About the Dennis Johnson Performance Workshops Staff

Dennis C. Johnson, Producing Director

Other venues where Mr. Johnson has performed, directed and taught include the American Conservatory Theatre, California Actors Theatre, Folger Theatre, Palo Alto Children's Theatre, Franklin Institute, the Hollywood Bowl, Skytop Lodge, the Hershey Library, San Francisco Children's Hospital, Junior League, SUNY, Yosemite National Park, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Parks, Shenandoah County Parks, Cox Broadcasting, American Educational Theatre Association, Catholic Television Network, Sterling Renaissance Festival, the Sagamore and McCabe's Guitar Shop. For five years he worked in Hollywood’s music industry as a published and recorded songwriter and assistant to producer Gene McDaniels, and wrote, played and sang on Phantasy with Joe Walsh and Barnstorm. For nearly a decade, he created unique entertainment for Hersheypark.

As Artistic Director at the Mt. Hope Estate, Mr. Johnson established the first resident professional acting company for the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, a top-ten event, and created several original interactive theatre productions still running today, including Poe Evermore, A Charles Dickens Christmas Past, and Outdoor Classroom, an educational event attended by hundreds of elementary and secondary students daily. He has created acclaimed educational performances and workshops for the International Children's Festival, Los Angeles Co. Schools, San Diego Co. Schools, the Pennsylvania Governor's School, the Shenandoah Opera Workshop, the Willow Opera Workshop, and the Ocean County NJ Gifted and Talented Convocation. As Co-creator of the Tactically Applied Communication Techniques (TACT) series of workshops, Mr. Johnson has taught unique interpersonal communication techniques to physicians, law enforcement officials, educators, corporate executives, sales and human resources personnel, theatre actors and directors, and students from grade school through college.

He has directed such productions as Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado and HMS Pinafore, plays by Feydeau, Chekov, Dylan Thomas, and dozens of original dramatic and musical productions. During the past two decades, Mr. Johnson has written, produced and directed short films, television and audio projects, and has appeared as voice over and on-camera talent in commercials and industrials for such companies as NFL Films, Fleer, Prevention Magazine, Crayola, Harley-Davidson, CBS, Lockheed Martin, Black & Decker and Kelly.

Mr. Johnson supervised the design and rebuilding of a 90-acre theme park for the Pocono Renaissance Faire, and has produced hundreds of dates of diverse festival and theme park experiences, achieving a consistent 98%+ audience approval rating. He produced New Heights Live 2005 with Joe Piscopo, and was Wizard of Ceremonies for the Harry Potter Book Release Party in 2005 and 2007 at the Music Hall in Portsmouth NH. He currently writes screenplays and produces theatre, film and video with his long-time friend Eugene McDaniels. Mr. Johnson raised four beautiful children as a single father.