Dennis Beasley, MFA

Dennis is a freelance director, actor, producer, and educator who has directed many plays and musicals over the past fifteen years.  He holds an MFA in Directing from UC Irvine and received his undergraduate training in the Ray Bolger Musical Theatre Program at UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television.  He trained with (among others) Broadway stars Karen Morrow and Nancy Dussault and had the great opportunity to be directed by Tony Award Winners Mel Shapiro and John Rubinstein.

Favorite roles include: The Baker (Into the Woods), Seymore (Little Shop of Horrors) Alvin (The Story of My Life), and Woof (HAiR).  Recently, he returned from the East Coast where he was the Artistic Associate and Associate Producer at Downstairs Cabaret Theatre in Rochester, NY. Before moving to New York, Dennis directed a highly successful production of Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party that StageSceneLA.com called a “lushly staged… all-around superb production” and recognized it with seven of its year-end awards, including Outstanding Direction and Best Musical.  Earlier in the year, his 2009 production of The Little Dog Laughed garnered recognition as BroadwayWorld.com’s Best Regional Production for LA/Orange Counties and earned Dennis a Garland Award Nomination for Best Director from BackstageWest Magazine.  Other favorite shows directed include Take Me Out, Songs for a New World, Damn Yankees, and Les Miserables. Dennis was the Artistic Director at Odyssey Theatre Company in Gilroy, CA where he produced two full seasons of plays and musicals. He has had the opportunity to work at theatres across the country including South Coast Repertory and The Utah Shakespearean Festival, both Tony Award winning regional theatres.  He is an Associate Member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.  Currently, Dennis is the Artistic Director at Stockton Civic Theatre and an Adjunct Professor at San Joaquin Delta College.

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