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ALLY: I conceived The Firehouse Theatre when I was 17. I wrote to then-council members and local leaders making my case for a community theater. I watched my brothers get the best Little League in the world right across the street - meanwhile I was driving to the closest theater (in Frisco!) to scratch my artistic itch. A group of incredible community members came together and made the theater happen (I can't take credit for that - I was away at college). The highs have been high and the lows... I don't even want to talk about. BUT to this day, the greatest community I've ever known has come out of this organization and keeps me believing that Farmers Branch is the best place in the metroplex to live. Because of the sacrifices those first responders made to see this vision come to life, so many local kids (including my own 17-year-old sister) don't know a Farmers Branch without The Firehouse Theatre. We are so lucky.
OWEN: I’m there for big picture. Ally really helps set the mood of the rehearsal process as well as the piece itself. Once I have the show fully staged, she really steps in and does more fine tuning – bringing out the comedy and tightening up moments and pacing. This allows me to focus on the tech elements (the set, lighting, costumes and sound) coming together along with the acting company so that we are creating the same cohesive story. Ally also typically designs and manages all the props.
ALLY: Owen and I have been working together professionally for nearly 15 years. We first met as theatre majors at Abilene Christian University, quickly became best friends, and then (in true dramatic fashion) chose chaos and turned our friendship into something more. We’re professional problem solvers... and that's most of what this job is. At The Firehouse, we’ve co-directed Catch Me If You Can and Saturday Night Fever, and I’ve designed props for several of Owen’s solo directing and producing projects. Last spring, the roles flipped — he produced 9 to 5 while I took the lead as director.
OWEN: We have co-produced a couple short films together, been acting and audition coaches at a number of universities, and I’ve been a casting assistant on numerous projects that Ally’s company has been the casting office for. As a working actor, I’ve always joked that I have a live-in acting/audition coach. We don’t always come as a package deal, but if you hire one of us for an artistic project, you’re naturally going to benefit from the other as well.
ALLY: A lot of new faces on stage! We take a lot of pride in the fact that so many actors choose to keep auditioning and performing at Firehouse. It's a beautiful testament to the organization and this community, but we are equally excited to bring new talent into the fold - and there's a ton of new talent in The Wedding Singer, even some faces who aren't necessarily new to the theater, but new to the stage! Our "Julia" has been involved at the Firehouse previously as a stage manager and assistant director, but this will be her first time performing on our stage! We have another, fun cameo from one of our board members who has never been in a musical before (and she's killing it!).
OWEN: When I compare the stage show to the movie, I’m struck by the quicker pace at which the musical moves. The movie is actually a bit more of a slow burn and frankly feels more “slice of life” than you might remember, even though it has outrageous characters. It’s more typical of what in the 2000s would become known as “cringe comedy” as made famous by sitcoms like The Office. The stage show has been “musical theatre-ized” in all the best ways and has become louder, faster and funnier than the film.
OWEN: We do large-scale Broadway style shows in a small-scale unconventional space. I think first-time audience members sometimes come with an almost morbid curiosity of “how are they gonna pull this off?” Then they’re blown away by how well we pull it off, and they keep coming back as we continue to pull it off time and again.
ALLY: It is an intimate space where we tackle a lot of technically demanding shows. Part of the fun of directing here is taking on the challenge of re-imagining a traditionally "big" show for such a small space. It's exciting to see what theatrical magic we are able to pull off in a space that used to house firetrucks!
OWEN: Well, we both missed the 80s by a couple of years, but had a good education from parents. I particularly love the music. Barely a day goes by without me turning on some Journey or Billy Joel among other artists.
ALLY: I loathe 80s fashion but love 80s music, especially anything Annie Lennox/The Eurythmics and Stevie Nicks did in that decade.
ALLY: We are vacationing in Mexico!
OWEN: I have an acting gig at another North Texas theatre which I’m very excited about this summer, but unable to officially announce just yet. I’ll have to leave that to their marketing team! But I’ll also, of course, still be making sure that The Firehouse continues to deliver top-quality entertainment through the rest of this season and am already beginning to plan our 2026 season!
OWEN: Back To The Future (watch for the appearance it makes in our show!)
ALLY: Tootsie
OWEN: Not a dream really, but we've thrown around ideas for Waitress a few times.
OWEN: Iced Vanilla Latte or Hot Dirty Chai
ALLY: Oatmilk Latte
BOTH: Red Stix…followed by a show at The Firehouse!
OWEN: Fiddler On The Roof
ALLY: Showboat (at Fair Park!)
Ally is a freelance casting director and producer working out of NYC, Los Angeles, and Texas. Owen is an actor and director and currently serves as the Artistic Producer of The Firehouse Theatre. They've been married 10 years and after 5 years in NYC have happily called Farmers Branch home for the past 5 along with their dog Winston. Go Stars!
