BWW Q&A: Joel Ferrell Talks Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre at SMU Meadows School of the Arts

The Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre offers conservatory-style training within SMU’s liberal arts education. Our small classes and one-to-one mentorship ensure that each student is seen and supported as an individual. We combine rigorous training in acting, voice, and dance with a strong liberal arts foundation, so students graduate as adaptable, employable, and collaborative artists.

Our faculty work at the highest level of the industry—including Music Director Kimberly Grigsby—and we build direct connections for our students with casting directors, directors, and writers shaping today’s musical theatre. Through partnerships with the Tony Award-winning Dallas Theater Center and networks in New York, students have a clear performance pipeline that begins the moment they arrive.

What makes Sexton different is our focus on acting-forward MT training, a tailored dance curriculum that meets each student where they are, and a priority on new and developing work. Combined with SMU’s deep commitment to the liberal arts, our students receive a holistic education that prepares them not just for their first job, but for a sustainable career in the field.

Josel Ferrell is the Professor of Practice in Theatre and Inaugural Director of the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre. Joel Ferrell is a seasoned director, choreographer, educator and consultant based in Dallas, Texas. 

Ferrell has directed and choreographed extensively around the country for Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center Theater, Portland Center Stage, North Shore Music Theater and many more. He is the former Associate Artistic Director of Dallas Theater Center (2011-2019) and Artistic Director of Casa Manana Musicals (Fort Worth, TX; 1996 to 2001). Ferrell is currently Director in Residence for Theatre Three in Dallas. Other DFW directing credits include Stage West, Circle Theatre, Trinity Shakespeare Festival, Plano Repertory Theatre and Lyric Stage.

Ferrell has worked as a consultant for SMU Meadows School of the Arts, Circle Theater (Fort Worth, TX), Fair Park First (Dallas, TX), and Dallas Stage and Scenery to name a few. His experience as both theater producer and creator has made him valuable for non-profit and commercial organizations, re-envisioning mission, purpose, and programming.

He has served as adjunct theater faculty for Southern Methodist University, Texas Wesleyan University, The University of North Texas, The University of Texas at Arlington, as well as teaching regularly for Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. Ferrell is also the Director of Broadway Dallas’ High School Musical Theater Awards each year.

His acting credits include Broadway National tours, regional theater, television and film.

Ferrell is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and a proud member of Society of Directors and Choreographers and Actor’s Equity Association.

Joel, what inspired you to launch the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre at SMU?

It comes from a lifetime of joy in this art form. I’ve directed and choreographed on professional stages, and I’ve taught in academic settings. I kept thinking it would be wonderful to help build a program that reflects the energy and range of today’s musical theatre. Then Dean Sam Holland and Theatre Chair Blake Hackler called to ask if I would be interested in starting that kind of program at SMU. I thought, “My dream just found a home.” That dream became the Sexton Institute, named for the generosity of G. Marlyne Sexton.

How is this program different from a typical BFA track?

We develop young artists who are comfortable in many creative spaces. At Sexton, students join a small, tight-knit cohort where they’re seen and mentored as individuals. We bring together SMU’s Acting, Dance, and Voice programs, and we make space for each student to grow in unique ways. Musical theatre today needs generative artists who can create from the ground up.

Who are some of the artists students will train with?

We’re thrilled to welcome Kimberly Grigsby as our inaugural Music Director. Kimberly has led Broadway productions including Spider-Man, Spring Awakening, The Light in the Piazza, and the upcoming Dolly: A True Original Musical. She’s a generous collaborator. So is our chair, Blake Hackler, who is Yale-trained and continues to work as an actor, director, and playwright. Our faculty offers an expansive network to students. That is our model: students learning from active professionals who know what creating at the highest level requires.

What kind of performance opportunities will students have?

We want students on their feet as much as possible. They’ll perform in campus productions, masterclasses, and workshops, and with local Equity theatres, including the Tony Award-winning LORT member Dallas Theater Center. DFW has a thriving theatre community, and we will connect students to opportunities beyond campus.

What qualities are you looking for in auditions?

Fire in the belly. A sense of play. A student who loves the form and wants to tell stories that move audiences. We want strong voices, strong movers, strong actors. More than that, we want artists who generate ideas, investigate each story to find truth, and step into any rehearsal room ready to add value and joy.

Why is industry relevance central to your curriculum?

Musical theatre is evolving in wonderful ways. Our students deserve training that prepares them for what awaits: an ever-shifting industry looking for singular voices and exciting collaborators. We bring in gifted professionals who are actively working. Students learn what the profession looks like today and talk about how it is changing. The work is rigorous, and it is joyful. That mix is where the magic happens.

What has been the biggest challenge, and the greatest joy, in starting this program?

Building from scratch is the challenge. It is also the joy. Meadows already has excellent faculty and strong training. We get to imagine what is possible as we bring these disciplines together now. The excitement from prospective students and their teachers is fuel. They’re ready. We must be fully prepared to meet and exceed their expectations.

Where do you see Sexton graduates in five years?

Making work that changes people in the places they choose. Success looks different for each person, so we help them build a wide network of collaborators. I see them as artistic leaders who bring generosity and strong technique into every room they enter, whether that is a Broadway musical or a performance piece on another continent.

What would you say to high school teachers considering sending their students your way?

We’d love to connect with you. We love having teachers and their students on campus, in masterclasses, and in information sessions in person and virtually. It’s our goal to give educators the opportunity to really know us so they can determine which of their students is a good fit for our program. 

Learn more here.