a proud alum of New World School of the Arts and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory and MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. She also has an extensive acting background. Alexis is repped by Di Glazer and Ross Weiner at CAA. She resides in Boston with her music conductor husband and mini-Aussie Sagan.

RUBEN CARRAZANA – Director (he/him) is an actor, director, writer, producer, and teaching artist originally from Miami. He is a recent transplant to Chicago after working professionally in the Dallas theater scene for several years, and is currently the Community Engagement Manager at Northlight Theatre. Stage acting credits include Remy Bumppo Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Stage West, Kitchen Dog Theater, Undermain Theatre, Second Thought Theatre, Theatre Three, the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, and Prism Movement Theater. Onscreen acting credits include Chicago PD, Nordstrom, Frito Lay, Taco Bueno, and CAT Financial. He is represented by Grossman & Jack Talent. Directing credits include Broken Nose Theatre, BoHo Theatre, Pegasus Theatre Chicago, Stage West, Cry Havoc Theater, Cara Mía Theatre, Latino/Oak Cliff Cultural Center, and Jesters.

As a writer, Ruben has been commissioned by Kitchen Dog Theater and the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group. He was a finalist for Echo Theater’s National Young Playwrights in Residence program, and his stage play She was awarded an Honorable Mention from the Southwest Playwriting Festival. His play Stacy Has A Thing For Black Guys was recommended for the American Theatre Critics Association/Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Award, and was adapted into a feature film in 2019 by TZOM Films, in association with Adam and Elliot Moving Pictures.

Ruben is a recipient of the Edyth Renshaw Award, an Activating Vacancy grant from bcWORKSHOP and the National Endowment for the Arts, a TACA Resiliency Initiative Grant, and a three-time recipient of grants from the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture. He also co-founded The Tribe, a theater collective dedicated to the development of original work in Dallas, and named a Dallas Mastermind by the Dallas Observer. Ruben holds a BFA in Theatre from Southern Methodist University.

ALYSSA CARRASCO– Assistant Director/ Understudy (she/her)is an actor and director born and raised in the DFW area. She recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma’s Helmerich School of Drama with a BFA in Acting, Class of 2022. Her credits include: Second Thought Theatre: April in Is Edward Snowden Still Single? Oklahoma Shakespeare: Emma in Emma. Kitty Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Williamstown Theatre Festival (Directors Fellowship): mover/ensemble in Lasthunter Weitzenhoffer Theatre (OU): Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lydia Wickham in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. Bride in Blood Wedding. Garner Lab Theatre (OU): Dolores in Still. Lucy in Lucy and the Conquest. Directing Credits include: Studio Theatre (OU): Marisol by José Rivera

GABRIELA LEODIOU- Stage Manager (she/her) is excited to join Second Thought Theatre on the exciting production of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. Audiences are in for a treat with #Cringe worthy moments and Girl Power. Previous SM Credits include; Ashes of Light with Teatro Dallas; Stede Bonnet: A F*cking Pirate Musical with Theatre Three, Lucha Teotl with Prism Movement Theater and The AT&T Performing Arts Center Elevator Project, To DIE:GO in Leaves, Crystal City 1969, Luchadora, and more with Cara Mia Theatre, Stronger than Arms, Things Missing/ Missed with DGDG and Undermain Theatre, The Savage Seconds, The Bippy Bobby Boo Show productions, Just Girly Things with Danielle Georgiou Dance Group; and Andi Boi, Little Women: The Musical, A Wrinkle in Time at Dallas Children’s Theater. She continues to work locally throughout the D-FW area. She wants to thank her family and friends for their endless support. “Inspire with Enthusiasm!”  

ÁNGELA MARÍA RAMOS- Pipe (she/her) is a Colombian-Italian multidisciplinary artist currently pursuing her MFA in Acting at Southern Methodist University. She has performed and debuted her creative writing and music Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway for the Vineyard Theatre, Dixon Place, TADA Youth Theatre, Russian Arts Theatre and the Five Angels Theatre. She has been commissioned to write and perform for the Nobel Women’s Initiative and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Ángela is a proud alum of the 2020 pilot cohort of the BIPOC Critics Lab of Jose Solis and a moderator of the BIPOC Critics Lab Forum for the Kennedy Center. In 2022, her short film, Like a Virgin, was awarded the New Work Grant by the Queens Council of the Arts. The previous year, she released her first single, Make or Break, and is currently working on her first EP with soul, blues, and alternative rock influences. Her greatest honor is being her mother’s daughter.

ALEXIS FARRELL- Zoom (she/her) is ecstatic to make her Second Thought Theatre debut telling this gritty, heartfelt, and meaningful story about girlhood! It has been such an honor for her to spend this process connecting with her inner child. Simply having the opportunity to work on this play feels like a dream for her. She has been so lucky to collaborate with the most genuine, kind, talented, and fierce women on this one-of-a-kind play (love you so much dead leaders<3).  Previous credits include As You Like It (Celia, MSU), Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook (Swing, Casa Mañana), and Mamma Mia! (Lisa, Firehouse Theatre). BFA: Montclair State University. Thank you to Carson, Parker, Sasha and the ENTIRE cast and crew of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord! Additional thanks to friends, family, and found family! XOXO!

ALICIA ANTWINE- Squeeze (she/her) is thrilled to be a part of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord at Second Thought Theatre. This is Alicia’s first professional production, and she plans to attend New York University Tisch school of the Arts for a BFA in Acting. She would like to thank her family for the endless support and love. As well as her director for giving her this wonderful opportunity to share her passion for theatre.

ALYSHA LYNETTE GONZALEZ- Kit (she/her) is blessed to be portraying the role of Kit.  She feels absolutely grateful to tell this story along with an amazing cast and crew. Her past productions were with Shakespeare Dallas in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cara Mia Theatre in Crystal City 1969 and To DIE:GO in Leaves by Frida Kahlo. She graduated with a BFA in Acting degree at The University of Texas at Arlington. She would like to thank her family, directors, and friends for always supporting her. Puro 956 Pride.  

BOB LAVALLEE- Set Designer (he/him) Second Thought Theatre – Gruesome Playground Injuries, Dallas Theater Center – The Christians, Dream Girls, The Mountaintop, The Rocky Horror Show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat…,Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park, Cabaret, Second City Does Dallas, Red and A Christmas Carol for eight consecutive years ; Casa Mañana Theater – West Side Story; Joseph and the…;Dallas Children’s Theater’s National Tour – The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, Circle Theater- One Man Two Guvnors, Sweeney Todd, Young Frankenstein, The Mountaintop, Amphibian Stage – Three Days of Rain, Time Stands Still, Hunting and Gathering, Death Tax, Fiction; Trinity Shakespeare Festival – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labor’s Lost; Fort Worth Opera – Three Decembers. Stage West- The Father, An Octaroon, Between Riverside and Crazy, Cruel Intentions; The90’s Musical, A Three-time Guest Artist University of Oklahoma School of Drama/Musical Theater, Keynote Speaker (Southwest Region) USITT Conference, Resident Designer UNT Opera five years and resident designer for 5 years at Casa Mañana, Television Production Designer 14 years for PBS’ Barney and Friends, over 50 (hour long) Barney Home Videos Lyric Studios and Hit Entertainment. Other design venues include Jubilee Theater, Kitchen Dog Theater, African American Repertory Theatre, Water Tower Theatre, CFRT Fayetteville N.C., The North Carolina Theater Raleigh N.C. and the Zach Theater in Austin, TX. Feature film Production Design – Searching for Sonny and The Land of Make Believe. Recipient of the Elston Brooks Lifetime Achievement Award from The Live Theater League of Tarrant County.

WHITNEY LATRICE- Costume, Hair and Makeup Design (she/her)is thrilled to be working on her first show with Second Thought! After earning her BFA in Acting and Directing from Sam Houston State, she moved to the DFW Metroplex where she has been working as an actress, costumer, director, and now educator for over 10 years. Design Credits: Stage West – Between Riverside and Crazy, Cry Havoc Theatre Company – SEX ED, Jubilee Theatre – How I Got Over, To Be Young Gifted and Black, Nina Simone: Four Women; Echo Theatre – Hurricane Diane and The Monarch (co-pro with Soul Rep), Ursuline Academy – Newsies, Tartuffe, Steel Magnolias, Fiddler on the Roof, Into the Woods, The Insanity of Mary Girard and All In The Timing. Directing/AD: Maytag Virgin (T3), Bridges: Sisters of Salem (Flexible Grey), Funny You Don’t Act Like A Negro (Dir. Christie Vela – T3), How I Got Over (Dir. Khira Hailey – Jubilee), and Well Intentioned White People (Flexible Grey). 

LORI HONEYCUTT- Lighting Designer (she/they) is a Dallas-based lighting and scenic designer of dance and theatre. She has served as company technical director as well as the scenic and lighting designer for the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group (DGDG) since 2014 and has worked as a theatre educator for the last 20 years. Recent/Favorite credits include Stede Bonnet: A F*cking Pirate Musical with Theatre Three, Luchadora! with Cara Mia, Stronger Than Arms and Things Missing/Missed with DGDG and Undermain, Scrooge in Rouge with Stage West, High Five and A Love Offering with Kitchen Dog Theatre. She is delighted to be participating in her first production with Second Thought Theatre.

JOSHUA NGUYEN- Sound Designer (he/they) is honored to debut at Second Thought Theatre for Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. Selected works: The Mountaintop (Circle Theater), Bars & Measures, Fairview (Bishop Arts Theater Center), Clue (Associate Design at Dallas Theater Center), Side by Side by Sondheim (Associate Design at RepSTL). Joshua holds a BFA in Theatre Design & Technology from Baylor University. joshuanguyen.net @jashngooyen

DR. DANIELLE GEORGIOU- Intimacy Designer & Choreographer (she/her) is a director and choreographer of movement, fights, and intimacy in dance, theatre, film, and opera. Recent directing/choreography credits include “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell” and “Stede Bonnet: A F*cking Pirate Musical” with Theatre Three, “Scrooge in Rouge” with Stage West, “Amahl and The Night Visitors” with the Fort Worth Opera, “The Bippy Bobby Boo” series and “Stronger Than Arms” with the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group. She was recently selected as part of a team for the 2022 Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize (Opera America) and for an artist residency in Crete with Mudhouse Residency. She is the Artistic Director of the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, and the former Associate Artistic Director of Undermain Theatre (2019-2022). She holds a Ph.D. in Humanities-Aesthetic Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a Professor of Dance, Humanities, and Visual Art at Dallas College—Eastfield campus. More at www.dgdgdancegroup.com.

CAROL DIAZ-ARRASTÍA- Production Assistant (she/her) is thrilled to be part of the Dallas theater scene with this show! She studied film & media, theater, and creative writing at Pepperdine University in California; and after spending some time west, she’s happy to be back home. Past credits include: Filament podcast series, #2 in “The Wolves,” cast member/writer for Pepperdine’s comedy sketch series, “The Randumb Show,” Bad Idea Bear in “Avenue Q,” Hermia in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Chloe in “Arcadia,” and Christine in “Travelers,” which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Thank you to my husband, my family, and anyone who is supporting the arts in Texas!

OMAR PADILLA- Production Assistant (he/him) is excited to be back with Second Thought Theatre, where he was last seen in the production of Dry Powder. Other theatre credits include: Theatre Three, Dallas Theater Center, Ochre House, Shakespeare Dallas, Undermain Theatre, Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, Cara Mia Theatre Co., Dallas Children’s Theatre, Teatro Dallas, Prism Movement, Shakespeare Everywhere, Altered Shakespeare, and Theatre Arlington. Omar is represented by the Kim Dawson Agency.