Kyle Lemieux, currently the director of the drama department at the University of Dallas, has announced the launch of his new theater troupe, the Dallas Actor’s Lab, which will kick-off its existence with David Mamet’s Oleanna on July 28 at The Green Zone (thank goodness for places like The Green Zone). The play will star Natalie Young, who recently wowed in Second Thought Theatre’s Red Light Winter, and Lemieux, who will serve as the Dallas Actor’s Lab’s artistic director. From Lemieux:

“Our vision for Dallas Actor’s Lab is to serve as an incubator for emerging and established artists, both locally and nationally” said Lemieux. “Launching Dallas Actor’s Lab with David Mamet’s Oleanna, in such an intimate setting as the Green Zone, places the focus squarely on the actor and the text. My goal for the Lab is to create an environment in which artists can do their best work.”

Lemieux, as you may have heard, has been mounting some pretty ambitious stuff out on UD’s hill-removed campus, including Sophie Treadwell’s challenging Machinal, which earned a nod as the best amateur production of 2010 from TheaterJones. The drama department also staged a full outdoor production last spring of The Wakefield Cycle, a 15th century Biblical play that is comprised of 32 individual shorts (that one was put on by Stefan Novinski). It is good news indeed that Lemieux is making his way into the wider Dallas scene.