My name is Dean Linnard and I am a New York and California based AEA actor, singer, solo-performer, and puppeteer. Originally from the beautiful creative oasis of Berkeley, California, I first got interested in acting through a clown workshop I took in elementary school and the rest is history. I moved to New York to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where I studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Some of my favorite artistic projects have included the world premiere of Dave Harris’ Tambo & Bones at Playwrights Horizons, the regional premiere of Dave Malloy’s Octet at Berkeley Rep, and several collaborations with the director Eric Ting at Cal Shakes. I have performed on rooftops, in elevators, in basements, in warehouses, in art museums and galleries with Nick Gray (he loves Sheep Meadow in Central Park), and in many a theater across 25 states.
I am a trained puppeteer specializing in found-object puppetry and have served as a puppetry consultant on several projects.
During the pandemic, I founded and facilitated a digital theater collective called the Anti-Isolation Arts Factory which gave creative opportunities to out of work artists and connected audiences with performers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am also an accomplished teaching artist, having led workshops, classes, and drama camps at many schools and Shakespeare festivals around the country (full teaching résumé available upon request).
I feel very passionately about the craft of acting. Nothing makes me happier than telling a story to an audience. I feel so very lucky to call the theater my home and look forward to learning and growing as an artist in the years to come.