Assistant Professor – Acting & Directing
MFA Virginia Commonwealth University
BA University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Courses Taught:
- Advanced Acting: Rehearsal Techniques
- Advanced Acting: Acting for Film, TV and Media
- Acting Shakespeare
- Introduction to Voice & Speech
- Introduction to Acting
- Intermediate Acting
- Introduction to Directing
- Intermediate Directing
- Movement for Theater
- Theatre of the Absurd
EMAIL: dschebet@skidmore.edu
Dennis Schebetta is an actor, director, and writer in film and theater. He has previously taught at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Virginia Commonwealth University and Bellevue College. He is the co-author (with John Basil) of the book Building a Performance: An Actor’s Guide to Rehearsal, published by Rowman & Littlefield. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538161302/Building-a-Performance-An-Actor’s-Guide-to-Rehearsal
Trained in the Meisner technique by William Esper in New York City as well as in physical theater techniques informed by Lloyd Williamson, Meyerhold, and Lecoq, Dennis explores the dynamic intersection of these methodologies in his practice and in his teaching. His current research regards psychological well-being in performance and actor training, especially as it relates to consent-based practices. He is also interested in the intersection of technology with theater, particularly robots and multimedia.
As a theatre director, he has directed off-off Broadway and regionally at theatres such as Ensemble Studio Theater, 29th Street Rep, Vital Theater, City Theatre, and 12 Peers Theater. For Skidmore, he recently directed Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson and Heddatron by Elizabeth Meriwether. He enjoys collaborating with playwrights on new works and has directed several world premieres and developmental readings, including some of his own plays. As a film director, his short My Date with Adam, which he produced, wrote and directed, won “Best Comedy” in the High Desert International Film Festival and was an official selection of New Filmmakers LA, New Filmmakers NYC, Boston Sci-Fi Festival, Phoenix International Film Festival and the London Sci-Fi Film Festival. Other theatrical directing credits include Soldier Song (also writer), Romeo & Juliet (a hybrid film/theater production), American Soldiers by Matt Morillo, Dog in the Manger, Agamemnon by Aeschylus, Nine by Arthur Kopit, the devised production 7 Minutes to Midnight, and the world premieres of Neena Beber’s Part of the Story and Seth Kramer’s Prelude to 35.
As an actor, he recently performed as Don John in Saratoga Shakespeare Company’s Much Ado About Nothing and in Capital Rep’s Next Act New Play Festival. Other theatrical acting credits include An Ideal Husband, The Tempest, August: Osage County, Marjorie Prime, Peter and the Starcatcher, California Suite, Shining City, Slasher, Play, and Big River (where he also played harmonica).
He also contributed the chapter “Money in Your Pocket: Meisner, Objectives and The First Six Lines” to the book Objectives, Obstacles and Tactics in Practice: Perspectives on Activating the Actor, edited by Valerie Clayman Pye and Hilary Bucs, published by Routledge in 2019.