About
Experience, experience, experience. Decades of it. I enjoy helping people express themselves more effectively in all kinds of performance situations. During the last year, I have taught over 1000 hours of acting, on-camera acting, voice acting, improv, audition prep, and interpersonal communication classes for persons of all ages from all over the world.
"A seasoned expert and a superb teacher. He loves what he does."
"Dennis has been a phenomenal teacher that has expanded my skill repertoire along with improving a foundation to utilize those skills with. His lessons are organized, professional, and connects with his students to make them comfortable and proud of the improvements made."
"I completed my first lesson with Dennis today. His calm, casual, professional manner makes lessons comfortable and easy to follow. Can't wait to take more lessons with Dennis!"
"Dennis is great at communicating principles of acting, articulating how they manifest throughout our lives, and meeting me where I'm at. I've also always felt supported, and had a fun time all throughout the sessions!"
"Working with Dennis must be one of the best investments I've made on myself. With his sharp eyes, fine tuned ears and meticulous approach I've improved my pronunciation (I'm not a native speaker), added melody and character to my voice, and experienced flow in improv despite my loud inner critic. On top of the technical skills, I'm now confident and comfortable with my voice (which I never liked) and physical expression. So I have fun with it, being more spontaneous and playful in life."
"Dennis is a consummate professional with a great deal of experience who can teach all aspects of acting. You won't find a better teacher."
"Dennis is a genius in his craft, which translates very well in his coaching/teaching of the subject. I came into our calls as a complete amateur, and slowly, but surely he has built my confidence while also giving me very pointed and direct instructions on how to get better every time we meet. He has made me a better voice actress and I feel better about my progress and attempts at this in an earnest way!"
"Dennis is an expert tutor who insists on retaining the student's natural talent, but at the same time persists in teaching the techniques and tricks of the trade. He constantly encourages the student, makes them feel at home and lays out the scope for improvement with lots of patience. He encourages practice and sends you the full recording of all the sessions, and it is a delight to listen to his coaching."
"As a teacher-by-day and student-by-night, I am really appreciating your instruction. The specificity of your critiques is helping me whittle away the aspects of the reads that are superfluous or ineffective. The rigor of the performance standard you have set for me is giving me a clearly visible goal toward which I can strive (I hate nebulous goals). Also, the honesty and authenticity of your compliments is making me feel as if I am REALLY accomplishing something, not merely getting a half-hearted pat on the head, or a participation ribbon."
"I am a trial attorney, and Dennis has become part of my trial preparation team. His direction on tone, movement, phrasing, has been incredibly helpful in allowing me to fully express my clients' stories."
"There aren’t enough good words to say about Dennis. Personally, I have had the pleasure of working with Dennis for 5 years and his commitment, knowledge and ability to guide his students to top performance levels in the acting world is unbelievable. With Dennis’ help I was able to win for the State of NH two years in a row for the nationwide Poetry Out Loud competition, land several lead roles in community theater, gain my own teaching experience in his acting workshops, etc., but more importantly I gained a whole new level of confidence that I didn’t have before."
"I’ve been working with Dennis for about 5 weeks now on voice acting and on screen TV segments. My friends and coworkers are commenting now on the strides that I’m making. Dennis is an excellent coach who provides me with insight and personalized resources that have helped me become more confident and competent on the radio and television."
"As a complete newbie to voice acting, I came in nervous, not knowing what to expect. Although I'm still very much a newbie, I am starting to gain more confidence in my skills, thanks to Dennis. He has a way of boosting you up, while kindly giving you tips on ways to improve. My time with him over the past few months has been great. He has all the qualities of a great teacher, with patience and kindness being the top two. Thank you for making our session fun, Dennis!"
"I’m learning so much about how to better use my voice from Dennis. Having been in sales for a number of years, I thought that I knew how to speak and present…..now I know that I have a lot to learn!"
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
See where they're at, analyze what their strengths and weaknesses are, and then help them make progress.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
50 years as a professional actor, voice artist, director and producer. Here's my bio:
A professional director, producer, actor, writer, improvisation artist, and musician, Mr. Johnson has headed entertainment production companies as executive director and artistic director, co-creating such original interactive events as Poe Evermore, An Elizabethan Feast, A Charles Dickens Christmas Past, The Ben Jonson and Will Shakespeare Debates, James Buchanan for President, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, The Great Victorian Music Hall and Comedy Extravaganza, The Old Town Hall Temperance Meeting, Alice-In-Wonderland, and Outdoor Classroom. He has directed classical plays by such authors as Shakespeare, Chekov, Webster, and Feydeau. Plays and musicals he has directed and/or choreographed include The Duchess of Malfi, The Apple Tree, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Rags to Riches, The Wedding, Romeo and Juliet, Two Slatterns and a King, The Disguises of Arlecchino, Spoon River, The Dragon, Guys and Dolls, Mr. Toad Rides Again, The Doctor and the Devils, U.S.A., You Can't Take It With You, Love and Soft Music, HMS Pinafore, The Pied Piper, The Elephant Man, The Bluebeard, Her Majesty’s Garter, What This Country Needs Is a Good 5 Cent Bubblegum Cigar, and Three In a Bath. Mr. Johnson studied dance with Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Carlton Johnson, Paul Draper, William Bales, and Ruth Beckford. He studied judo with Professor William Montero Sr., and Senshin Budo karate with Jeremiah Tobin. He has directed, taught, or performed for the Old Globe Theatre, the Folger Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, the USO, California Actors Theatre, Mt. Hope Estate, William Shakespeare Road Company, LA County Parks, Junior League, Sterling Renaissance Festival, Pennsylvanial Renaissance Faire, Maine Renaissance Faire, JP Nightingale, Hollywood Bowl, Franklin Institute, McCabes Guitar Shop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Knott’s Berry Farm, Frontier Village, Yosemite National Park, and for a decade produced exclusive interactive entertainment for Hersheypark and Christmas Candy Lane. Mr. Johnson has created unique interactive and immersive performances for many fine resorts and companies including Skytop Lodge, Hotel Hershey, Sagamore, Wheatland, Ahwahnee Hotel, Webster Bank, Morgan Stanley, Merck, Saks Fifth Avenue, Massanutten Resort, Longwood Gardens, Coolfont, Canaan Valley, Wintergreen Resort, Black Point Inn, American House Hotel, York Harbor Inn, Belle Grove Mansion, Wayside Inn, Buck Hotel, Bryce Mountain, Park City Center, Timberline Lodge, and SMG. A songwriter at BMI, his tunes have been recorded by Joe Walsh, Melba Moore, Gene McDaniels, Merry Clayton, Nancy Wilson, Vikki Carr, and the Floaters. A produced playwright, published poet, and prolific screenwriter, Mr. Johnson has written, produced and directed film, video, and audio projects, and has performed as voice and on-camera talent for national and regional companies including the Boston Red Sox, NFL Films, Riot Games’ League of Legends (original Gangplank, Taric, Heimerdinger), Fuel Games’ Gods Unchained, NESN, Fleer, Cox Broadcasting, Crayola, Black & Decker, Harley Davidson, Mercedes, Kelly Tire, AAA, LL Bean, Goodwill, Farmers Trust, Lockheed, Hershey, and Prevention Magazine. He directed and co-wrote The Perfect Woman, a nominee for NH Film of the Year. He co-created and has presented TACT interpersonal communication workshops for law enforcement, medicine, hospitality, sales, recreation, education, and for corporate executives. He has narrated and provided character voices for acclaimed documentary films including Shadows Fall North, The People's Forest, Front Wards Back Wards, and Celia Thaxter's Island Garden, which he also edited. Mr. Johnson has directed educational performances, improvisations, and workshops for elementary schools, secondary schools, and universities in VA, CA, PA, NJ, NY, MD, CT, ME, NH, including James Madison University, San Jose State University, Shenandoah University, Millersville University, and SUNY. He continues to teach improvisation, on-camera acting, voice and stage acting, public speaking, and performance workshops. His most cherished accomplishment is having raised four children as a single father.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
$45 per half-hour. $85 per hour
How did you get started teaching?
I was directing and teaching as far back as college, when I had my own touring company.
What types of students have you worked with?
All kinds. If you're performing for humans, I can help you be better, no matter who you are or what your level of experience.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I'm fond of hearing from so many students, both actors and business professionals, about how much our work together has helped them.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Work with me.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
What are your goals?