Soul Rep Theatre Company was founded in 1995 by Dallas/Fort Worth natives Guinea Bennett-Price, Anyika McMillan-Herod, and Tonya Holloway. Guinea and Anyika are both products of Dallas ISD's Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Class of ’89), while all three co-founders hold BFAs in Theater from the dynamic undergraduate programs of Howard University and Prairie View A&M University. The trio returned to Dallas in the mid 90’s after attending graduate school programs and internships at regional theaters across the country. They shared a tremendous desire to establish a theater company in Dallas dedicated to the Black experience, after learning there no longer was a company in the city doing so.
For three decades, Soul Rep has been a trailblazer in Dallas’ cultural landscape, dedicated to telling the untold and overlooked stories of the Black community. The company is proud to be a haven for local Black artists and a platform that amplifies diverse voices. Soul Rep’s productions have not only enriched the arts in North Texas but also served as a catalyst for social change, engaging audiences from all walks of life. The company’s productions have consistently received acclaim for their artistic excellence, with dynamic storytelling and powerful performances…and continues its commitment to presenting thought-provoking, relevant theater that both honors the past and addresses contemporary issues.
In Dallas, where stories weave through the air,
Soul Rep Theatre Company took its first breath—
a bold declaration, a soul’s manifesto
to narrate the unspoken, to stage the shadows
where light meets the dark of human fares.
Twenty-nine years now waltzing into thirty,
each step a rhythm in the dance of resilience,
each line a verse in the poem of persistence.
They crafted a space where voices,
muffled under the weight of untold histories,
could rise—
strong, clear, undenied.
As we mark this milestone, the thirtieth turn
around the sun,
let us pause, reflect, and honor
the art born of passion, the tales spun
from the threads of our communal fabric.
Here, in the heart of Texas, Soul Rep stands—
a testament to the enduring power of art
to challenge, to change,
to chart the course of souls set free.
