The Counter is being staged at Lewisville Playhouse with North Texas theater educators performing and working backstage during the closing stretch of summer break.
Michael Valentine, fine arts coordinator for Lewisville ISD and the show’s director, assembled educators from Lewisville ISD along with staff from Frisco ISD, Richardson ISD and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. The collaboration is in its second year; the group previously performed Horton Foote’s Blind Date.
The play, written by Meghan Kennedy, lasts one hour and 15 minutes and follows Katie, a cafe server, and Paul, a regular customer, through their recurring exchanges. The work premiered off-Broadway in 2024 and focuses on connection, conversation and common ground.
Jordan Barrett, who teaches theater arts and directs technical theater at Lebanon Trail High School, plays Katie opposite Michael Holloman, the Frisco ISD fine arts coordinator, as Paul. Barrett returned to acting in last year’s educator production after 10 years away from the stage, while Holloman is taking on his second acting role in 20 years.
Barrett said, "If I had to summarize the play in one word, it would be conversations, about the conversations we strike up with people".
Teachers also fill out the three-person cast and the eight-member technical crew. Set designer John Davenport, manager of Frisco ISD’s Visual and Performing Arts Center, said the set involved extensive research and is designed so viewers experience the story from the working side of the counter. Before the show, audience members will be able to order snacks and refreshments from that counter.
