Dean Linnard

We Meet Again, Internet!

Greetings from Madison, New Jersey. I am currently on tour with Shakespeare LIVE!, the educational touring company of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. We are bringing “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Julius Caesar” to upwards of a hundred schools and community centers over the next few months.

We have public performances of both Shakespeare shows this coming Saturday (March 8th) at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre here in Madison. For ticket information, please click here.

For more informaiton about Shakespeare LIVE!, including photos and cast bios, please click here.

Lend Me Your Ears, Internet!

It is with great joy that I write to you from the beautiful town of Madison where I am currently working for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. I am an actor in their Shakespeare LIVE! educational touring company. We are presently deep in rehearsals for two Shakespeare plays that we will tour to schools in rep throughout the Spring. I am playing Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and I am the male swing for “Julius Caesar”, covering Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Caesar, et al.

“Midsummer” is being directed by the brilliant Brian B. Crowe, Director of Education for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. “Julius Caesar” is being directed by Anthony Cochrane, who as an actor has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in “War Horse” and “The Coast of Utopia” at Lincoln Center. Both “Midsummer” and “Julius Caesar” feature the same team of ten hardworking actors. I am truly honored to be among this talented group of actors, directors, and designers. And it is a distinct privilege to be working for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

For more information on the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, please click here. And for more info on Shakespeare LIVE! and the theater’s other educational programs, please click here.

Buenos Dias, Internet!

Happy 2014, Internet!

As we begin a new year, I have been thinking a lot about all of my theatrical experiences in 2013. I feel extraordinarily lucky to be making a living in the theater and I am so grateful to be part of such a loving and supportive community of artists.

In January I had the good fortune to play the lead in the world premiere of Quincy Long’s “The Huntsmen” at Portland Playhouse in Oregon. This past Summer I returned to Vermont Shakespeare Company to play Autolycus (and the bear!) in their outdoor production of “The Winter’s Tale”. This Fall I became a teaching artist with Broadway.com, leading theater workshops for visiting school groups as part of their Broadway Classroom series. And I started performing in art galleries as an adaptive storyteller for Museum Hack, bringing pieces of art to life in unique and theatrical ways.

This year the press has called my performances “utterly fascinating” (The Oregonian), “mesmerizing” (Willamette Week), “hypnotic” (portland theatre scene), “expressive” and “engaging” (both Seven Days), “marvelous” and my favorite, “rubbery” (both Burlington Free Press).

A huge, heartfelt thanks to Portland Playhouse, the Barrow Street Theatre, Sundog Theatre, Going to Tahiti Productions, Vermont Shakespeare Company, Broadway.com, Performa 13, Museum Hack, and the TRUF for being my artistic homes in 2013. I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that this new year will bring.

May everyone’s 2014 be filled with love, warmth, and art.

Happy Holidays, Internet!

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Exciting Times, Everyone! I am very happy to announce that my one-man show adaptation of “Hamlet” is being produced again, and just in time for the new year!

“Hamlet: A One-Man Show” will be produced by The TRUF at the Chain Theatre in Long Island City for three performances only:  Thursday January 9th, Friday January 10th, and Saturday January 11th. All performances are at 8:00Pm. More information can be found at The TRUF’s website.

Please see the invite below for directions and ticket information. I hope y’all can make it!

Happy Thanksgivukkah, Internet!

I recently completed a sold out run of “Hands Off”, an original performance art piece created by Molly Lowe. The performances took place at Temp Art Space as part of Performa 13, co-presented with Recess. A special thanks to my invincible fellow performers, Caterina Nonis and Emily Vetsch, and to Molly Lowe for her crazy-cool vision.

Happy Halloween, Internet!

I have three very exciting pieces of news to share!

First off, I have been hired as a teaching artist for Broadway.com’s Broadway Classroom series. I will be teaching workshops for visiting school groups on a range of theater-related topics. I am deeply honored to be joining Broadway Classroom’s talented and passionate team of professional educators. Click here for more information on the classes offered.

Nextly, I will be a performer in the experimental movement piece “Hands Off” next month. Created by the multidisciplinary artist Molly Lowe, “Hands Off” will be presented as part of Performa 13 on November 22nd and 23rd. It promises to be a wild and sensory experience, complete with rotating stages and giant chopsticks. Please click here for more information about the piece and to learn how to get tickets.

And finally, I am now an official Company Member of Going to Tahiti Productions, a New York based theater company with whom I performed in “Bella’s Dream” earlier this year. Be sure to check their website for information about future classes and events.

It is shaping up to be a busy and productive fall!

Happy Autumn, Internet!

In honor of the change of seasons, I decided to share some photographs from shows I have done in the last couple of years. Take a gander!

As Caliban in Vermont Shakespeare Company’s “The Tempest” with the incomparable Collin Smith (photo credit Jan Nagle)

As Hamlet in Tremor Theater Collective’s “The Rub” at the New Orleans Fringe Festival with Benjamin Otto (L) and Akku Kulhari (R) (photo credit Valerie Pisarello)

As Devon in the world premiere of Quincy Long’s “The Huntsmen” at Portland Playhouse with my wonderful stage mother Sharonlee McLean and Broadway’s Gavin Gregory! (photo credit Brud Giles)

Shalom, Internet!

I just returned from my second consecutive summer season with Vermont Shakespeare Company, and as you can see by the above picture by Jan Nagle, it was once again a total joy to work with this amazing group of artists. Playing Autolycus in “The Winter’s Tale” was a beautiful challenge: I got to sing, do lots of physical comedy, and perform Shakespeare outside! A fabulous experience.

Here is what the reviews had to say about my performance (please click on the links for the full articles):

“The production asks eight cast members to handle a variety of roles, and a couple of those actors whose bit parts add up to a wonderful whole include Molly Pietz Walsh … and the rubbery Dean Linnard, whose marvelous portrayals of criminals and goofballs are matched only by the loveliness of his melancholy singing and chanting that links several scenes in both acts.”

Brent Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press

“Dean Linnard shines as Autolycus, a charming thief and scoundrel. He’s faced with a lot of Shakespearean wordplay, but he distills the humor for us with an expressive face and engaging physicality. When [director John] Nagle has him pick a pocket by removing the wallet, followed by the pants, we find ourselves loving the crime.”

Alex Brown, Seven Days

And finally, regarding our production at large (also from the Seven Days review):

“Director John Nagle and eight skilled actors find new treasures in The Winter’s Tale, and make its pastiche of somber fairy tale, spit-take comedy and pastoral romance delightfully coherent … Bring a picnic, and bring your kids. If it’s their first taste of Shakespeare, or yours, this production offers an opportunity to be arrested by the intensity of a moment in an imagined world. A child who realizes, for the first time, that this is how theater works will go to sleep that night with marvels in mind.”

Below is another pic of me as Autolycus (photo by Jan Nagle), next to the beautiful and talented Maggie McDowell rockin’ the uke:

Good day, Internet!

It is a time of beginnings and endings. Last month saw the end of two shows I was in: “Bella’s Dream” at  the Flamboyan Theater and “Upstanders”, which over the course of three months of performances reached thousands of children in Queens and Staten Island.

I am currently deep in rehearsals for “The Winter’s Tale” with Vermont Shakespeare Company. Autolycus is such a fun character and I am loving working with this ridiculously talented group of actors and designers. It is such a joy to return to Vermont Shakes for a second season. We open in less than two weeks in Burlington!