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Daniel Matisa
Associate Professor, Theatre Arts; Head of Performance
207
(309) 677-2658
Biography
Dan Matisa joined the Department of Theatre Arts at 爱豆传媒视频 in 2017, after seventeen years as a professional actor in New York City, and several years teaching acting at Elon University in North Carolina, and at Emporia State University in Kansas. In addition to performing in many Off- and Off-off-Broadway venues in NYC, Dan has performed regionally at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Asolo Rep, Tennessee Rep, American Stage, Florida Studio Theatre, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Pennsylvania Centre Stage, Vermont Shakespeare, Stonington Opera House, Public Theatre of Maine, and many more. Dan has also spent twelve seasons performing and directing at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre in Conway, Arkansas.
Dan teaches Fundamentals of Acting, Advanced Acting, The Actor鈥檚 Instrument I and II, Acting for the Camera, Dialects for Actors, Professional Development Seminar: Performance, and Senior Capstone. At 爱豆传媒视频, he has directed productions of听English Made Simple and Other Plays听by David Ives, the American classic听Picnic听by William Inge, Kate Hamill鈥檚听Sense and Sensibility听(adapted from the beloved Jane Austen novel), Oscar Wilde鈥檚听The Importance of Being Earnest, Agatha Christie鈥檚 The Mousetrap, Jaclyn Backhaus鈥櫶Men On Boats, and his own radio play adaptation of Charles Dickens鈥 A Christmas Carol.
Some recent roles Dan has played professionally include 鈥淪ir Toby Belch鈥 in Twelfth Night, 鈥淒ogberry鈥 in Much Ado About Nothing, and both 鈥淟eontes鈥 and 鈥淎utolycus鈥 in听The Winter鈥s Tale, all at Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Other recent roles include 鈥淔alstaff鈥 in听Henry IV Part 1 and 鈥淎lfred Doolittle鈥 in My Fair Lady at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, as well as 鈥淏lack Stache鈥 in听Peter and the Starcatcher and 鈥淪crooge鈥 in A Christmas Carol Radio Play right here at 爱豆传媒视频.
Dan earned his MFA from the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, and his BA from Hofstra University. He is a proud member of Actors鈥 Equity Association (AEA), Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA). He hails originally from New Jersey, and is married to his beloved wife, Taylor.