Dennis is excited to be part of a local project shooting in October, a TV Pilot called MULLIGAN, serving as the Extras Casting Director.

​Created and written by local actor, Patrick Cannon, the TV pilot is being helmed by Steve Parys (Gone, Outsiders, Concussion) and produced by Ashley Kate Adams (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Royal pains) of AKA Studio Productions and Jim Kierstead (Broadway’s Kinky Boots, Waitress, The Great Comet of 1812) of Kierstead Productions, Inc. So far the project has garnered support and involved over 40 local professionals. 

Read more here in the Pittsburgh Triblive feature story.

Mulligan is a story of family, addiction, redefining home and the pursuit of redemption: "Upon release from a two-year stint in jail, fallen golf prodigy and Pittsburgh native, Jack O’Mally, accepts a job at his brother’s Driving Range and Miniature Golf Course. Jack finds himself at the confluence of his past, present and future. "

Dennis is pleased to announce that he has been cast in the short film, Before the 4th, directed by Eric Lorenz and starring Tenique Mathieu. Filming will begin this July with a premiere date scheduled for next year.

Dennis will be playing one of the lead roles, Grant, a father to a bi-racial girl who is adjusting to a new life after moving to Pittsburgh from New York City. The short film handles racial tensions in a comedic, yet warmhearted way as we see things through the eyes of this loving family. Dennis is also pleased to be able to strut his guitar skills in this film!

More information can be found on the IMDB page. 

Dennis is performing as Black Stache in the UP Stages production of Peter and the Starcatcher by Ricke Elice based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, i n the Charity Randall Theater, from March 30 to April 9th. This fun, rollicking prequel to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan has been wowing audiences since its debut on Broadway many years ago. 
For tickets and more information, please click here.
From the website: "When starcatcher-in-training Molly meets an orphan boy longing for a home, they embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Based on the novel by comedian Dave Barry and author Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher is a swashbuckling, grownup prequel to Peter Pan that will hook you from the beginning with its action and humor, and soon your imagination will take flight all the way past the second star on the right and straight on till morning."

Dennis is proud to announce that he will be attending the HBMG Foundation's 2017 National Winter Playwright Retreat in Creede, Colorado, in cooperation with Creede Repertory Theatre (CRT).

Dennis will be attending the week of January 8th through the 14th and will be developing his play with music Soldier Song, which he did a workshop of in October of 2016.

​For more information and to see all the writers attending this year, please check out this link.

From the HBMG Foundation website: "Nestled between the cliffs of this winter wonderland is a LORT D Theatre boasting some of the best performances in the United States. But CRT only has a summer performance season, so the Foundation and CRT want to use the serenity and creative energy of the Rocky Mountain winters to set the stage for new play development. Last winter, 30 playwrights from across the U.S. accepted our invitation for an extraordinary creative retreat."

Dennis recently returned from Ameglia, Italy where he participated in the IUGTE Arts Oasis residency at the Monastero Santa Croce. While there, he spent six days working with Russian theatre artist and educator Sergei Ostrenko (pictured below Left) learning Meyerhold's Biomechanics, Michael Chekhov's techniques and other physical theatre and ensemble-building techniques. The residency included 17 artists from countries such as Russia, Lithuania, UK, Ireland, Canada, U.S., Australia, and Singapore.

This summer and fall Dennis will be developing a new ensemble-based project entitled Soldier Song, an examination of the veteran/civilian relationships and how veterans struggle with re-entry into civilian life. This will be an ensemble-driven project  integrating acting, movement, and music with a scheduled development workshop performance in mid-October.
(all photos courtesy of IUGTE, photo credit Inga Ryazanoff)

Dennis received a grant from the IUGTE (International University Global Theatre Experience) and funding from the University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh to attend the week long Artist Oasis residency in June in Ameglia, Italy at the Monastero Santa Croce.  This creative residency is open to dancers, choreographers, actors and multidisciplinary artists passionate and inspired by movement, dance and Physical Theatre, interested in practical research of contemporary performance practice together with colleagues from all over the world. Arts Oasis provides an international epicenter for meeting artists of several countries, a safe environment for exploring new ideas and an exchange network for collaborations and creative partnerships.
 
At this residency, Dennis will study with theatre artist Sergei Ostrenko (Russian Theatre School) and be trained in various physical theatre techniques including Vysevold Meyerhold’s Biomechanics, Michael Chekhov’s gesture work, and the ensemble exercises of Jerzy Grotowski. 

After his week long residency in Italy, Dennis will then travel to London to participate in workshops and watch several productions of Shakespeare at The Globe Theatre and the RSC.

Dennis is proud to announce that his two short plays Hipsters in Love and Half Full, which originally premiered as part of Bricolage Company's Urban Sprawl (or B.U.S.) festival fundraiser, which be published as part of an anthology of plays entitled B.U.S. (Bricolage Urban Sprawl): 10 Years of 10-Minute Plays.

The book will be released on March 5, 2016, coinciding with the B.U.S. 11 event, happening at the August Wilson Center. For more information and tickets to bus, check out their website.

Spanning the years 2005 to 2015, the anthology features 34 individual playwrights and over 160 actors and directors who have lived or worked in Pittsburgh’s theater scene during the past decade. Inspired by a 90-minute PAT bus ride, it’s no surprise that many of the plays highlight Pittsburgh haunts such as the Thunderbird Café, the Southside Dollar Store, the ACE Check Cashing in Lawrenceville, and the Allegheny Cemetery. Well-known playwrights like Gab Cody, Wali Jamal, Gayle Pazerski, Tammy Ryan and Mark Clayton Southers authored multiple plays in this unique collection. Although widely variant in subject and form, the totality of the anthology shares the common thread of being by, for, and about the people of Pittsburgh.

Book Design by Tyler Crumrine
Cover Design by David Pohl
Foreword by Christopher Rawson

Dennis has begun rehearsals on the musical NINE by Arthur Kopit and Maurey Yeston, which he is directing. The production features teaching artist Ricardo Vila-Roger and special guest star Dr. Kathy Humphrey, Senior Vice Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. The production begins its run in the Charity Randall Theater on April 7th and closes on April 17th.

The play is based on Fellini's acclaimed and surrealistically autobiographical 1963 movie 8 1/2. The story revolves around film-maker Guido Contino and his search to come up with an idea for his next movie while juggling relationships with his wife, his mistress and a movie star. The play features prominent dance and song numbers such as "Folies Bergere", "Be Italian" and "Grand Canal".

For more information and tickets, please visit the University of Pittsburgh Stages website: play.pitt.edu.