Actor Spotlight

Prolific Dallas-Fort Worth actor savors roles both on and off the stage

Some are surprised when they find out that Garret Storms is not only a prolific actor in the Dallas-Fort Worth area but a director as well.

Having steered two of Stage West's most recently well-reviewed plays — Mr. Burns, a post-electric play and The Nether — Storms gets back in the spotlight with WaterTower Theatre's The Big Meal.

Before that play, which imagines nearly 80 years of a family's lives in one sitting, Storms took the time to fill out our survey of serious, fun, and sometimes ridiculous questions.

Name: Garret Storms

Role in The Big Meal: Man 3

Previous work in the DFW area: Productions at Stage West, WaterTower Theatre, Second Thought Theatre, Trinity Shakespeare, Theatre Three, Amphibian Stage Productions, Shakespeare Dallas

Hometown: Fort Worth

Where you currently reside: Fort Worth

First theater role: Fyedka in Fiddler on the Roof

First stage show you ever saw:The Wizard of Oz

Moment you decided to pursue a career in theater: I don’t know if I recall a particular moment. I remember knowing that I wanted it as a kid, but I also think there may have been a moment in high school when I understood that it was a real option.

Most challenging role you’ve played: Most recently, Benjamin Südel in Martyr

Special skills: Jenga

Something you’re REALLY bad at: Sneezing quietly

Current pop culture obsession: I mean, Game of Thrones, right??

Last book you read:The Catcher in the Rye … again.

Favorite movie(s): The Wizard of Oz

Favorite musician(s): The Dresden Dolls

Favorite song: "Over the Rainbow"

Dream role: The Emcee in Cabaret

Favorite play(s): There are so many great ones, and I am far too indecisive to come up with a proper response.

Favorite musical(s): (See above.)

Favorite actors/actresses: Cate Blanchett

Favorite food: Yes

Must-see TV show(s): I recently finished the current season of House of Cards. It was just fine.

Something most people don’t know about you: I am an Eagle Scout.

Place in the world you’d most like to visit: Hogwarts

Pre-show warm-up: It sort of varies show to show — maybe stretches, a quick run, vocals, lines, and walking through the show.

Favorite part about your current role: I love that this show is such an ensemble piece, and I’m beyond humbled to be working alongside this group of artists.

Most challenging part about your current project: I think making all of the shifts and transitions between generations and characters seamless and clearly is a big challenge of the script, but it is proving to be a fun and fascinating process.

Most embarrassing onstage mishap: I once missed the stage manager’s "places" call for a Christmas panto and had to awkwardly find my way to the middle of the stage mid-dance break halfway through the opening number of Act 2.

Career you’d have if you weren’t in theater: Who is the person that names the newest colors and shades of paint? Because THAT.

Favorite post-show spot: There are a few, but The Bearded Lady certainly makes the list.

Favorite thing about Dallas-Forth Worth: There are a lot of awesome things about Dallas-Fort Worth. Not rush hour, though.

Most memorable theater moment: I have seen some incredible theater — I don’t know if I could choose just one. But I will say, the one moment that I feel like all theater people will never forget is the first time the saw Elphaba defy gravity [in Wicked]. On behalf of the theater collective, does that count?

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WaterTower Theatre's The Big Meal runs April 18-May 8.

Actor and director Garret Storms.

Photo courtesy of Second Thought Theatre

Actor and director Garret Storms.

interview qa theater

Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

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