Wendy Dann

Wendy Dann serves as Dana Professor of Theatre Studies in Ithaca College's School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, where she directs the directing program and creates original theatrical works. With over forty regional productions at Tony Award-winning venues including Dallas Theatre Center and the Alliance Theatre, she bridges academic rigor with professional artistry.

Her educational foundation includes:

• BFA in Acting from Ithaca College
• MFA in Directing from Syracuse University

Dann's creative scholarship centers on directing methodologies, playwriting, and screenwriting with recurring investigations into fractured family systems, justice frameworks, and American national identity. Her Upstate New York roots manifest through rural settings and symbolic motifs like cows, while physics-theatre hybrids like Milkweed deconstruct time/space concepts through human relationships. This interdisciplinary approach extends to television writing where legal dramas dissect systemic inequities.

Her creative trajectory reveals evolving focus from stage to screen: early theatrical works like Birds of East Africa (2017) explored cultural displacement, while recent projects like the legal pilot THE JURY (2021) and film La Casa Verde (2020) demonstrate cross-medium narrative innovation centered on reconciliation.

Notable recognitions include:

• 2013 NYFA Fellowship in Playwriting
• Austin Film Festival virtual pitch winner (2020)
• Writers Lab 2021 invitation (sponsored by Streep/Kidman/Winfrey)
• Multiple O'Neill Theatre Center finalist selections
• Page Awards and Screencraft finalist (2021)

As an SDC member directing premieres nationwide, Dann actively shapes theatrical discourse while developing her 2026 Milkweed production at Ithaca College—a project examining pedagogy through physics metaphors. Her screenwriting ventures, including film festival-selected La Casa Verde, reflect growing industry impact beyond traditional academic outputs.