Krysta Dennis

  

Dr. Krysta Dennis, Associate Professor of Creative Arts at Siena College, works as a theatre-maker, director, and playwright in the US and internationally. Krysta holds a dual PhD from the University of Kent in the UK and the Sorbonne in Paris, and trained as a performer at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq. Krysta has acted as chair of dramaturgy since 2020 for Region 1 of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. She is the author of four plays: Swept Clean (Northeast Theatre Ensemble and Historic Cherry Hill) Dutch: an original play in live performance and virtual reality installation (Historic Cherry Hill), Votes for Women (Siena College, Ten Broeck Mansion, Arts, Letters & Numbers), and The Burden of the Ballot (Historic Cherry Hill, New York State Museum). Recent directing credits include: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Northeast Theatre Ensemble) The Turn of the Screw (Creative License), A Streetcar Names Desire (NETE), An Ideal Husband (NETE), Marjorie Prime (Theatre Voices), Aleda (Musicians of Ma’alwyck), and Arcadia (Siena College). She has published with Methuen, Contemporary Theatre Review, Interdisciplinary Network, Routledge, SPUR: The Council on Undergraduate Research, and the Pirandello Society of America.

Degree	Program	University
Ph.D.	Theatre	Sorbone Nouvelle Paris III & University of Kent
M.A.	Theatre Studies	Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III
M.F.A. equivalent (foreign)	Acting	École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
M.A.	French and Francophone Literature	University of Notre Dame
B.A.	French and Film, Television, and Theatre	University of Notre Dame

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

 

When teaching theatre performance, I prioritize a holistic approach, in which the body, voice, and mind are equally weighted- and understood to be parts of a greater whole- rather than separate parts of an actor’s training. Theatre requires both practical capabilities as well as a solid understanding of historical and theoretical frameworks underpinning practice. Practitioners of theatre must be capable of engaging with history, literature, and theory, and utilizing this knowledge to inform their practical work.


Not all students in an acting class will pursue acting, but an acting class should empower all students in their future endeavors, no matter what they may be. Learning to act helps to foster self-awareness and empathy for others, and is very much in keeping with Siena’s mission to provide an education for a lifetime. Siena’s core values of inclusivity, innovation, lifelong learning, and the person-centered approach are fundamental parts of my teaching practice.

What I Love About Siena

I love the interdisciplinary opportunities at Siena. The sense of community here makes for a wonderful learning environment for theatre practice.  

My Favorite Courses to Teach

While I love to teach all of my classes, performance based classes are my favorite. I love the infinite range of possibility of creative expression in an acting class, as well as the profound sense of community. 

My Professional Experience

Current Research