Instructor of Theatre Arts David Montee has directed and acted in more than 150 stage productions over the course of his professional and educational career. New York acting credits include work at Town Hall, Queens Theatre-in-the-Park, Tribeca Repertory Theatre and First ACT Theatre; regional acting credits include work at the Hilberry Theatre of Detroit, Chamber Theatre of Boston, the Boarshead Theatre of Lansing, and the Newburyport Theatre in Massachusetts. He has also performed in feature films and industrials throughout the country, and was formerly the Artistic Director of the Arts Encounter Theatre Company in Lansing, Michigan. He is the author of TRANSLATING SHAKESPEARE: A GUIDEBOOK FOR YOUNG ACTORS, published in 2014 by Smith and Kraus; additional articles on acting and theatre have been published in periodicals such as Theatre History Studies, The Uncommon Reader, the Drama/Theatre Teacher, and Teaching Theatre.
Dr. Montee has received educational awards from every institution at which he has taught in his 30+ years of instruction. He has been cited numerous times by Who's Who Among America's Teachers and named as a Distinguished Teacher by the U.S. Department of Education's Presidential Scholars program twice, in 2001 and 2009. In 2004, he was awarded the Coca-Cola Distinguished Teacher in the Arts from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. In 2016 he was given Honorable Mention by the Tony Awards Excellence in Theatre Education Adjudication Panel. Many of his former students from Interlochen have performed over their subsequent professional careers in featured roles on television, in films, on Broadway, and with prestigious stage companies throughout the United States and internationally. Dr. Montee is a member of Actors' Equity Association; he performs on occasion with the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival, and has recently joined the staff of Resident Artists for the Purple Rose Theatre (founded by actor Jeff Daniels) in Chelsea, Michigan.