The College of Performing Arts has named Associate Professors John Benitz and Donald Guy the co-chairs for the Department of Theatre beginning with the 2015-16 academic year. They replace Dr. Nina LeNoir who now serves as Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education at Chapman.

Associate Professor John Benitz

Associate Professor John Benitz

Professor John Benitz is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and earned his MFA in Acting from Brandeis University. A member of both SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity, Benitz has performed Off-Broadway, in Los Angeles, and regionally with Shakespeare Orange County and the Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago. He has also appeared on film and television nationally, including the Discovery Channel series Proof of Life.

Professor Benitz wrote and directed the award-winning film Children of the Struggle, which has been screened in film festivals, high schools and colleges across the country, and featured on PBS. It was also recognized by the NAACP Film Commission for its true and poignant portrayal of the fight for equality.

In 2007, he approached author Andrew Carroll about the possibility of a play based on Carroll’s war letters collection. As a result, three years later he directed the premiere of If All the Sky Were Paper at Chapman University. In 2013 he was awarded grants from the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts and Cal Humanities in order to bring the play to a wider audience. He directed subsequent stagings of the play at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles with stars Annette Bening, Laura Dern, Ken Howard, Gary Cole, Common, and many other talented actors. And in May 2015 he directed If All the Sky Were Paper at the famed Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C.

“Both Don and I are very excited to share the chair position in the Department of Theatre. After Nina’s strong leadership, and new ideas coming forth, we are poised for some really great things in our future,” said Benitz.

Associate Professor Donald Guy

Associate Professor Donald Guy

Professor Donald Guy specializes in Entertainment Technology and also serves as the Director of Production for the College of Performing Arts. He received his MFA in Design from the University of California, Irvine and a BA in Theatre from the University of Alabama.

“I think our collective vision is to create an environment where students will grow as artists while obtaining the knowledge and skills to chase their dreams,” said Professor Guy.

In addition to his work at Chapman, Professor Guy is a prolific practitioner of his craft, having created hundreds of designs for dance, theatre, magic, themed entertainment, and architecture for projects throughout six continents and 46 of the United States:

  • As one of the premiere lighting designers for magic, he has created numerous productions featured on the Las Vegas strip, cruise lines, casinos, theme parks, festivals and special events around the globe;
  • Dance design credits for well over 500 dance pieces for numerous choreographers and dance companies across the country;
  • Theatre design projects for the Laguna Playhouse; the Colony Theatre; the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; the Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory; the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis; Radio City Music Hall in New York; and the Falcon Theatre in Los Angeles;
  • And his themed entertainment and architectural design work can be seen at a wide range of theme parks, restaurants, and retail and performance venues internationally and across the U.S.